Anna Nicole Smith: You Don't Know Me (2023) User Reviews

Better skip this review if you're a die-hard Anna Nicole Smith fan

[Roma73 · 7/10 · 16 May 2023]

I've always thought of Anne Nicole Smith as a not too bright, cheap-white-trashy country girl. Having watched this, I haven't changed my mind (though her childhood wasn't as poor as she claimed) but she sure comes off as way dumber than I thought.

The affected voice and mannerisms, it just had me cringe over and over. It even made this difficult to watch at times, as did the blatant narcissism. Personally, I never thought her attractive, there was nothing subtle or magical about her, it was a hype I never understood. In this documentary, Anne Nicole Smith comes off as a sadly desperate wannabe - a Marilyn Monroe wannabe, for one, which she was far from. Monroe was authentically goodlooking and actually quite bright (I've read excerpts of her diaries), and had an air of mystery and class and depth. Anne was none of these things. It's like comparing diamonds to gaudy strass. Even Smith's sexually abusive childhood was a lie (to imitate Monroe, I guess), which is a slap in the face to people with real such childhoods.

And the phone calls with Marshall? Entertaining for us to listen in, perhaps, but who recorded them and why? (Does anybody else wonder, I wonder?) Some interactions with the old man and Smith's young son felt borderline abusive to me. The kid calling this very old man "dad" felt off and wrong somehow, like it's all acted and the kid is forced to play along with this folie a deux, this theatre. And no, I'm not even that biased against young bombshells hooking up with billionaire geriatrics (love comes in many shapes), I'm simply biased against these two unstable individuals. Also, I never understood why she wanted HALF of Marshall's money. Couldn't she have settled for a few million, wait what, a million?

To people still insisting she was a "great mom": women who take methadone and god knows what else in the eight month of their pregnancy aren't exemplary mothers, nor are those who push their shy sons to go on their narcissist reality shows.

As for the story with her own real dad (no spoilers), if true (which apparently one never knows with Smith), that IS a sad story, yet my God was she naive!

I'm giving this a fair seven though, because the documentary itself is well made. It's also is a good reminder of what fame can do to the unprepared. But if the makers' intention was to make her more likeable, for me they failed, though by no fault of theirs. That's just what happens when your topic is cheap, daft, superficial, uninteresting, greedy, vain, calculating, manipulative, drug addicted and deceitful.

Beautiful and Bubbly

[moochele · 7/10 · 19 August 2023]

The tall, busty Texas GUESS girl was the "IT GIRL". The sweet girl next door all of us in the south wanted to be. The higher the hair, the closer to god. Outspoken. Going for what she wanted. Frank about sex. Beautiful. Escaping a small town and family problems. In the 90s she was everywhere, so I guess if you didn't experience those years yourself and didn't see the effect she had back then, you're probably one of the negative reviewers. She's no different than any of the modern Instagrammers, TikTok and YouTube wannabes. She was digging for gold long before any of the Kardashians. If she were around today like she was back then, she'd be a sensation! She tried to play the system and lost. The saddest part of it all is her kids got lost, too.

Nothing New

[maydregirl · 5/10 · 20 May 2023]

Well, I don't feel like it was a waste of time to watch this documentary. I also don't think I took a single thing away from that was new.

It was very obviously done in a way that was trying to make key players look completely innocent. There's absolutely no way that some of those closest to her didn't have a hand in giving her what she wanted.

Documentary did include some footage I had never seen before. There was also some touching photos of her with her children. It's just a shame that her life turned out the way it did, and that she had no one there to guide her. She just was so unprepared to handle that level of fame.

@sleepyratingscale- sitting in bed

[thebimp · 7/10 · 24 May 2023]

Sad how so many American famous people we literally watch their rise and downfall. This documentary is about Ms. Smith's life from her start in a small town in Texas, getting married and pregnant at 19 years old, becoming a stripper than Playmate with the rest of her life being history. In this day and age, we don't really see people's claim for fame being Playboy anymore. She was actually a very beautiful woman in the beginning. I think I really forgot about that because I more saw her in The Anna Nicole Show TV series where she usually appeared to be under the influence of some sort of downer drug. So many stars have endless access to drugs because of how much money they have. Per her wiki page, choral hydrate, a sedation med used in the OR was in her system at the time of her death. Reportedly she had a lot of pain issues and at some point was prescribed methadone for her pain. Who are these doctors prescribing sedation meds and such big gun medications for pain?! Same thing happened with Michael Jackson being on propofol. Just straight criminal activity. I didn't realize she didn't get any of her sugar daddy's (89 year old billionaire J. Howard Marshall's) money after he died but he spent millions of his money on her while he was alive. I forgot about so many aspects of her life- her son dying of an OD as well and the whole drama about who was her daughter's baby daddy.

Reality bites

[melissa-05700 · 7/10 · 6 August 2023]

You carry on a relationship with a 90 year old billionaire and family fights you getting a dime after he passes. After court battles it's declared you will receive nothing. You milked him for millions before he died but that was not enough. You get hooked on drugs and your Son follows in your footsteps. He overdosed and died. You continue to abuse pain pills and learn nothing. You lie about your family because it makes more money. It makes you look extra trashy. You use a man to get you pregnant but then try to cut him out of daughters life. It did not work. And then you overdose. Reality bites.

What a life.

[erhanipekciler · 9/10 · 17 May 2023]

I remember Anna Nicole Smith from my childhood and she was really beautiful, almost in every magazine i was seeing her. She was really really famous. In this documentary i felt so sad about her. Story is so classic actually. Poor beautiful girl with some teenage problem and becoming a star immediately and after that unavoidable fact happens... Anna Nicole Smith lived fast and died young. Maybe she did choose this ending.so sad really sad.. I hope she is in better place anymore. I am happy to watch this documentary, in last years i really love Netflix documentaries. This is one of the best again. Watchable, recommended. Do not listen negative comments.

"There's no there there"

[jgreco7 · 2/10 · 16 May 2023]

Gertrude Stein made that statement, rather offhandedly, about the place of her birth, which had vanished. The same can be said about Netflix's documentary "Anna Nicole Smith: You Don't Know Me." Although Smith is gone, she's not completely vanished, as a needless 116 minutes regretfully demonstrates.

Like Venus rising from the sea, or just grow'd like Topsy, she came forth from the dire straits of Texas to dazzle and dumbfound the masses. But don't look too closely for any deep truths or poignant lessons about life and death in her 7,884,000 minutes of fame because there's nothing there. Hers is a story no different from those of many vacuous beauties celebrated by the acquisitive for the inquisitive. Good looks, as the saying goes (and it goes for a good reason) are a dime a dozen. While a beautiful face can take one someplace far from the dusty plaines and crispy fried chicken shacks of Texas, it can take one only so far, and in Smith's case, not far enough.

The tragedy here is self-inflicted, although tragedy is maybe too big a word for so small a matter as the life of Anna Nicole Smith. Any parallels with the extraordinary career of Marilyn Monroe are entirely expedient and included here only to frame a narrative that has no other plausible basis for existing. Cashing her winning ticket in the genetics lottery may have gotten her face in print and provided the means for breast augmentation, but being photogenic without having any real talent is like getting all dressed up with nowhere to go. Except, apparently for Anna, only to wheedle her way into Southfork and land smack dab on the lap of wheelchair bound (eventually bedridden) billionaire J. Howard Marshall, who had by then when they met (at a strip club, naturally) reentered the id stage of his life for the instant gratification he had once gotten from breast feeding. In one inadvertently comical phone conversation (recorded for posterity and a future lawsuit), Smith coyly asks Citizen Marshall if he wants to see his "rosebud," which shows--although one doubts purposely--how anything relevant went over her head, like the use of that word.

Always seeming too much at home with sycophants, she was perhaps naive not to see (or maybe just playacting for cameras) that her shady biological father wanted more than the usual father/daughter relationship, or that her "attorney," Howard (dateless-at-the-prom) K. Stern, didn't have her best interests at heart (but knew he made for good television anyway)--and somewhere in the insanity lost sight of her troubled son. He's the tragedy in this meaningless story.

A statement in the epilogue, the purpose of which may not have been the filmmaker's intention, clarifies for viewers, once and for all, Smith's existence, in that her daughter Dannielynn "inherited nothing," nothing monetarily, but from her mother, getting nothing was always inevitable.

Probably Should have been a Longer Series Instead

[Sarah423 · 8/10 · 20 May 2023]

You Don't Know Me is an overview documentary about a complicated media personality, Anna Nicole Smith.

Some of the complications come from the fact that Smith herself often mixed her real life with an imaginary persona.

This makes her story both sadder and also more frustrating to watch.

---

The two people who loved her most--her husband Marshall and son Daniel--both end up hurt by her lifestyle in spite of her loving them back.

Marshall, a billionaire, had control of his estate taken away as he spends excessive amounts to satisfy Smith's appetite for all things.

He wanted Anna Nicole Smith taken care of, even so, but the documentary briefly informs us that the court sided with his original family, not her.

Son Daniel ends up overdosing, after seemingly stealing drugs and becoming addicted. Treatment was sought, but failed.

Smith herself ends up overdosing.

Thus, in spite of wealth, success, and privilege she has a ruinous ending.

---

Saddest to me was her baby, Dannielynn, left behind and fought over by two fathers. One was put on the birth certificate by Anna Nicole and claimed the baby. The other eventually identified as a biological dad.

I can remember the press trying to frame the first man, Smith's attorney, as a gold digger. The documentary takes a more measured stance. And I honestly felt far worse for him.

He and Smith had agreed to the arrangement and he accepted and acted as a father.

---

Overall, everyone who had contact with Anna Nicole Smith seems to have been somewhat damaged by that association. Even the friend she had back in the early days still seemed to carry scars.

Her brother also seemed heart broken at the end, and one wishes things had gone better for them all.

I still feel bad for Anna Nicole Smith, hounded by fame.

People made fun of her mannerisms, her lack of education, even her weight. All bad.

Even so, the documentary did subtract some of my sympathy for her and move it over to these others who tried their best to make things right. (And are still around having to try to make sense of things even now)

---

This probably should have been longer to give more detail, with additional research done.

But it was still a good overview of a tragic downfall.

She's Just Not That Interesting

[ellelldee · 2/10 · 22 June 2023]

While there are moments where Anna Nicole can be captivating, simply because she's so pretty, she lacks the depth and complexity of her role model, Marilyn Monroe. Where Marilyn moves back and forth from Norma Jean to Marilyn more or less at will, Anna Nicole is kind of one-note.

There are a few interesting aspects of her story, notably the former lover and best friend (a much more interesting and harrowing story, and ultimately a better person), but it's mostly just small-town girl makes it big and becomes famous, but she's not very talented and not very smart, so she seems unable.to manage fame and fortune when she gets it. This doc provides no great insights, but I'm not sure there's all that much to provide insight about. A not terribly deep or smart person finds that fame is not all it's cracked up to be, and all the fame in the world can't make her happy. It's sad, absolutely, but pedestrian.

The coyness about her childhood, revealing the distasteful truth in the end instead of including it in the chronological telling of her story, does the film no favors, and I don't see what narrative purpose it serves, except maybe to make us like her and stick with it to the end. Perhaps they realized she just wasn't that interesting or likeable, just another gold-digging pretty girl who yearns for fame but then doesn't know what to do with it when she gets it, and it ultimately destroys her. Or does it? Maybe her lack of substance or smarts might have lead her to perish similarly in obscurity. Who knows. I suppose she felt that to be like Marilyn, she had to have a horrible childhood, but stealing it from her former lover is pretty sleazy, not to mention to damage to her family.

Just sad and tragic

[SimoCummings · 8/10 · 21 May 2023]

Can't help feeling sorry for this woman and her family.. Just sad from start to finish really. I wonder if she had any real joy at all in her life.. Just unfortunate circumstances throughout.. She had so many advantages in life, people who loved her, a beauty that few are blessed with, but she chose to create a different story which completely messed her up.. She seems to have lived in her head and had a fantasy of how life was or should be, which she built in her mind, and this obviously clashed with the reality of life.. Completely destroyed her in the end. Overall a very sad and tragic story which could have been so very different.

A sad story of a person with multiple layers! [+47%]

[arungeorge13 · 5/10 · 18 May 2023]

Vickie Lynn, who later became Anna Nicole Smith, had great ambitions. Her good looks and confidence helped her get out of her uneventful hometown in Texas, slowly making her way into Playboy and gradually, Hollywood. But her personal life remains an extremely sad one throughout. A conflicting childhood story, various boyfriends who were there for her body, an old-timer billionaire husband who funded her expensive lifestyle, a steady influx of drugs, a paternity case.. nothing's good in the conventional sense of it. Fame, wealth, and attention can only get us so far. In the end, your life purely remains YOUR RESPONSIBILITY. How you ride out that journey, with all its flaws and vulnerabilities, is on you. Knowing the eventual fate of her child Daniel and a shocking twist at the very end, only furthers the distance between Anna and the audiences. This piece is hard to like, even though it touches upon some important bits of her life, and questions at least some of the people in Anna's immediate circle.

A Heartbreaking Glimpse of a Troubled Life

[kcwlsw · 10/10 · 28 May 2023]

Anna Nicole Smith: You Don't Know Me is a documentary that offers a poignant and compassionate exploration of the life of an iconic yet deeply troubled figure. Delving beyond the headlines and tabloid sensationalism, this documentary paints a heartbreaking portrait of Anna Nicole Smith, revealing the vulnerable human being hidden beneath the glamour and tragedy. Through a delicate blend of personal interviews, archival footage, and candid testimonials, the documentary invites me to witness the complexities of fame, addiction, and the relentless pursuit of happiness.

At its core, the documentary stands as a testament to the power of empathy and understanding. It delves into the early struggles and hardships that shaped Anna Nicole's life, exposing the profound impact of poverty, abuse, and abandonment on her journey. By offering glimpses of her vulnerable moments and genuine aspirations, the film challenges our tendency to judge based solely on surface-level perceptions, encouraging us to dig deeper and embrace compassion for those whose lives have been marred by tragedy.

The strength of this documentary lies in its ability to humanize Anna Nicole Smith. It captures her longing for love, acceptance, and stability, revealing the underlying fragility that belied her vivacious and glamorous persona. Through intimate interviews with family members, friends, and colleagues, the documentary provides a multifaceted understanding of the woman behind the headlines, transcending the caricature often associated with her name. It is a stark reminder that behind the fame and fortune, there existed a complex soul yearning for connection and purpose.

"You Don't Know Me" skillfully explores the darker aspects of Anna Nicole's life, particularly her battles with addiction and the toll it took on her mental and physical well-being. The documentary handles these sensitive subjects with care, highlighting the relentless grip of substance abuse while emphasizing the societal pressures and personal demons that contributed to her struggle. By shedding light on the complex interplay between fame, addiction, and mental health, the documentary urges us to question our complicity in perpetuating cycles of suffering and to confront our collective responsibility to support those in need.

While "You Don't Know Me" is a moving tribute to Anna Nicole Smith, it occasionally leaves me longing for a deeper examination of certain aspects of her life. The pacing, at times, feels uneven, and certain moments could have been explored with greater detail and context. However, the documentary's underlying commitment to compassion and understanding mitigates these shortcomings, allowing me to forge a genuine connection with the human being at the heart of the story.

Anna Nicole Smith: You Don't Know Me is a heart-wrenching and compassionate documentary that peels back the layers of a tragically misunderstood figure. It prompts us to reflect on our own judgments, biases, and the societal pressures that can contribute to the unraveling of a person's life. By illuminating the complexities of fame, addiction, and the pursuit of happiness, the documentary serves as a powerful reminder of the importance of empathy and human connection. Through the lens of Anna Nicole's story, we are compelled to examine our collective responsibility to extend compassion to those who struggle, so that no one is left feeling alone and unheard.

The bigger they get

[kosmasp · 8/10 · 16 May 2023]

No pun intended of course - fame, many want it, few can handle it. But it's not just about that, it's personal too. I have to admit, I was unaware of quite a few things. Not just her personality (her body - well everyone knew about that), but her motivation and her private life. That includes all of her family, parents but also her son.

She was larger than life and while she made great news/ratings, her personal demons were too big. Add issues women have to deal with normally, but get bigger when in the public eye ... that includes shaming of all kinds, especially her looks (weight), but also her behavior. People should mind their own business or try to help, not further drag people down.

She seemed sweet, determined, but also gullible and naive. Add pills to an already unstable individual ... and you know it won't end well ...

Sad story

[mls4182 · 2/10 · 18 May 2023]

Anna was leaving the house but couldn't find her hair crunches so she took off her thong and tied her hair up with that."

It doesn't go uphill from there.

Ms. Smith had good skin. She had good features that helped her be photogenic when slim. She had thick hair that bleached up nicely. All the rest was artificial. This we knew.

Was she as shallow as her image? Anything is possible. This show doesn't really answer that question. It seems Anna was very needy. She needed a lot of attention, a lot of what she considered love, a lot of money, a lot of drugs, and a lot of comfort food.

Regardless of her seemingly bad decisions, this is a sad story. I think she truly loved her son and his death was took much for her to bear. It is sad her daughter is without a mother. Hopefully the father is doing right by her.

A sad life and death

[Janet1612 · 2/10 · 26 June 2023]

I'd only heard of ANS through jokes about her looks, her lack of talent and seeing images of a heavily made up woman with a mass of peroxide hair and full figure.

This film was interesting as I like documentaries/ biographies, but I did not like the person portrayed here. It seems from an early age all she wanted was fame and money and planned to do anything to get it - some surgery and even befriending and marrying a very elderly man, and telling the most awful lies about her childhood. Her mum says, ANS told her "no one wants to hear good/happy stories, so making up bad ones doesn't harm anyone plus it makes ME money". Not a thought for her mum or family.

ANS was pretty as a teenage, but the hair and makeup barely hid a a very masculine face and square-ish jawline. She was not a natural beauty. It seems peroxide, eyeliner and glossy lipstick can make you famous - plus some 'glamour' photos. The scenes showing the supermodels of the time clearly defined beautiful classy women and those like ANS, who need accessories to look glamourous. The supermodels are in a totally different class.

There are some other strange people in this film Grabowksi and someone called Ashley who claims to have saved ANS's life. They were extremely difficult to watch.

Anyway, I felt very, very sorry for Daniel ANS's son. A scene at Christmas, with the elderly man in a wheelchair barely breathing. ANS holds a huge framed print of herself in some odd scanty Father Christmas outfit and Daniel says 'what is that mummy?'. Honestly the woman had no dignity. What that poor boy must have endured.

Also interesting was the scene with her on the telephone stating some film roles were in the offering (what is wrong with the world!) Imagine her in The Mask?

Something is very wrong when a person like this can become famous for nothing really, just an image and putting herself out there in the media. To be famous for being famous is a non-life.

Very sad and tragic story, well made documentary

[dessi_jessi · 6 June 2023]

The documentary is top notch. The story of this woman is a rollercoaster which brought her and her most beloved son to their tragic deaths.

It so sad that she made such poor choices in life and that this cost not only her life but her wonderful and sweet-natured son's life.

In the end, there is one beautiful legacy left from this controversial woman - her beautiful baby girl. This makes me happy, that one good thing is left of her, and I hope her daughter lives a beautiful and wholesome life. May God bless her.

In summary the documentary would leave any ordinary person shaken. It is impossible not to be deeply moved by the tragic downfall of this mother and her beloved son.

Maybe we don't want to know you

[jake_fantom · 1/10 · 21 May 2023]

If you can make it through five minutes of this steaming pile of twaddle, please contact me. My septic field recently exploded and I am in desperate need of someone with a truly strong stomach who can get out here and clean up the mess without collapsing from the stench. Folks, I am sorry for Ms. Smith's many misfortunes, and her untimely passing was very sad indeed - but in this documentary she comes across as a truly self-absorbed narcissist and self-aggrandizer who had but a single focus in life: herself. Add to that the fact that she seems to have a room-temperature IQ, a rather paltry vocabulary, and an unashamedly opportunistic outlook - and you've got the recipe for a literally unwatchable documentarian disaster. When will Netflix and the rest of our streaming services come to realize that not every flash-in-the-pan hard-luck "celebrity" merits a two-hour memorial, or even worse, a 10-part interminable "reality" series?

Sad life but a Really Bad "Documentary"full of lies

[connorpanther · 1/10 · 2 July 2023]

Really disappointed. This was basically a trash and burn "documentary" full of lies and misinformation....to try to make those most guilty of enabling and using Anna Nicole Smith look innocent and trashing the people who truly loved her like Larry Birkhead.. It left me angry and upset. Howard K Stern (lieing scumbag lawyer), MoMo the bodyguard (yeah he sure didnt do his job) Misty(so called friend), Hugh Hefner (the pervert lecherous head of Playboy who raped her and passed her around to his buddies), Marilyn Grabowski (the Playboy west coast editor who KNEW Hefner and his buddies raped those women at Playboy ...and said nothing abt that)....and esp that no talent, user designer Bobby Trendy were the worst. Even her mom Vergie Mae Hogan and J Howard Marshall who is dead now was trashed too. They cant even defend themselves against their accusations. The only one who tried to help Anna Nicole and truly loved her was Larry Birkhead whom she was involved with and had a child with... but they esp tried to portray him as a fame hungry user of Anna Nicole Smith. Thats rich coming from all of them...They were the users not him. I felt sorry for him not them. Not one of those closest to her took any responsibility for their actions that contributed to her downfall or death. When she needed them most they all let her down and she died. Did they own that? No. NONE OF THEM owned it. That documentary was so full of inaccuracies it was laughable...It tried to portray them as her closest real friends but clearly they were guilty of being liars, users, and drug pushers... not friends The only one who truly loved and cared abt her besides J Howard Marshall was Larry Birkhead who tried to help her and stop all the users around her from harming her, giving her drugs and using her so they hated him. He wld have stopped their little sordid gravy train w her and wld have prevented them from being around her. They didnt want that. This whole documentary is from their perspective. It was to now trash Birkhead and make them look better. Sad. Thank God Dannielynn Birkhead is with her REAL father Larry Birkhead who has done a great job of raising her..That whole custody battle was abt money and gaining control of that innocent child,. Howard K Stern and Vergie Mae Hogan wld not have been good for her had they won. Thank God Larry Birkhead won that custody case. Bobby Trendy was completely wrong when he said Anna hated Larry. That was a LIE. I hope Anna and Larrys daughter never sees this hit piece so called documentary abt her mother and father. Bc its full of lies.

You'll Be Sleeping After 5 Minutes

[arfdawg-1 · 1/10 · 5 June 2023]

This doc is HORRIBLE!

It's painfully slow.

There is NOTHING new.

The interviews sound scripted and written to fit an agenda.

It's nearly two hours long but feels like an eternity because it's so dang bad.

It should have been entitled "Anna Nicole Smith: You Don't Want to Know Me."

The doc is filled with a bunch of wanna be's you have never heard of. All of them are looking for their 15 minutes of fame bouncing off a grifter who's been dead for close to 20 years!

PLEASE, take some heartfelt advice -- treat this movie like it's the return of Covid and run! You will be very happy if you listen to me.

This film is toxic.

I am no more sympathetic now as when it happened

[cjandt · 2/10 · 27 May 2023]

I am no more inclined to feel sympathy than years ago. There was no depth reqlly to her. Same storey but contrasted. You know the one about abuse but her brother said it didnt happen. I really wasnt convinced although i am sure something happened at some point that made her meaninglessly find identity in men or attention. I still loose respect her cutting qnd lying about the father of her child. You make mystakes, so you raised one on her own then to make it a goal for the other? I raised one on my own. Its not a goal and heaven forbid to repeat? Then add a dad and move somewhere to block another? All off. Like many things about her. What did she do to make an impact on this world? I came hopeful but felt less sympathy. She was always beautiful i will give her that. Better off bot made.

Nothing to see here....

[Venzen · 5/10 · 15 March 2024]

The portrayal of Anna Nicole Smith fails to captivate. Despite a vast array of documentaries, this one adds little to her story. The film's focus on her life as a supposed gold digger and the questioning of her childhood narrative leaves viewers questioning its relevance. While it exposes inconsistencies in her past, it ultimately falls short of providing any meaningful insight or intrigue. Instead, it leaves audiences with a diminished view of her character, feeling that their time could have been better spent elsewhere. In other words This was quite boring, and if anything did nothing for her image whatsoever.