Review: 'Katy Perry' paints incomplete portrait

It's a good thing the makers of "Katy Perry: Part of Me" aren't in politics. They'd probably steal the election.

"Part of Me" and its forerunner, "Justin Bieber: Never Say Never," are mesmerizing pieces of pop propaganda. Both 3-D concert films give a reality TV-style portrait of a young pop star, scrubbed clean: touring sold-out arenas while making Herculean sacrifices, always finding time for their fans and for fun with their entourages.

They're unabashedly commercial and yet kind of fascinating.

That's because "Part of Me" is as good a document as you're likely to find of pop stardom: how it's packaged, how it's sold and what kind of power it holds.

The film, directed by reality show veterans Dan Cutforth and Jane Lipsitz ("Never Say Never," "Project Runway"), follows Perry's 2011 California Dreams world tour.

Much of the film is made up of 3-D concert footage -- shot by other filmmakers and later assembled by Cutforth and Lipsitz.

But much of the documentary is spent telling "Katy's story," and, certainly, the blue-haired 27-year-old is compelling. Raised by Pentecostal ministers, Perry tried Christian songwriting at 13 and later, in L.A., pursued other incarnations.

As artificial as much of the apparatus surrounding Perry may be, none of it works without her charisma. That comes through in "Part of Me," as does her drive to succeed.

"Part of Me," though, doesn't succeed as a full picture of Perry. A less PG-friendly, more complicated version of the star surely exists. The film often feels like a tease, showing only, well, part of Perry.

The "money shot" of the film is when cameras catch Perry crying in her dressing room over her split from husband Russell Brand.

It's an honest moment. The finest shot of "Part of Me" is Perry seconds before she goes on stage that night in Brazil, bent over sobbing and then seconds later flashing a broad smile while chants for "Kay-Tee!" roar. The moment would mean more if it were accompanied by more ! context of Perry's emotional life.

Watching "Part of Me" among girls singing along, Perry's songs feel like anthems of self-empowerment.

The pop experience -- exuberant, superficial, fun, crass -- could hardly be mirrored better.