"Melania, director Brett Ratner's ode to First Lady Melania Trump, opens with two baffling needle drops. The movie begins with drone footage of the Mar-a-Lago resort, which does in fact look like a very nice country club for the gaudy and elderly - accompanied by Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Fortunate Son," the classic anti-war anthem typically used to lazily suggest that a film is taking place during the Vietnam War."
"Later in the film, it's revealed that Melania's favorite musical artist is Jackson and "Billie Jean" is her favorite of his songs. (You know, the song about a mistress trying to baby-trap a dude.) The Creedence, meanwhile, might be a nod to Trump's obsession with the song, but it also helpfully establishes that the viewer should seek no deeper meaning or symbolism in anything that's about to happen on screen, that everything will be as shallow and meaningless as that one song choice."
Melania opens with drone footage of Mar-a-Lago and unexpected needle drops of Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Fortunate Son" and Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean." The film presents 20 days in the First Lady's life in January 2025 with an emphasis on surface details and wardrobe. The production reportedly cost Amazon MGM Studios $40 million to acquire and $35 million to promote. For the first hour, Melania readies Donald Trump's return to office by fussing over outfits, attending ceremony planning meetings, and meeting figures including an interior designer, Queen Rania of Jordan, and an Israeli woman taken hostage in the October 2023 Hamas attack.
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