By Dominick Buccitti – Editor-in-Chief

Fans may know Demi Lovato as Mitchie Torres from “Camp Rock” and as Sonny Munroe from “Sonny With a Chance,” but they do not know Demi, herself, as well as they thought.

In her YouTube Original documentary, “Demi Lovato: Simply Complicated,” she discusses the hardships of landing roles as a child and teen actress, drug and alcohol addiction, bipolar disorder, and eating disorders. She goes back to the point in her early childhood where she had an alcoholic “birth” father. She coins the term “birth father,” as a way of saying that she considers her stepfather her real dad. Lovato goes into talking about how breaking up with Wilmer Valderrama caused her to learn that she needs to be dependent before she could commit to a real relationship.

A part of her life that Lovato talks deep detail about was how she had a difficulty in landing roles from her youth to her teenage years. She talks about being in Barney, then later Camp Rock and soon following was Sonny with a Chance. Her manager, Phil McIntyre, talks about managing Lovato and how she soon discovers that being a well-known actress and singer caused her sense of childhood to be taken away.

Lovato talks about how she started to use cocaine and drink alcohol in high school. She started using at a young of 17. Lovato went through rehab and soon broke continued using. It was not until her whole team told her to sober up or they would quit. From that point, Lovato has been sober and has not used.

Throughout the documentary, Lovato’s sisters, Dallas Lovato and Madison De La Garza; her mother, Dianna De La Garza, and one of her high school friends make appearances. They discuss Lovato’s best and worst moments at the start of her career.

“Simply Complicated” dove into the dark moments of Lovato’s life. The documentary reveals that Lovato did not live the lucky, stereotypical life that people assign to celebrities. She did not have a happy childhood and she faces daily struggles within her adult life.

“Simply Complicated” is so enlightening and provides the viewer the ability to understand that someone’s struggles do not hinder upon their overall goals or dreams. Lovato teaches the view that it is ok to have struggles and to live life the best way someone can.

It may be called “Simply Complicated,” but there is not complicated about how amazing this documentary was.

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars