In Michael Jackson’s This is It we watch as the late King of Pop “sizzles” on stage. He lets musical moments “simmer” and his only concern is to ensure the audience is “nourished.” Jackson sounds as good as he ever has, but it’s impossible to ignore his thin and frail frame as well as moments of deep breathing and not think about the circumstances involved in bringing this footage to the big screen.
What is being shown in theaters was never intended to be seen by anyone other than Michael Jackson for his own private reference material, and yet mere hours after his death the promoter of what was to be Jackson’s comeback/farewell concert, AEG Live, snatched up over 100 hours of footage and began shopping it around in order to recoup over $30 million in concert production costs and the $85 million in ticket sales that would now have to be refunded. Can these facts simply be ignored while watching this movie?
Is it right? Is it too soon? Is it macabre? While watching Jackson as he preps for what was to be a 50-night run of concerts at London’s O2 Arena these are the things that started to go through my mind.
Starting with “Wanna Be Starting Something” and ending with “Man in the Mirror” before the credits role and the newly released title track begins to play, this is something of a musical retrospective of Jackson’s career. I will give credit to director Kenny Ortega, who is also represented in the film itself as creative director in charge of the concert series (and Jackson’s “yes” man), for remaining as faithful as he could to the idea this was a concert film and not a behind-the-scenes film interviewing dancers telling us how much Michael meant to them (something that’s gotten out of the way early and only revisited one other time).
Rehearsal performances of “Human Nature,” “The Way You Make Me Feel” and “I Just Can’t Stop Loving You” stand out as the most moving and complete portions of the film as Jackson would often reign things in, not wanting to strain his voice, but would rarely slack off when it came to his moves.
Very little about what is shown on screen indicates the fate that would soon befall Jackson, and as a result many fans, such as those at This-Is-Not-It.com, may look at this as some sort of a cover-up. In actuality, had that become the subject matter of this feature we would have ventured out of the realm of the macabre and squarely into the world of the morbid. Hard to tell if one or the other is more appropriate, but it’s easy to decide which one is the more family friendly business decision.
While I enjoyed moments when Jackson would take time to work out musical choices with his band or encourage one of his guitarists telling her, “This is your time to shine,” I found myself increasingly bored with the musical performances themselves. I’ve seen every music video and as many of Jackson’s televised performances I could, and I wasn’t getting anything all that new here. However, the in-between moments were extremely fascinating and led me to believe had we been watching the finished project this would have been a concert to behold with pyrotechnics galore, film tributes including Gilda, In a Lonely Place and His Girl Friday serving as the backdrop for “Smooth Criminal” and even a 3-D film that was to play in the background during “Thriller.” This would have been a concert to bring the house down, but it ultimately became a prelude to the death of Michael Jackson and headline fodder for a $60 million business deal between AEG and Columbia Pictures.
Make no mistake about it, this is not a tribute to Michael Jackson as many are making it out to be. This is merely a cash grab and as such it tainted my entire experience. I don’t know about you, but quotes from AEG CEO Randy Phillips saying, “He was our partner in life and now he’s our partner in death,” are quotes I simply I can’t get over. I let my opinion of Michael Jackson be known the day after his death and suffice to say he was easily one of my favorite musical performers of all-time. To watch his final moments on screen as companies seek to make a profit and to know behind-the-scenes an irresponsible doctor would soon be the cause of his death it seems there will be no end to the attempts to bleed Jackson dry, and I have a hard time finding enjoyment under such circumstances.
