Allee Willis, Songwriting Legend, Gets Her Due In New Documentary
"My message is 'Live life as a creative process...If you have a weakness, turn it into a hook,'" said the late American songwriter Allee Willis—a quote that not only perfectly sums up her never-dull life and career but also a new documentary, The World According to Allee Willis , which premiered in theaters this past Friday.
Directed by Alexis Manya Spraic, the film offers a fascinating look at an artist whose name may not be recognizable to most people, but the songs she penned are universal classics — among them "September" and "Boogie Wonderland" by Earth, Wind & Fire; "What Have I Done to Deserve This" by Pet Shop Boys; and "I'll Be There For You (Theme from Friends ) " by the Rembrandts.
Before she died in 2019 at age 72, the funny and extroverted Willis left behind an impressive body of work that earned her Grammy, Tony and Emmy nominations and wins over five decades. As Spraic described Willis' songwriting sensibilities in the documentary's production notes: "Her lyrics, incidentally, were extremely raw and revealing — they were just cleverly disguised by her infectious, upbeat hooks, so she could keep her image as 'the most positive person you'll ever meet,' but still express her innermost feelings."
Outside of those accomplishments, as the film shows, the Detroit-raised Willis was also a multimedia artist whose stylish clothing and home decor reveal a quirky and eccentric point of view so rooted in retro (especially '80s) culture. Less well-known is that she was one of the earliest Internet pioneers who remarkably envisioned an online social network long before platforms such as Facebook and TikTok became prevalent in our society today.
Spraic's documentary tackles the California-based songwriter's talents and artistic endeavors drawing mostly from plentiful archival video and audio footage that Willis herself meticulously recorded and saved. They are accompanied by remembrances from her famous friends such as Paul Reubens, Bruce Vilanch, Lesley Ann Warren, Mark Cuban, Cyndi Lauper, Pamela Adlon and Patti LaBelle as well as her siblings such as her brother Kent Willis, who says in the film: "She was fearless... because she took chances to do what she wanted."
To those who knew her, Willis was the life of the party who threw celebrity filled bashes at her home as if they were art salons. But as The World According to Allee Willis shows, Willis throughout her life struggled to conform to gender norms and expectations (her partner Prudence Felton is featured in the film and also served as its executive producer). As Willis could be heard saying in the doc: "I constantly questioned my femininity and I hated that. I had a running emotional struggle, which was 'Am I acting like a woman?'" — a dilemma exacerbated after she released her first and sole album, 1974's Childstar .
Until the end of her life, Allee Willis never stopped creating whether it was her co-writing the songs for the Tony-nominated musical adaptation of The Color Purple or performing a series of one-woman shows on stage. It is unknown whether she knew she wouldn't be around to realize her final project — an "art piece" by "someone putting together the trail I have left behind" — which is may be why Willis recorded and curated all this footage and documentation of her life over the decades. Fortunately, through Spraic's lively and poignant film, that wish has now been fulfilled.
The World According to Allee Willis, directed by Alexis Manya Spraic, is in theaters now and will be available digitally on Nov. 22.
Allee Willis' songwriting credits include:
"September," "In the Stone" and "Boogie Wonderland" – Earth, Wind & Fire
"What Have I Done to Deserve This" – Pet Shop Boys
"Neutron Dance" – The Pointer Sisters
"Who Let the Rain In" – Cyndi Lauper
"I'll Be There for You (Theme from Friends)" – The Rembrandts
"Got You on My Mind" – Bonnie Raitt
"Little Girls" and "Stir It Up" – Patti LaBelle
"I'm Here" (from the musical The Color Purple) – Cynthia Erivo
