On Monday a friend of mine asked me if I wanted to go see the new Michael Jackson movie, This Is It with him and his fiancée this Friday. I told him at the time that it sounded like fun, especially since I haven’t hung out with the two of them much since summer ended. But, while I accepted the invitation, I expressed concern that perhaps the movie might not be all it’s cracked up to be. And in truth I had no intention of seeing it prior to being asked. I explained my suspicion that a 2-hour film of Michael Jackson rehearsing with his background dancers could get boring pretty quickly for all but the most stalwart MJ fans. However, by the end of the conversation I decided I’d give it a shot, since I had heard nothing but positive reviews up to that point.
Then, this evening when I got home from school, I decided to look up a few reviews of the film online. I had heard that the it was number 2 at the box office over the weekend, and Mohit, the resident movie critic at the local urban radio station, said on Saturday that movie-goers should take a chance on this one, as they would be pleasantly surprised. To me, the idea of watching this movie at the theatre was like paying $15 to sit in the upper bowl of the Air Canada Centre to watch the Raptors practice. I just couldn’t understand what about this movie could possibly warrant such a buzz. So curiosity compelled me to investigate and see what all the fuss was about.
First I went to rottentomatoes.com, where the film had an overall rating of 81%, second only to Paranormal Activity among current blockbusters. I skimmed review after review from noted critics, all of whom wrote glowingly about the movie. Roger Ebert even went so far as to call the film, an “extraordinary documentary”. Eventually I couldn’t take it anymore. I simply had to find see for myself what these people were talking about. I found a link and streamed a bootlegged version right then and there, knowing that this would pre-empt the possibility of having a mutually enjoyable movie experience on Friday.
Within the first 2 minutes, all my suspicions were completely validated. The film is literally a haphazard patchwork of footage of Michael Jackson rehearsing for what would have been his final concert in London. The rehearsal footage is broken up by some gratuitous, superficial interview clips, as well as a few snippets from classic Michael Jackson videos and appearances. I guess my first clue was when the film opened with gushing testimonials from the show’s background dancers, several of whom were reduced to tears (both men and women) as they explained to Michael Jackson himself (through the camera lens) how honoured they felt to have the opportunity to perform with the king of pop.
The film’s producers are very open about the fact that everything in it was greenlighted by Jackson’s estate, so you know right away that it isn’t going to show anything juicy. The movie’s only redeeming quality is the fact that it features some really cool dancing by both Michael and his incredibly talented background dancers. Hardcore Michael Jackson fans will be pleased to see that, at the age of 50, he still had it. Apart from this though, the movie reminded me of those music videos, where a self-indulgent band decides to save the money needed to pay directors, stylists etc. by making a 4-minute montage of tour footage, complete with flattering pictorials of all their backstage romps. If you want to know what watching this movie would be like, picture watching one of those videos... for 2 hours... minus the hot groupies. So this weekend, if you’re looking for a flick that will engage you and provide you with an experience beyond anything you could get with a 10-minute youtube clip, save your $13.50, because this is not it.
Dear Kai,
As the analytical person that you are, I am not surprised that you have dissected, analyzed and filed this film under “put here the category of useless films that you prefer”.
I don’t expect that my explanation will change your mind but I’m still going to attempt to give you a sense of what this movie meant for millions of true fans of MJ such as myself…
I started listening to Michael Jackson before I knew how to speak English. Actually, my mother could tell you a story about how I started walking (and tumbling) to the beat of “Rock with you” by MJ. Needless to say, the years went by and my passion for him grew, as the hits kept coming.
Now fast forward to 2009. MJ the idol of millions…scrap that… my idol… is dead. He died after what one could arguably call the “longest and most infamous media bashing and smear campaign in history”. I cannot recall a single person being a victim of such ridicule, contempt outright hatred for that long of a time. Whether you think the things written and said about MJ were warranted or not, that could be the topic of your next blog. But then the movie came out…
What many like you couldn’t see from your 10-minute clip (and perhaps not even a 2-hour one), is that “This is it” showed the human side behind MJ the celebrity. His humor, perfectionism, bossy attitude, passion, kindness, spirituality, impatience emanated through the big screen; unfiltered and unbiased.
Kai, 20 years later, during those 2 hours I felt like that little boy trying to learn the steps of “The way you make feel” again. This might not mean much to you but this film brought back emotions but most importantly brought closure. I wish I could find a better way to spend $13.50.
Thank you!...finally someone with some sense in the matter.