While the controversial documentary Melania has been heavily criticized and bombarded with negative reviews, it does have some interesting moments. Here are six times in the Melania documentary where Melania accidentally rolls her face up in a car window.
1. Before The Opening Credits Roll
In an interesting creative choice by the film’s director, we see Melania’s face being rolled up in a car window before the film’s credits even roll. Melania is shown in the back of a limousine waving to a group of fans through an open window, which she then begins to roll up while her head is still hanging well outside the limo. “How do I stop it doing that?!” she shouts to no one in particular, panicking while her lips and ears are fully rolled up in the closed window, the bunched-up skin pinched in the window looking like an elephant ear pastry flopping up and down outside the car with every bump it hits. For a film so universally panned as being an overpriced fluff piece with no real substance, it’s actually a pretty fascinating opening scene.
2. When She’s Being Driven To Trump’s Inauguration And Her Hat Is Too Big For Her Head To Fit In The Limousine So She Drives With It Hanging Out Of The Window And Accidentally Hits The Power Window Switch
The film centers around Trump’s second inauguration, and while everyone certainly remembers the meme-able black-and-white wide-brimmed hat she wore that nearly covered her entire face, there was apparently more to the story. The hat’s huge proportions meant that Melania couldn’t fit her head inside the car that was taking her to the inauguration, so she was forced to ride to the Capitol with her head hanging out of the window like a dog. Unfortunately, she accidentally leaned on the power window switch, causing her face to be quickly crushed by the presidential limo’s bulletproof glass. Apparently, an image of the iconic hat and Melania’s face skin hanging out of the barely cracked window like a cheap Halloween mask was actually used on the first draft of the film’s movie poster, but the filmmakers decided that they didn’t want to spoil such a pivotal scene and ended up scrapping it.
3. When Melania Is Discussing How Proud She Is Of Barron While A Car Window Slowly Rolls Up On Her Face And Twists Her Head A Full 90 Degrees
While the film offers little substance about Trump and Melania’s only child together, Melania does make it clear she is proud of her son. A pride which, apparently, is capable of distracting her from the fact her face is being crushed by the window of a car while speaking about him. After Melania’s skull finally overwhelms the car window’s motor and stops it from rolling up any farther, Melania says through her bunched-up cheeks with her head at a perfect right angle from her neck, “My son’s name is Barron.” It’s an interesting scene which offers a perspective on motherhood rarely seen in film.
4. When She Is Riding In The Hearse Carrying Jimmy Carter’s Body During His Funeral Procession For Some Reason And Intentionally Rolls Her Face Up In The Hearse Window So She Doesn’t Inhale His Ghost
While most of the times Melania rolls her face up in a car window in Melania are accidental, there is one instance where she does it intentionally. During a scene covering the Trumps’ attendance of Jimmy Carter’s funeral service in Washington, Melania finds herself riding along with Carter’s casket in the hearse driving him to his final resting place for an unexplained reason. Melania glances back at the casket stowed in the back of the hearse with fear, rolls down her window, and then immediately rolls it back up leaving only her lips and nose outside. She explains via narration that, “I don’t want to breathe in the ghost so I do this.” Knowing a bit about Melania’s superstitions and the lengths she’ll go to avoid inhaling ghosts actually helps humanize the First Lady who is often criticized for appearing cold and robotic.
5. When She’s On A Video Call With French First Lady Brigitte Macron Discussing Cyberbullying And Accidentally Rolls Her Face Up In Her Car Window And Blames It On Cyberbullying
Much of the film focuses on the First Lady’s attempts to help children, and at one point she consults with French First Lady Brigitte Macron and takes notes on France’s initiatives to combat cyberbullying. Unfortunately, as Macron is explaining that France has banned all social media for children under 11, Melania begins holding down her car’s power window switch and the car’s glass takes hold of most of Melania’s facial skin. The French First Lady watches helplessly while screaming, “Let go! Let go of the window button!” but in the panic the translators facilitating the call accidentally tell Melania to, “Push it harder! Push the window button harder!” resulting in Melania’s entire face temporarily being separated from her skull. After 15 minutes of struggling, Melania is finally able to pull her facial skin back over her skull and finish the call. Apparently unaware that the French First Lady was witness to the entire thing, Melania explains, “Sorry I was gone. I was just victim of a cyberbullying.” Say what you will about Melania being nothing more than a legal bribe by Amazon to President Trump, but there are at least a few scenes here that are nothing like anything you’ve seen before.
