A little more than a month after the Melania documentary failed to make a splash at the box office (different story as a pop culture moment), when it debuted on the 2026 movie schedule, I noticed that the controversial doc about the former and current First Lady was streaming with an Amazon subscription. For one reason or another, I decided to watch it. Let me tell you, it’s the most unrelatable thing I’ve watched all year.
It’s not that the Brett Ratner-directed chronicle of Melania Trump’s life in the weeks leading up to her husband’s 2025 inauguration is a poorly-made documentary, as the cinematography and needle drops (the ones they were allowed to use) are top-notch. It’s just that this 104-minute doc is painfully tone deaf, out of touch, and incredibly hard to relate to. Well, except for one conversation that really hit home and made me laugh.
The Phone Conversation After The Election Results Were Certified Is Killing Me
I don’t know if Brett Ratner, Amazon, and everyone else involved with this documentary were trying to humanize the Trump family, but there’s one moment that pulls this off, even if it was unintentional. Partway through Melania, the camera crew captures a moment between President-Elect Donald Trump and his wife, where he calls to talk about the election results being certified, and it’s the most hilarious thing I’ve seen all year.
We don’t see the 47th President of the United States, but he sounds so excited as he talks about his “historic” 312-226 victory of Kamala Harris in the 2024 Presidential Election. What we do see is his wife looking so uninterested in the conversation with her short answers and rushed tone. When asked if she watched the results, she says she’ll watch it later. When he tries to talk about it, she starts cutting him off and saying things like “yeah” in a way that I’ve heard my wife use when I interrupt her at work to talk about a new 4K restoration of some random ‘80s action movie.
The scene, which was teased in the Melania trailer a few months ago, is something I haven’t been able to think about since finishing the doc, and it’s because most of us have been there before. I’m not just talking about being the person being cut off on the phone, but also the person doing everything they can to end the conversation.
More Scenes Like This Would Have Made For A More Interesting Documentary
The documentary spends a considerable amount of time with the President and First Lady together before and during Inauguration Day, offering an unprecedented look into their personal lives. However, a lot of it feels forced, inauthentic, and forced, creating an experience that’s somewhere between reality and fiction. I honestly think that having more interactions like this would have made for a stronger, more relatable, and more interesting final product than the one we got. I don’t know how feasible it would have been to show a more candid side of the First Family, but there were times when they had their guard down, which led to some interesting moments.
I mean, who hasn’t come home after a long party, pulled a plate of leftovers out of the fridge, and had your spouse judge you as they fight sleep and utter exhaustion on a couch? I’ll be the first to admit that it’s happened far too many times.
Melania didn’t change my opinion on the Trump family or the current Administration. However, I do feel like I can relate to them a little better thanks to that one phone conversation.
