Taylor Swift dispenses joy for 2 hours, and 48 minutes in her massively successful concert film “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour.”I saw Swift live in 2015. She mesmerized me with both musical performance and stage presence at Wells Fargo Arena in downtown Des Moines. She particularly impressed me with her crowd work. Her stage had a giant rising section that rotated her around the arena so at some point everyone was looking at her straight on.

Swift’s team gave everyone bracelets that lit up during songs, controlled by remote magic.

At one point, she pointed to the fans farthest away and said they might think she couldn’t see them. Swift reminded them of the bracelets and said, “You would be very wrong.”

I thought a concert film would be less than a live show, but I was very wrong.

Swift’s exuberance poured out of the screen into the theater. This was a woman who was having the time of her life, and she wanted every single person watching to come along for the ride.

Director Sam Wrench filmed the Eras Tour during its six-night stay at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California in early August.

Yet, in mid-October in a theater in suburban Des Moines, it felt like Swift played the room live.

She mugs for the camera in all the best ways, with winks and smiles that make the viewer think Swift is doing all this just for them.

The choreography of the show is outstanding from an opening montage of dancers waving giant parachutes adorned with colorful clouds.

They dance for a moment before collapsing the parachutes to the stage and when they rise, there stands Swift as if the heavens dropped down so she could lift us up.

In another dramatic moment, the stage floor video screens project running water and swift dives into the stage as if it were a real pool.

She “swims” the length of the stage to reemerge in a new outfit and launch into a new wave of songs.

I love Swift, which causes some of my friends to cringe. My regular movie buddy declined to go with me even though I’d bought the tickets.

I asked an old friend at my Winterset 30th class reunion, but she, too, never found Swift all that interesting.

This puts me in an odd juxtaposition. Usually, I’m the one who blows off the current fad for tried-and-true favorites.

But Swift compels my attention.

The woman is so popular that her fans are willing to pay scalpers’ prices to Kansas City Chiefs games just to catch a glimpse of her through a glass window.

My favorite part of this is it irks NFL fans, who are rankled that someone is more important than precious football.

The NFL has long been the king of kings when it came to the attention of Americans.

The most-watched TV show of the year is usually the Super Bowl. The halftime show is a coveted gig.

Swift turned it down this year. She’s bigger than the NFL.

Long live the Queen of American Pop Culture.

Swift is arguably the most famous woman in the world, perhaps the most famous woman ever.

I am too young to remember Elvis Presley or the Beatles in their prime, but Swift sprints past them.

The Beatles famously quit touring after a concert at Candlestick Park in San Francisco because they couldn’t hear anything except screaming teenagers.

Neither the Beatles nor Elvis faced mobile phone cameras in the hands of every person on the street or the constant gossip-mongering of social media.

Yet Swift not only endures; she thrives.

Some Chiefs’ fans complained Swift fans were crowding her at Arrowhead Stadium, where she went to watch new beau Travis Kelce, a Chiefs tight end.

The show Chiefs fans wanted to see was the game, but there’s no show bigger than Swift anywhere, anytime.

The U.S. portion of her Eras Tour has grossed an estimated $1 billion.

The film I watched reeled in $128 million on its open weekend, making it the most successful concert film of all time.

Swift may single-handedly revive the movie theater industry, which has struggled post-pandemic in the middle of the streaming wars.

Swift is sharing the wealth. She’s reportedly given her truck drivers and crew members bonuses of $250,000 or more.

I don’t know what roadie makes, but for most Americans, a quarter-million bucks is life-changing money.

The best part of Swift — the very best part — is she seems like a truly decent person.

She’s spoken up on scores of issues, including the way successful women are talked about and treated by the media and society.

Swift is a ridiculously smart businesswoman and a marvelously talented songwriter, director, and all-around creative force.

She’s 33 and worth $740 million dollars. She’s in her prime and on the rise.

She works so hard in the film to let the crowd know their applause and love mean something to her.

Their money has given her the creative freedom to make those joyful sounds.

Others may quibble about who is the greatest of all time and where Swift falls in line.

I don’t.

I struggle with misanthropic tendencies.

It’s rare I’m able to recognize how spectacular, amazing, and truly beautiful something is in the moment.

When I watch Swift on that screen, her music filling the room, I feel my depression lift.

Long live the Queen, indeed.

Middle school teacher Daniel P. Finney is a Marion County Express columnist and sportswriter.

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