Take 67: Michael

Hurting it all in the family, Jaafar Jackson portrays the heck out of his iconic uncle, in Michael, a musical biopic exploring the life of Michael Jackson from his early beginnings as the front man for the Jackson 5 through his early years as a burgeoning solo act. Along the way, young Michael experiences his share of and all of the profession and personal ups and downs. From onset vitiligo, freak stage accidents, and Joe Jackson, the film explores how these factors set MJ on the path his life would eventually follow while giving Jaafar the chance to create some of the most iconic moments of a musical legend.

As I already said, Jaafar Jackson as Michael Jackson was pretty spot on. There were times where I had to remind myself that the person I was looking at was not in fact Michael Jackson. When late teen/young Michael said his first line, I was blown away. It was pretty much perfect. Colman Domingo was everything I have come to know about Joe Jackson. He was Ike Turner-lite, not as vial thank goodness, but still pretty imposing, controlling and authoritative. And boy, did he look the part! Nia Long, as Katherine Jackson was a great counterpoint to her husband and she was believable as Michael’s quiet protection from Joe’s full onslaught. It was really nice to see Larenz Tate here as a younger Barry Gordy- I could have used a bit more of him for sure, but his performance is great and though his presence is fleeting, its effect for the narrative. I wish I could sing the praises of the rest of the Jackson family. The brothers felt totally interchangeable, but they were fine and the title of the movie IS Michael after all….

As one of the five people on the planet who has never seen The Jacksons: An American Dream, I still felt like I had a pretty good grasp of the story so in many ways, it felt like I had already seen large parts of this. I know that Joe is a terrible taskmaster. Katherine is maternal and does what she can. Michael is obscenely talented—- I get all that. What I was looking for was where this film excelled and offered more. The movie’s greatest strength was the recreations. It was really something to see them recreate the “Don’t Stop Til You Get Enough” and “Thriller” videos. I wasn’t at the Victory Tour but after seeing it on the big screen, I felt like I had. And the infamous hair on fire moment from the Pepsi commercial. Wow. Just hearing about it, it was a blip. I remember sketch shows even making jokes about it. But here, they went in to great length and detail to expand upon it. It’s actually a little horrific and we get a better understanding of the severity of it and how it might have played a major role in his final demise, something I honestly was not expecting.

The attention to detail is this movie was spectacular. It is established that Michael Jackson apparently loved popcorn which makes the meme of him eating it so much funnier now. It was really cool seeing a vintage Atari game box and Strawberry Breyer’s ice cream carton. And I Loved the Gladys Knight (& the Pips) cameo at the beginning of the movie.

What took me out though, were some of the omissions. Gladys Knight shows up, but no Diana Ross at any point? Wasn’t she someone he emmulated early on to some degree? As much as i was hoping to see her when he was a kid, I thought suer we’d get a scene or two about his role as the Scarecrow in The Wiz. Nope. And then the biggest omission- we get plenty of LaToya sprinkled throughout, but not Rebbie? No Janet??? I am not saying they got little screen time. I mean NOOCH. Like how? Again, I realize this is a movie about Michael but to have LaToya right there and not a word or syllable about Rebbie or Janet? That felt pointed and I can now see why she has issues with this.

I guess I have a few issues too. This film does a good job of painting the large strokes of Michael Jackson’s life and it is definitely and impressive showcase of Jaafar Jackson, but the stakes almost felt a little low. It was like it was lacking in plot. Yes, there was tension set up between him and Joe from the beginning but as Michael got older, it seemed less and less important. It feels a little, I dunno, sanitized. The movie ends at 1989 and there is even a card that says “Michael’s Story Continues” so they are absolutely holding out for a sequel. It seems like they are saving the juicy stuff for that. Let’s hope so because as nice as this was to look at, it still felt a little light.

For Jaafar Jackson’s ability to embody his uncle, it gets a 10. For the actual “plot”, yeah, pretty average. Like a 7? Therefore my final score would be about an 8.5. If nothing else, the nostalgia makes this one worthy of view for sure.

Do you agree or do you think I need to Beat it? Let me know in the comments. And until then…