Written by Andreas Babiolakis

Diane Warren.

Diane Warren.

Diane Warren?

Diane Warren.

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Diane Warren Diane Warren Diane Warren Diane Warren *Diane Warren: Relentless* Diane Warren Diane Warren.

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Diane.

Translation:

We go through this song and dance every single year for nearly ten entire years; songwriting legend Diane Warren (whose name has been reduced to an unfamiliar set of syllables after, well, the above) has been nominated for Best Original Song at the Academy Awards almost every single year — sans 2016 — since 2014. She has been nominated for films that range from mediocre (The Life Ahead) to outright atrocious (Tell It Like a Woman), but all that matters is whether or not the songs are good. Sometimes, they can be; "I'm Standing with You" is actually quite a beautiful song with that typical Warren oomph found in the otherwise mainly dull Breakthrough. However, not every song has been a slam dunk; "The Fire Inside" feels like a run-of-the-mill radio single that just happens to be attached to a film about the possibly fabricated invention of the flamin' hot Cheetos flavour. And yet Warren gets nominated every single year (for the most part) as if she invented the phonograph (although Diane Edison Warren does have a nice ring to it). So, why does she keep getting nominated if she seemingly never stands a chance to win? She must have incredible friends over at the Academy whose voting members keep her in the Oscars race all of the time.

Not to be entirely cynical (I guess that bridge has already been burned), I must admit that Warren comes off as a diligent worker who is forever chasing that next hit song. Her cohorts sing her praises (sometimes literally; more on that soon). She seems to be fun to be around. Between being a workaholic, a major success in music (I cannot deny my favourite songs of hers, like "Rhythm of the Night" by DeBarge, "The One I Gave My Heart To" by Aaliyah, "Have You Ever?" by Brandy, or — probably one of the only Starship songs I like — "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now"), Warren has left her mark on pop and R&B ballads in both music and film history.

This brings us to Diane Warren: Relentless, and the film is exactly that. Bess Kargman's documentary is well intentioned, but it is meant to be a celebration of a songwriter who, at this point, could feel above the Academy Awards (with how many nominations she has versus her zero wins, never mind all of the success she has had outside of this awards circle). Instead, the film reads like a massive begging session, down on both knees, to get that competitive Oscar (Warren was given an honourary Oscar, which clearly meant a lot to her, so she probably still cares that she's never won one against four other nominees). To be fair, in my opinion, Warren should have had that Oscar already: her song with Mother Monster herself (Lady Gaga) — "Til It Happens to You" from the documentary The Hunting Ground (about sexual violence on college campuses) — absolutely should have beat Sam Smith's so-so James Bond theme song "Writing's on the Wall" (for the equally-forgetable Spectre). This loss is even covered in Relentless, and I do not blame the film for bringing this snub up. Outside of that, I think every other Warren song nominated from 2014 onward did not best the greater nominees each and every single year.

That isn't to say that Warren's songs are outright bad and do not warrant (heh, Warrent) nominations, but the amount of bland to bad films that get nominated for Oscars simply because they commissioned Warren to write a song for them (and her fanbase over at the Academy vote enough for her to slip in as a nominee every time) is staggering. Relentless is one of those films. What starts off as a really loving documentary with many of Warren's friends (Gaga, Cher, Common, Jennifer Hudson — not to rub it in, but all of whom have won Oscars, and I cannot help but wonder if this inclusion is intentional) and some backstories about her youth and rise to fame turns into the ultimate plea to win an Oscar. The film recounts again and again how many nominations she has and how many times she has lost (the final anecdote before we cut to credits is how many nominations she has accrued; if this doesn't prove my point after a film full of these kinds of moments, nothing will). This is kind of like when someone goes on to Facebook to declare how much they don't care about a certain celebrity or politician; you cared enough to post.

Relentless leaves me conflicted. On one hand, seeing the vulnerable misfit who Warren once was feels inspirational. Back in the day — where that weird kid in class was deemed destined to fade (I was that weird kid my whole life, believe me) — you see someone like Warren not change themselves and wind up being better for it. You see how many people adore her and her music, and you learn that it is detrimental to change who we are because we want to appeal to others. On the other, so much of the film feels constructed to demand an Oscar; this honestly feels like Joel Embiid's trophy for Most Valuable Player when the NBA was forced to compromise and bend to his whining (as someone who actually likes Embiid, this win still feels unearned). The film ends with a new song: "Dear Me," sung by Kesha. This song is the epitome of what the film feels like. It's actually a beautiful song — albeit with fairly obvious lyrics (the melody is nice) — about Warren talking to her younger self and assuring her that everything will be okay. Had the documentary been simply about Warren, it would come off as a tender moment.

Instead, this lovely song now appears to be the ultimate dare to the Academy. Here is a song about Diane Warren in a film about Diane Warren submitted for the Academy's consideration after many years of denying Diane Warren (despite always nominating Diane Warren). Is it not an honour enough to be a part of the party — this exclusive event that the majority of people who have ever existed will never experience? This was meant to be a song to Warren's younger self, but it happens to be in a film that is trying to predict her future. The film was meant for us to get to know Warren as a human being, but it only emphasizes the stigma that she is forever scorned that she has never won an Oscar competitively. Relentless did not have to be like this. This is a songwriter who is of mythical proportions in this day and age (her thumbprint is everywhere when it comes to popular music), but the film reduces her to "the most nominated woman to never win an Oscar". Bringing up this point once would have sufficed: making it the film's entire thesis is, I'd argue, completely unfavourable to someone like Diane Warren who, ironically, deserves more.

It also doesn't help that Relentless' best efforts still won't secure Diane Warren a win, because Kesha's admittedly nice song is not "Golden" from KPop Demon Hunters. There's always next year when we get Spike Jonze's return with Being Diane Warren.

Andreas Babiolakis has a Masters degree in Film and Photography Preservation and Collections Management from Toronto Metropolitan University, as well as a Bachelors degree in Cinema Studies from York University. His favourite times of year are the Criterion Collection flash sales and the annual Toronto International Film Festival.