Fantastic Fest 2018: ‘I Used To Be Normal’ Is One Of The Year’s Best Documentaries

90% of my Fantastic Fest experience was seeing movies for interviews, but there was one film I was going to see regardless of if I had an interview or not. That was the documentary I Used To Be Normal: A Boyband Fangirl Story.

I love pop music, I always have. I’ve always had a secret soft spot in my heart for boy-bands. I Used to Be Normal follows four women of four distinctly different experiences with Boy Bands. There’s the 16 year old One Direction fan, the writer who attended the Backstreet Boys Cruise, the elderly woman obsessed with The Beatles and a mid-30s woman with an obsession with Take That.

In the same way that Won’t You Be My Neighbor did earlier this year, I Used to Be Normal just overwhelms you with good vibes. You will be laughing with (never at) these subjects, you’ll be crying about their stories of the dark times when pop music saved their lives and you will not contain yourself when they play some of your favorite songs. Everyone sitting around me sang along with each song that played throughout the film.

In a world were a documentary about Mr. Rogers didn’t come out, this would be my favorite documentary of the year. It’s the feel-good experience you didn’t know you needed.

Keep your eyes peeled for when I Used To Be Normal plays a festival near you.