The novelist Jackie Collins sprinkled a dusting of glitz and titillation on some very direct and workmanlike storytelling, and made a fortune. And this formulaic but undeniably entertaining documentary takes a similar approach. It’s not the most revealing portrait – Collins was adept at playing “Jackie Collins”, a role every bit as memorable as anything her sister, Joan, was known for. But the public persona acted as a protective carapace around the private woman.
Fortunately, Collins, who died in 2015, was an obsessive self-documenter, and the film has access to a wealth of home video footage that shows Jackie as a charismatic and resilient figure. She took to heart the central message of her books – that women can and should do anything that men can do.