MELANIA (AMAZON PRIME) (2026)
SYNOPSIS: MELANIA offers unprecedented access to the 20 days leading up to the 2025 Presidential Inauguration — through the eyes of the First Lady herself. Step inside Melania Trump's world as she orchestrates inauguration plans, navigates the complexities of the White House transition, and moves her family back to the Nation’s Capital. With exclusive footage capturing critical meetings, private conversations, and never-before-seen environments, MELANIA showcases Mrs. Trump’s return to one of the world’s most powerful roles.
MOVIE REVIEW:
There are many documentaries out there that touch on controversial subjects, but there has rarely been one in recent times that has received as much flak and attention as Melania, the whopping $40 million documentary commissioned by First Lady Melania Trump and produced by Amazon MGM Studios.
Melania, in short, covers the weeks before the second inauguration of Donald Trump. As Melania herself explains, it is the period in which she transitions from a civilian back into the role of First Lady for the second time. This is exactly the moment where you would expect a deep dissection of the world she is about to re-enter. However, this is where everything starts to go haywire much like Trump’s frequent incoherent ramblings and decision-making.
The entire 105-minute documentary feels like a compilation of Melania’s “best moments.” From meeting her fashion designer for her inauguration dress, to attending the state funeral of Jimmy Carter, to meeting Queen Rania. These brief moments offer nothing particularly spectacular or meaningful. At best, her conversations remain broad and noticeably empty.
Irony seems to be a recurring theme. In one scene, Melania Trump video-calls Brigitte Macron to discuss education and the integration of artificial intelligence in classrooms. Given that Donald Trump had recently made a snide remark about her marriage to the French president, it leaves us wondering just how awkward future exchanges between the two might be. It certainly is not going to be pleasant.
Melania also touches on the topic of immigration. Her interior designer, Tham Kannalikham, is originally from Laos, and Melania herself speaks about her parents, who were from the former Yugoslavia. Yet again, this sits in contrast with her husband’s stance, particularly his push to remove birthright citizenship in an attempt to curb illegal immigration.
The biggest irony comes at the end, where Trump speaks about being a peacemaker and a unifier, something Melania encourages him to emphasise. The statement feels especially jarring when placed against recent geopolitical developments, making the message ring hollow.
Melania is unlikely to go down well in history not because it is directed by the disgraced Brett Ratner or because it features multiple cinematographers for no reason but because of the very point of the documentary itself. In the end, we learn almost nothing new about Melania Trump, aside from her genuine affection for her late mother.
A deeper portrait of the First Lady? Not at all. A lavish PR exercise to show she is doing something behind the scenes? Perhaps. The end credits summarise her accomplishments in mere seconds raising the question of why it took 105 minutes and $40 million to say so little.
MOVIE RATING:
Review by Linus Tee
