Those of us of a certain vintage will recall the 1985 release of “We Are the World”, a charity pop ballad recorded by a host of American pop and rock stars that raised money to alleviate a devastating famine in Ethiopia. Now the events surrounding its conception are the subject of a feature-length music documentary directed by Bao Nguyen: The Greatest Night in Pop.

It seems a particularly ego-driven title and, in practice, it seems a remarkably ego-driven film. At its centre is popular singer Lionel Ritchie, who is also listed among its producers. The story of “We Are the World” catches him at his career pinnacle – rich in commercial success, showered with awards, and encouraged to write a new fundraising single with Michael Jackson and producer Quincy Jones. In a combination of new interviews and archival footage, Nguyen’s documentary tracks Ritchie through the three weeks of writing, negotiating with pop stars, and recording the song itself.

Overall it is not particularly great. The awe that the film attempts to infuse into “We Are the World” staggers a messy line between borderline absurdity and outright unintentional parody. By the film’s own admission the song is simply copying a project already successfully done by Bob Geldof in the UK. At the same time it is treated as something unprecedented in scale and vision, which comes off feeling weirdly parochial and competitive. There is also the problem that, for a key zeitgeist moment of the 1980s, “We Are the World” is not actually a very good song – something that only one of the film’s interview subjects seems willing to admit.

Where the value can be found is in the recording itself, and key participants’ memories of it. It is a wonderful opportunity to see some of the USA’s most iconic rock and pop stars not so much in private, but certainly in a less guarded fashion than when in front of the general public. It is a documentary worth watching for music fans to see which stars were intimidated and overwhelmed, which were more or less outgoing, who was downright uncomfortable, and which one stormed out in a fit of pique. There is also a particularly unhappy thread about one pop star being exploited in the hope of the project gaining another. There is immense observational value here, and while it does not render The Greatest Night in Pop into something genuinely worthwhile, it does at least make it frequently interesting.

The other interesting element of the film is seeing just how tactically the finished song was put together. Different singers have different ranges and cadences. The challenge of including voices as disparate as Michael Jackson, Cyndi Lauper, Bruce Springsteen, and Bob Dylan together on a song is deceptively immense. “We Are the World” may be a weak song, but it is worth appreciating the speed with which it was made, and the unusual challenges that is presented.

With a short deadline, and challenges of finding talent, a recording venue, keeping everybody happy, and keeping the project secret, this is ultimately a documentary about logistics as it is one about music.

It is an enjoyable documentary in fits and starts, but it constantly struggles to avoid both a sense of bias, and an awareness that many of its key creative figures – like Quincy Jones – have since died. There is particularly a problem with Michael Jackson, also now gone, whose contributions here inevitably sit shadowed by later controversies and accusations of child abuse. Given the overall subject matter, the footage available, and the people in front of the camera, The Greatest Night in Pop is an engaging diversion – kind of like 1980s pop.