This last weekend, I revisited a documentary I hadn't seen when it first came out. Janis: Little Girl Blue was produced by Alex Gibney, who has done a whole host of great documentaries, and it goes far beyond what you think you might know about Janis Joplin.

Of course, Joplin was this amazing singer; she was a reckless drinker; she was one of the guys; all the kinds of things that are generally portrayed about here are present, but this documentary goes so much deeper, including going back to her growing up in a small town, Port Arthur, Texas. She was mercilessly bullied there, so when, at 17, Joplin discovered she could sing, she was eager to get far away from there.

The painful thing, despite her accomplishments in music, is we learn that she kept writing these postcards home to her parents — these presumably two squares in Port Arthur, Texas — that would never have an understanding of her success in their minds. But that she was still seeking that approval I think is what breaks my heart.

Janis: Little Girl Blue is available on Amazon Prime, Google Play, YouTube Movies and Vimeo, as well as on the PBS app to members of PBS stations who have set up Passport access (look under American Masters). It's not a feelgood movie, but then, neither is life.

Official Trailer