I’ll be honest: I’m not a big Michael Jackson fan. Then again, I don’t think I’d call myself a big fan of most musicians. Jackson is a little special, though, because I remember precisely where I was when I found out about him. I was sitting in my third grade classroom, overhearing two classmates talking about him, and I asked who Michael Jackson was. The classmates, girls in my memory, turned to look at me like I had two heads and seemed baffled that I didn’t know who Michael Jackson was. I also remember being on a Southern road trip when he died, and my companion–who I would later marry and divorce–said Jackson’s death would be like when John Lennon died. I figured Jackson hadn’t had a huge hit record in I-don’t-know-how-long and would be more like when George Harrison died: tragic but quieter. I was very wrong.
I think the point is I have long been underestimating the appeal of Michael Jackson for some reason. Chalk it up to my general ignorance of popular music. As it is, I usually try to see most big releases, and my girlfriend actually has a minor weakness for musical biopics, so we both went to this one.
Covering roughly twenty years of Michael’s life, the movie basically follows the standard musical biopic formula: start with the subject about to go on stage for a big concert, flashback to his youth, show his troubled journey there, and hit as many of the big hit songs as possible before getting back to the concert at the beginning of the movie. Starting with Michael’s childhood in Gary, Indiana, where Joseph Jackson (Colman Domingo) works his five sons constantly to become the Jackson 5, where young Michael (Juliano Krue Valdi) shows a special talent from the very beginning. Joseph grills his boys to perfection, much to the quiet dismay of his wife Katherine (Nia Long), and it is noteworthy that, even as a child, Michael and his four brothers call their father “Joseph” instead of “dad” or something along those lines.
Time passes and Michael grows up, played as an adult by Michael’s nephew Jaafar, who certainly does look and move like his famous uncle. He tries to go off and go solo, but Joseph is always there. When Michael does need to make a move against his dad, or at least do something on his own that Joseph might not approve of, he’ll ask someone to do it on his behalf. As Joseph continues to think of his sons as a brand, where he makes decisions about what Michael will or won’t do, without even consulting his superstar son. Michael, meanwhile, is just happy to sign autographs, visit kids in the hospital, collect exotic pets, and play children’s games, and everyone around him just sees he’s so darn special. Can Michael get out from under Joseph’s shadow?
Not to exaggerate, but I’m not kidding when I say the movie makes Michael a nearly flawless character. That’s to be expected: Michael’s four brothers and his sister LaToya are all listed as executive producers, as is Michael’s lawyer/agent John Branca (played in the movie by Miles Teller). There’s very little chance this movie was ever going to get to the more controversial aspects of Michael’s life. If anything, the story ends before it gets that far. There’s one villain on display, and it’s Joseph. Everyone else is just glad to let Michael get his gift for music out to the world. Heck, Michael doesn’t even get the standard drug addiction or ugly break-up scene with a first wife that comes with most movies of this sort. Then again, sister Janet doesn’t get so much as a mention, and I’m sure there’s a reason for it, but I don’t really have much interest in looking it up right now. The entire conflict here is when and how will Michael break Joseph’s hold on him.
So, don’t go in expecting a nuanced look into the life of Michael Jackson, and be aware this is director Antoine Fuqua at work, and my general impression of his stuff is it is fine, but not overly remarkable, and the best often has Denzel Washington in there somewhere. Michael is a perfectly fine musical biography. Michael Jackson’s fans will almost certainly love it. The music is still good. It’s entertaining for what it is. However, what it is is a completely uncritical look at Michael Jackson’s life and early career. It’s setting Michael up as a musical legend without doing what oh-so-many biopics don’t do and offer a really critical look at the subject at the center of the movie. If all you want is to hit the highlights and enjoy the music, you’ll be fine and probably enjoy this movie. If you want more, well, you’ll probably still enjoy the movie, but there’s not much more going on here beyond saying Michael was great and then playing the songs to prove it. Me, I like a bit more than that.
Grade: C+
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