Michael Jackson Biopic Proves Super Problematic Yet Packs a Punch

*There is a key scene in the biopic, “Michael,” in which titular subject Michael Jackson states, “I want to be mysterious.” To a disappointing extent, the ‘King of Pop’ retains much of his ‘Houdini’ disappearing act where this movie is concerned. While Antoine Fuqua’s cinematic take on Jackson goes a long way toward giving a sympathetic and sentimental glance into who the superstar really was, it creates a myriad of woefully unnecessary stumbling blocks. “Michael” takes us from Jackson’s pre-Jackson 5 adolescence to his top of the world mid ‘80s stardom circa the 1988 tour behind his album, Bad. In a nutshell, we see an especially gifted young man who longs to be normal but is drilled to be the very best he can possibly be. Groundbreaking greatness ensues, which whisks the entire family on a magic carpet ride of the Black American dream. However, as the youngest and most talented member of a 5-sibling music group, Michael is placed under punishingly high pressure from an early age – a pressure we are not shown much of any attempt to deal with. The Jacksons were surfing a tsunami with much of Michael’s life played out in the public eye.

The crux of “Michael” the movie is a battle between Michael with his father, Joseph Jackson, a disciplinarian determined to not let anything stand in the way of the absolute most he can get out of life – for himself and his family. Patriarch Jackson is played powerfully by Colman Domingo, easily the most impressive performance of the picture. His single-mindedness, his ego, his frustration and his pain for feeling misunderstood are all brought into fiery focus by Colman. Watch for the scenes between Joseph with Suzanne DePasse and Don King – intense.

In his movie debut, star Jaafar Jackon (real life son of Jermaine Jackson, thus the nephew of Michael Jackson) pulls off a wonder as grownup Michael. While any fan, upon initial sighting, will clearly know that he is not Michael, he morphs into the portrayal with such instinctual and purposed fluidity that you eventually suspend disbelief and marvel at what the first-timer was able to do – clearly with the kind of professional focus MJ possessed in real life. The concert, video and television performances were major things for Jaafar to get under his belt. And, indeed, he shines. But he also tugs your heartstrings dramatically, grappling with the 360 degrees of Michael’s tender soft sides as well as his bullish determinations for all-out world pop dominance.

Writing this screenplay had to be a headbanging challenge for John Logan. With legal hurdles and the refusal of certain family members to have their likenesses included, there were many landmines to dodge. Ditto for director Antoine Fuqua who had to reshoot a sizable percentage of the movie due to similar issues. However, to righteously document an artist such as Michael Jackson whose very essence was rhythm, the pacing of this movie is plagued by too many irregular heartbeats. One huge problem is that for longtime fans and pop culture connoisseurs – even those who are specifically fanatical just to Jackson – there are way too many glaring discrepancies which make it hard to just go along with the flow. Leaping over many years and milestones altogether such as Michael’s film debut in “The Wiz,” the set on which he became close to music producer Quincy Jones, or ID’ing Off The Wall as his first solo album after he’d already recorded four for Motown, etc. There is no reason for plot holes such as this. Then there are the sweeping creative licenses taken with on the record facts such as who choreographed the “Beat It” video, or framing “ABC” as the J5’s breakout song when it was “I Want You Back.” One use of creative license was so out of pocket that it was addressed in the end credits of “Michael”: that Clifton Davis composed “Never Can Say Goodbye” several years later than when the J5 are shown to perform it in the movie (!!). Mother Katherine Jackson was a loving, supportive and (when she could be) protective force for Michael and the rest of her children. As a role, it does not offer big emotional moments. But Nia Long gives ‘Katherine’ the dignified quiet fire the role requires – a performance that prepares all for future casting possibilities.

Kudos to supporting cast members Larenz Tate as ‘Berry Gordy,’ Kendrick Sampson as ‘Quincy Jones,’ Juliano Valdi as pre-teen ‘Michael’ and KeiLyn Durrell Jones as Michael’s personal security ‘Bill Bray’ for making the most out of tall roles given short screen time. Unfortunately. brothers Jackie, Tito, Jermaine and Marlon come off as merely a monolith – just “the brothers” with none of them standing out with any unique personality.

Additionally, Michael is not shown to have any love interest or dating history whatsoever. This, despite that he was an international heartthrob who had young people fainting at the sight of him. Love nor sex is addressed at all. Trust…I could go on… Apparently, there is a Part 2 forthcoming. Hopefully, more of this epic man’s untouchable life can be better diffused and dissected by then. But here’s the thing. By the time you get through Michael’s tips of the hat to James Brown, Jackie Wilson, Charlie Chaplin and Vincent Price, his menagerie of exotic pets, his kindred spirit to “Peter Pan,” the creation of the Thriller album and ‘short film,’ his nose job, the scalp-searing stage accident of the Pepsi commercial, soldiering through the North American “Jackson’s Victory Tour” solely for the benefit of his family, and his roundabout manners of sidestepping then, ultimately, liberating himself from father Joseph, you can’t help but be awestruck.

And it’s all set to just a small percentage of some of the most infectious well-known pop songs of all time. Stay through the end credits – a couple you wish were in the movie will still rock you down the theater aisles and back to reality. Fans old and new will not be able to resist seeing and enjoying “Michael.” However, his white rhinestoned glove of mystery only comes down but so far.

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