Why Do Women Do Dumb Things? Don’t Ask Fantasia Barrino

Fantasia Barrino has a new album coming out next month, and her people seem to be ramping up the press.

Today the Lifetime channel aired Life Is Not a Fairy Tale: The Fantasia Barrino Story, which was originally released in 2006. I’d never been tempted to view this movie before today, because I’m not really a Fantasia fan. While I can appreciate that she has talent, her voice and singing style don’t appeal to me, especially.

But Barrino has gotten some heat recently, first about posting this instagram message, in response to public criticism about having an out-of wedlock child with a married man:

I Rise ABOVE IT ALL!!! THE WORLD IS GONE MAD. KIDS, THE GOVERNMENT THE church House... Everybody Trying!!!!!!! Its a lot that going on that the Bible speaks about we should Not be doing. Weed legal in some places, Gay Marriage Legal BUT YET IM JUDGED!!! I'm not doing Nothing for you... My Life!!!!

And then again for this instagram message about a recent cover photo on Jet Magazine:

This saddens Me!!! It is clear that this picture is 10 Years Old and JET Magazine puts it on the Cover!! After I send them the NEW LOOK AND DIRECTION. . SAD!!! I WANT A PUBLIC APOLOGY FROM JET. Now im not sure if the interview is correct. SEE!! America they and use me as they crash Dummy BUT NO MORE. IF I DONT STAND FOR SOMETHING ILL FALL FOR ANYTHING.

So, I don’t know, for some reason I decided to check out the movie and form my own opinion of this woman.

Well, I’m going to be honest. Watching this movie depressed the hell out of me.

Self-hate. Illiteracy. Rape. Domestic violence. Teen pregnancy. Poverty. No-good men. Flat-out ignorance and some really dumb-ass choices. It might make for good drama, but it gave me a headache.

Viola Davis played Barinno’s mother, and Loretta Devine played her grandmother. These are fine actresses and gave fine performances in their portrayal of wise, gentle, supportive women. Unfortunately most of that wisdom seemed lost on Barrino, who just did dumb shit over and over again and then walked around looking all befuddled about it, like she didn’t even recognize how jacked up it was. Bottom line, as a character she got on my damn nerves.

Of course, the movie ends with a bang, documenting Barrino’s American Idol fame, but heck, by that point I so cranky and irritated it hardly mattered.

I think my problem with the movie is that it lacked depth. It lacked self-insight. It lacked any real answers.

Was Barrino looking for love in all the wrong places because she thought she was ugly? Maybe. Truth is, after watching this movie I have no idea what motivated her, and it’s frustrating, because clearly we’re supposed to cheer her whole “victory over adversary” thing, but there’s nothing to grab on to here.

What did I expect from a Lifetime movie, you ask? Well, not a whole lot but a bit more than I got.

On the plus side, Barrino is not a bad actress. In fact, I forgot she was acting, and that has to count for something.

The movie still kind of sucked, though.