Jeanine T. Abraham VisAbleBlackwoman (Medium) Feb 9, 2026 5/5

The fact that she comes from a working-class Black family where both of her parents worked and did what they could to give their kids the foundation in which to thrive in a country designed to use Black people up and kill us young.

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Alex Bentley CultureMap Feb 16, 2021

Becoming is a welcome reminder that Michelle Obama continues to be a force for good in a world where that can sometimes feel like a resource in short supply.

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Carla Hay Culture Mix Jul 18, 2020

The movie hits some very familiar beats that are often seen in tour documentaries. There's a 'feel-good home movie' approach to the documentary, as opposed to a 'journalistic exposé' approach. Some people will have a problem with that, while others won't.

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Joel Keller Decider Jul 2, 2020

It's definitely the most intimate portrait of Michelle Obama we've seen committed to film.

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Martha K. Baker KDHX (St. Louis) Jun 8, 2020

Becoming is educational, encouraging -- and becoming in every sense of the word.

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Rhodé Marshall City Press (South Africa) May 28, 2020 4/5

If you're looking for something to watch to make you feel like the world will get better and that there's hope, watch Becoming.

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Euan Ferguson Guardian May 26, 2020

Michelle told her story with charm, grit, adventurism and several appalling book-tour choices of dress.

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Shannon M. Houston Paste Magazine May 19, 2020 6.5/10

Watching a young black girl, giddy as she imitates the former First Lady's walk down a hall, we get the sense that the mere experience of being in the same space as Obama will change some of these girls forever. They light up the screen.

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Paul McGuire Grimes KSTP-TV (St. Paul, MN) May 19, 2020 4/5

You feel a connection with Michelle Obama. She reminds us that you don't have to be the loudest one in the room or even the nastiest one to be heard. It's what we need to hear right now.

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Camilla Long The Times (UK) May 18, 2020

Scrape away the gush and the swaggy fashion, and a fascinating portrait emerged of a rather unhappy and discontented high achiever.

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Adrian Hennigan Haaretz May 18, 2020

"Becoming" is still a quietly informative, uplifting film.

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Yvonne Bohwongprasert Bangkok Post May 16, 2020

So why watch Becoming? For the simple reason that her life story resounds with hope for a better tomorrow, which starts by telling one's story.

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Rachel Wagner rachelsreviews.net May 14, 2020 4/10

The frustrating part of this documentary is it is so safe!

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Peter Canavese Celluloid Dreams May 14, 2020 2.5/4

This slickly produced companion piece to Michelle Obama's 2018 memoir takes you inside her rock-star world, with an asterisk.

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Sandra Hall Sydney Morning Herald May 13, 2020 3.5/5

With Obama herself as narrator, it's a personal diary -- bereft of tension and short on surprises with a perpetually sunny guide treating you to an intimate but selective tour of her life so far.

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Eleanor Ringel Cater Saporta Report (Atlanta) May 12, 2020

The movie works efficiently as biography.

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Jo Livingstone The New Republic May 12, 2020

The sad, unintended moral of Becoming is that if this country never sees a President Michelle Obama, it is our own fault.

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MaryAnn Johanson Flick Filosopher May 12, 2020 3.5/5

Verges on an ad for Michelle Obama's memoir, but a sincerely warm one. We glimpse a woman authentically funny, self-aware, down-to-earth. Like spending time with a friend you didn't realize you had.

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Linda and Al Lerner Movies and Shakers May 12, 2020

This former First Lady doesn't settle any scores here, following her mantra, "When they go low, you go high." The film is well constructed so that you'll understand what it's like to be with a political rock star on a high-powered book tour.

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Alexis Nedd Mashable May 12, 2020

It's a testament to her hard work as First Lady and as a private citizen that the sparkling glimpse it offers feels like more than enough.

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