“I’m the world’s best kept secret,” exclaims Allee Willis in the new documentary The World According to Allee Willis. The songwriter, visual artist, and art director had a decades-long career with twists and turns, but Willis was unapologetically herself no matter what. Now her multi-disciplinary artistry, fortitude, and barrier-breaking success in the music industry is explored in director Alexis Spraic’s playful yet personal new film. 

“I don’t think I’ll ever have as unique an experience as going through archives and reading things that are directed to me,” Spraic remarks about Allee Willis’ extensive documentation of her life that she wanted to posthumously create an art project for. From scribbled notes about lyrics for every song to vulnerable diary entries to recording conversations and parties for decades, Willis’ exhaustive archiving of her life from her childhood in Detroit during the 1950s to her colorful adventures in LA until her passing in 2019 was an endless well of material for Spraic. 

The World According to Allee Willis features interviews from Mark Cuban, Patti Labelle , Paul Reubens, Cyndi Lauper, and Paul Feig- and that list of varied personalities shows just how wide-ranging Willis’ influence was.

The project began when Spraic’s friend Paul Reubens mentioned her and then introduced her to Willis’ longtime partner Prudence Fenton, who wanted to make a documentary about Willis. After Spraic discovered the wealth of archives, she connected to Willis’ exploration of self-acceptance and knew she had found the emotional arc for the film. Willis approached life as “a creative process,” and also envisioned her art carrying on after she died. 

Willis’ songwriting is fully embedded in pop culture: hits for Earth, Wind & Fire, Pet Shop Boys, and the Friends theme song “I’ll Be There for You,” music for Broadway, and art directing projects for music videos and MTV.

“In Allee’s diaries, there’s a line that we use in the film where she says she always imagined her final art piece to be someone putting together the trail she left behind if she didn’t lose her nerve and destroy everything before she died,” Spraic remarks. Willis’ diaries unlocked a fragile, vulnerable complexity that she didn’t outwardly display for Spraic to unlock. 

That inability to outwardly express her inner conflicts meant a film project had the ability to share a multi-faceted depiction of her life that wasn’t just about music and fun colors. “I think she wanted to be understood. I don’t think she knew how to be both this beacon of positivity and self-acceptance that she manifested sort of physically and also share those things. I think the film actually does do both,” Spraic says, explaining that “if she couldn’t put it into a joke, if she couldn’t make it palatable, then she wasn’t going to share it with people.” She had difficulty finding solid romantic relationships, and not having the support or acceptance from her father was a continual heartbreak in her life.

Her life being both a celebration of self-expression but also harboring inner conflict is reflected in the music itself: co-writing the joyous Earth, Wind & Fire hit “September” and helping to create the music for The Color Purple musical. 

Don’t get the wrong idea, though. The World According to Allee Willis is a lot of fun. Willis’ larger-than-life personality floods onto the screen with colorful graphics and Willis’ friends quoting her witty quips throughout the film. No matter what personal struggles she had, her sense of humor was never lost. 

Her colorful, structured outfits and fantastical parties made her stand out… even amongst the kooky artists of LA. Her home, adorned with kitschy decor and countless pastiche items she collected over the years, was a haven for her imagination. “Her house is a character in the film, and Allee has such a strong aesthetic, so we definitely leaned into it,” Spraic says about incorporating Willis’ unique home into the film’s graphics and creative direction that played with tropes of 50s Americana, animation, and 80s pastels. 

Willis says during the film to “live life as a creative process,” and the mantra is now carrying on. Allee believed everyone had a creative side, it just needs to be nurtured. The art has value, but artists should also help others find their inner artists. After making the film, Spraic’s ideas about the importance of artists changed. Willis helped her understand that art has value far beyond herself. “I always thought there was something sort of selfish or indulgent about being an artist. I didn’t think about it necessarily in terms of the greater good, so that’s been a really nice gift that she’s given me,” Spraic says. Willis had her wish granted in the end: her art lived on to inspire a form of art.

Much like the maximalism of her style and art direction, the spirit of Willis won’t easily dissipate. “I did really feel her presence in making the film,” Spraic states. “I don’t think it’s the film she would’ve made, but I think it was the film she wanted.”

The World According to Allee Willis, a Magnolia Pictures release, is now available to stream.