The documentary is a biography of the burlesque pioneer illustrated with interviews and old photographs of the San Francisco-bred gal from her early childhood as a simultaneously rebellious, yet sweet-natured Catholic girl to jet-setter rubbing elbows (and other body parts) with the celebrities of her time. While her fearlessness is what paved her way to erotic entertainer, her innocence informed her appeal. The tough-talking broad (she would ideally be played by Kathleen Turner from the late 1980s to the mid 1990s in the movie version of her life) details her performing antics, as well as details about her private life. "I probably had more class onstage than I did off," she shares, as the list of beaus include Clint Eastwood, Janis Joplin (whom she met at a Redd Foxx show!), as well as a long-running affair with Bobby Darin. Missing from the documentary is a larger context that places Walker's style of burlesque within the dance form's evolution. Dragotta, who produced, directed, lensed, and edited Angel, clocks his film in at a very lean 72-minutes, which still feels like a stretch. By the very nature of Walker's profession, as well as her entrepreneurial spirit and the fact that she is a bisexual who came of age before such a thing was socially acceptable, the subject matter is compelling. The lady must be filled with stories, yet the well here feels largely untapped and results sometimes superficial. Afterwards, at the Q&A, when asked about her "nineteen year old legs" from an audience member, she responded that she sure as Hell wished her tits and ass were that age. There was also discussion about Walker's upcoming biography, so perhaps this filmed document was intended as a simple appetizer for what she has in store with the written word.
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