Let the Canary Sing

8/4/2023

Director Alison Ellwood’s “Let the Canary Sing,” a straightforward documentary about the life and career of 80s pop icon Cyndi Lauper, would be another forgettable, pedestrian movie if not for its kooky and unconventional subject. Long-celebrated for her unusual style, many will know Lauper as the unique voice behind beloved songs like “She Bop,” “Money Changes Everything” and “Time After Time, but Ellwood shines a light on the personal and social activist side of the music star. It’s so nice to see a film give this likable songbird the cinematic stage for a change. The documentary chronicles Lauper’s childhood and early roots, from an abusive home environment that led to out of control drug use and other self-destructive behavior. She had a rough go of it while growing up in New Yor