Michael Jackson longed to star on the silver screen.
That he finally gets his wish mere months after his death is just one of the many emotional themes on display during “Michael Jackson’s This is It.”
The new documentary, cobbled together from rehearsal footage shot in the run-up to his London comeback tour, reminds us of Jackson’s prodigious talents.
And the complete lack of close-ups help us forget the plastic surgery relief map that transformed a handsome young star into a freak show extraordinaire.
“This is It” sets aside the tabloid headlines, criminal accusations and every other eccentricity in the singer’s playbook. Instead, it’s all about the King of Pop methodically trying to reclaim his throne.
And it’s impossible not to watch the film and wish he were still alive to follow through on his comeback attempt. The film features many near-complete musical numbers, several of which dazzle while others are merely entertaining.
Jackson’s dance moves appear untouched by time and personal tumult, his loose limbs moving in syncopated perfection. His voice is nearly as strong, although on some numbers he’s clearly holding something back. He often tells his fellow dancers as much.
The public never truly got to know the man behind the pop star, and “This is It” doesn’t change that fact. He’s often shown wearing dark sunglasses, and he rarely lets down his celebrity guard.
When he speaks, what comes out is either inaudible or brief, an occasional command to his troops or exclamation of delight when something goes just right.
What we do see is a perfectionist attempting to tweak nearly every aspect of his comeback tour. It’s a small “D” diva demonstration, but one that illustrates Jackson’s grasp of every facet of his career. He knew how to massage a dance number for maximum effect and nudge a note to bring out the best in his inestimable songbook.
Those timeless tracks fuse R&B pulses with pop melodies in a way that has yet to be duplicated.
Some sequences feature the nearly complete visuals meant to accompany them, like a black and white film set to “Smooth Criminal” and a new, 3-D update on Jackson’s iconic “Thriller” video (the sequence is in two dimensions, though).
“This is It” represents a reconfiguration of Jackson’s legacy, an attempt to put the focus back on the singer’s craft and not on his personal life.
Everyone around Jackson defers to his talents – and ego. It’s clear that the sycophants surrounding him for years were incapable of giving him the kind of sober advice that could have turned his career, and life, around.
Even if audiences feel spun by the film, it’s equally clear they’ll lament the loss of the soft spoken legend.
Each musical number in “This is It” ends with near silence, with only a few dancers and stage hands applauding their boss’s efforts.
Audiences the world over will eagerly fill in the gaps with applause of their own.
(Photo: Michael Jackson rehearses for the comeback tour that never was in “Michael Jackson: This is It” /Sony Pictures)
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{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
No doubt about it, Michael Jackson was a talented vocalist and dancer — a true entertainer with a unique charisma. However, when it comes to “those timeless tracks fuse R&B pulses with pop melodies in a way that has yet to be duplicated,” “Thriller”and “Off the Wall” producer Quincy Jones deserves a huge share of the credit for MJ’s best work. Q is tremendously underrated by the general public, but he’s among the very top tier of our country’s most talented musicians. He’s the all-time most nominated Grammy artist, with a total of 76 nominations and 26 awards. He’s also received an Emmy Award and seven Oscar nominations, conducted and arranged for Frank Sinatra and Ray Charles, and performed with jazz legends Dizzy Gillespie and Lionel Hampton. This guy has more talent (and common sense, integrity, and intelligence) than the entire Jackson family. So many media mention MJ’s most successful and timeless works without mentioning Q’s massive contributions to creating the music (and to managing an eccentric musician like MJ like in the studio, no small feat); it just seems wrong to me.
I like that Quincy took the chance to emphasize that he and MJ made history TOGETHER (my emphasis, not his) in this tribute to MJ in the LA Times:
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/music_blog/2009/06/quincy-jones-on-michael-jackson-we-owned-the-80s-and-our-souls-would-be-connected-forever.html
JJ
I hope he got some props in the movie.
That last line was supposed to be a P.S.
Great point, JJ. In addition to everything you’ve posted I’ve heard that Jones is also a heckuva nice fellow. He came up huge, for example, when comic Artie Lange went through his coke problem (according to Lange’s recent memoir).
I was thankful that this production avoided any focus on the negativity that marked MJ’s life. Besides highlighting (without exaggerating) his incredible talent, “This Is It” did a great job of depicting the respect and admiration that followed this artist.
You only mention “his fellow dancers” one time in your review, but I was moved by the relationship he seemed to have with these people. Every single one of them was obviously inspired by Michael. I got the impression they would do anything for him. It’s hard to imagine the grief . . . and then the disappointment they experienced after coming so close to being part of what was to be his comeback.