The documentary from Lisa Cortés explores the legacy of Little Richard and how massive his impact was on the future of rock & roll. Little Richard: I Am Everything shows a legend torn between two personas. On one hand, Little Richard is one of the first outwardly gay celebrities, a star who reveled in this part of his life and showed the world exactly who he is. But the other version of Little Richard is a man who is struggling with his faith, and the fear that being who he inherently is will hurt him in the next life. Little Richard: I Am Everything keeps coming back to a quote from Richard that says God gave it, show it to the world, and yet, Richard struggles with showing the world exactly how God made him. It’s almost as if Little Richard has a split personality which he had a hard time balancing.
Cortés’ documentary does an excellent job of showing how Little Richard became the superstar he is today, exploring his youth, the drag acts that were becoming popular around the same time as Richard, and the impact that Richard had on the future of music history. Richard likes to claim that he’s “the one that started it all,” and Cortés does an excellent job of presenting the facts, showing that, in fact, he did start it all, and he deserves more credit than he received when he was alive.