As someone who wasn’t able to go to the “GUTS” tour when it hit the United Center in March, I was very excited to experience Olivia Rodrigo’s sophomore album tour – even if it was in my living room. At a fairly short play time of one hour and forty-four minutes, it didn’t disappoint.
The movie starts with a very short behind the scenes look at the concert, and then it’s straight into the action with the opening with one of Rodrigo’s most popular songs from the “GUTS” album, “bad idea, right?”.
The cinematography is incredible; I appreciate being able to see the stage graphics behind her as it added to the immersion. Though, the rapid-fire switching of cameras was disorienting and I found myself a bit dizzy after the movie.
I was excited to see that my favorite Rodrigo song, “pretty isn’t pretty” was included in the film. The song details what it’s like to be insecure as a teenage girl in the modern world, and I’ve always related to it on a personal level.
While the unique feeling of physically being at the concert can unfortunately never be recreated, the movie does a great job of capturing the amusement that the audience was feeling, showing the fans jumping around to the songs.
Rodrigo also frequently makes gestures at the camera, singing to at-home viewers, which absolutely adds to the positive vibes, and keeps the at-home audience engaged.
Halfway through the concert, Rodrigo brought out concert opener Chappell Roan to play her cheerleader-inspired hit song “HOT TO GO!”.
I didn’t expect Roan to come out for a song, and was incredibly excited to see her.
As a huge Chappell Roan fan, this absolutely added to my viewing experience.
Rodrigo gives the viewers another in-depth look at the behind-the-scenes of the tour as the ending credits roll, while her song “Stranger” from “GUTS” plays.
My only complaint is that I wish that this scene wasn’t at the very end. If it was instead at the beginning of the movie, during the first look behind the scenes, the opening scene could have felt less awkward and unfinished.
It seems as if after the immense success of Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour film, other singers are following in Swift’s footsteps, such as Beyoncé’s “Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé”, and of course this film. Concert films give the viewer a unique look beyond what they may have seen in person, such as a closer look at outfits worn and dances performed from an entirely new angle. If the viewer, like me, wasn’t able to snag tickets to the tour, concert films give them the opportunity to live out an experience that they missed out on.
A review wouldn’t be complete without mentioning Rodrigo’s immense stage presence. To no surprise, her background in acting was evident throughout the entire concert through her playful expressions.
If you’re a fan or not of Rodrigo’s music, I would recommend this film a hundred times over. The music was great, the costumes were gorgeous, and despite the fact that I couldn’t get tickets to the official tour, I still felt like I was there.