A new Israeli film, Presenting Princess Shaw (opening Friday in Bay Area theaters), is both an entertaining 84 minutes of screen time and a fascinating, at times perplexing example of how the World Wide Web, specifically YouTube, has radically altered the way we interact. Prior to the invention of the Web, it's highly unlikely that a lesbian African American aspiring singer, who makes her living as an elder care nurse in New Orleans, would ever have crossed paths with a computer-savvy, bushy-bearded Israeli composer. But Samantha Montgomery and Kutiman do meet, and ultimately collaborate in a real-life story that has fairy-tale overtones laced with an underlining sadness.
There is, of course, the T question, the nagging question that despite her stellar human qualities and her background as a victim of family sexual abuse, does Samantha Montgomery possess a gigantic talent, either as a writer or singer-musician? From what we observe in Presenting Princess Shaw, Montgomery is no Sarah Vaughn, Ella Fitzgerald, Diana Ross or even a Justin Bieber-caliber performing artist. Is the phenomenon on display here just another American Idol moment? Have we, as a music-consuming public, permanently gone so gaga over this instant's fad that we've abandoned all standards and questions of talent and taste?
To their credit, director Ido Haar and the Israeli team responsible for Presenting Princess Shaw focus more on their miraculous third-act highlight, when Montgomery gets her Tel Aviv TV showcase. Ophir Kutiel, known as Kutiman, who originally was secretly taping different YouTube wannabe musicians, steps up and arranges Montgomery's songbook as if he were a latter-day Nelson Riddle in service of a 21st-century Sinatra. The Israeli musicians and audiences rise to the occasion and make Montgomery's stab at stardom truly special.
Through it all Montgomery does herself proud both as a performer and as a companion to her equally charming African American female lover. The film works as human entertainment and bootstrap inspiration. Particularly moving are the yelps of joy from Montgomery's hyper-supportive mom.
A couple of decades back, I was proud when AIDS activist Michael Callen put a truly magnificent vocal instrument to the service of the very daunting early struggle against HIV/AIDS. I was also impressed when a Southern-born, boyishly handsome schoolteacher grabbed the national stage, came out of the closet, and distinguished himself as an out American Idol. Where does Samantha Montgomery stand in the shadow of such LGBTQ heavyweights? See the movie for yourself, and then join the ongoing discussion, where else but on the World Wide Web, where Montgomery got her chance. And finally, make what you will of the film's closing scene, of Montgomery returning to her hospital scrubs.
Samantha Montgomery has an album in the works; fans of LGBTQ music should check out Michael Callen's 1993 Legacy double-album, and Clay Aiken's RCA CD Clay Aiken: A Thousand Different Ways .