Movie Review: This Is It “Is Sizzling”
Michael Joseph Jackson’s untimely death on June 25, 2009 shocked the world. The world’s greatest entertainer had died and far too soon at that. MJ still had work to complete. There was the long rumored new album to launch his “comeback,” which I was anticipating. There was the record-setting 50 sold out shows in London, which he was to perform at the O2 arena. MJ seemed to be laying the groundwork for re-entry into the public music scene again. No one was more excited by this than I was – a loyal fan who’d been following his career since the age of six.
As a child, I had two huge musical influences that played a huge role in my life – Prince & The Revolution and Michael Jackson. MJ’s music first connected with me as a child with his Motown 25 performance. I remember being bedazzled with his performance of “Billie Jean” and of course, the moonwalk. After that performance, I became a fan for life, and I always stayed loyal to him. My faith in MJ as a human being, entertainer, and musical genius never wavered. Where many doubted he could perform the 50 This Is It shows, I never did. After viewing the This Is It film on opening day, it only reaffirmed what I always believed – that MJ still had it.
Note: Some portions of this review contain excerpts from my Twitter film review of This Is It.
When the beginning credits for This Is It rolled, you could feel the reverence, respect, and calm in the crowd. Never felt anything like it.
I actually saw This Is It twice before writing my review. At both showings, I was very much aware that I was amongst MJ fans. For both showings, there was such a respectful tone in the audience, and I really could feel the love and yes, even somberness of the others in the theater. It was definitely an interesting in-theater experience, which I will describe in further detail later.
I could feel the emotion welling up in me within the first two minutes of This Is It. Then the music started, and I was smiling big time!
After the beginning credits rolled, I had a moment where I wondered if the film was going to be sad. The footage of MJ’s background dancers expressing their love and gratitude was touching. To say that the dancers were appreciative of being chosen was an understatement. It was a great way to open up the film, but it also made me a bit emotional. Fortunately, director Kenny Ortega brought the mood up very quickly by cutting to MJ’s “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’.” Within the first few notes of the music, I was wearing a huge smile on my face and head bopping with many other fans in the theater.
This Is It gave me the urge to break out my MJ moves right there in the aisle. Seriously. I was definitely head boppin a lot during the film. For whatever reason, MJ’s music really connected with me in a different way when I watched This Is It. I was really into it.
I’m not one of those people who have the urge to dance when viewing dance/concert films; however, This Is It definitely tempted me to do just that. Obviously, I wasn’t the only one who had that same urge. I watched the audience at both screenings, and many were waving their hands to the music and just “feeling it” as much as I was. There were moments where I was expecting other fans to break out their MJ moves in the aisle as well.
Maybe it was the Dolby Surround Sound. Maybe it was the love amongst the audience for MJ. Or perhaps I just have to “blame it on the boogie,” but the music sounded extra good to me. MJ’s new touring band really had his songs nailed down, and I appreciated their attention to detail (guided by MJ of course). I personally wouldn’t have minded if Sony laced MJ’s recorded vocals on top of the touring band’s live performance of his songs. That would be an album worth adding to my collection for sure. The music sounded just that good to me.
For all of the performances, I was recalling all of the MJ choreography and doing it in my head right along with Michael and the dancers.
As a child, I took professional dance classes and thought I would grow up to become a dancer one day. Since I was a MJ fan, I studied his moves as a dancer and learned many of them – “Thriller,” “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’,” “Billie Jean,” “The Way You Make Me Feel,” etc. Although I hadn’t done much of the choreography in a while, it’s not something I really forgot. I recognized the familiar steps when MJ preformed his signature songs, and I was right there with him (in my head) doing the choreography.
While I watched MJ with his dancers, I noticed he wasn’t extending himself at rehearsals at times; nevertheless, he still had the smooth moves. When he was going full throttle on the dancing, MJ was keeping up with his 20-year-old background dancers with ease. I can only hope I’ll be able to move like that when I turn 50.
As I watched This Is It, I studied MJ. He was a bit smaller than normal, but this man was healthy and vibrant. He still had it!
I couldn’t help but watch for signs that would indicate if something wrong with MJ while he performed. I saw nothing wrong with him, other than him being smaller than I remembered. Everything I saw in the rehearsal footage leads me to believe MJ could have indeed pulled off all 50 concerts without any problems. Of course, I never doubted that he could.
If you didn’t know before, This Is It showed you that MJ was a musical genius! This man’s musicology was amazing. Mad respect for that.
Some scenes I really enjoyed watching involved MJ’s interactions with his touring band. Unsurprisingly, MJ was very involved in how his music sounded and how it would be presented to his fans. As his music director Michael Bearden said, MJ knew his music better than anyone did. That was evident when MJ was working with Bearden on the presentation of the music and challenging lead guitarist, Orianthi Panagaris, to hit certain high notes on her guitar that he sang. MJ would relay exactly how he wanted the music to sound. Not only that, but MJ said something in This Is It that should be the golden standard of all bands and touring bands. MJ informed Bearden during a rehearsal that he wanted his music to sound like how he recorded it. When I heard that, I said, “Thank you!” aloud. MJ wanted his fans to hear his music like the records, and I have a deep appreciation for him caring that we did hear it that way. Other touring bands have played songs for the artist they backed, and I sometimes had no clue what the song was until the artist starting singing it. In other instances, some touring bands were close to how the music sounded but not like the artist’s records. MJ was indeed a perfectionist who cared about the tiniest attention to detail in the music. He wanted it right, not just for himself but also for the fans.
Additionally, I noted there were times when the music just oozed through his soul. It was during those moments when MJ couldn’t help but break out into dance moves when guiding his music director on finely tuned touches he wanted in the music. This man felt his music within every fiber of his being. You could just see it when you watched him. MJ wasn’t shy about expressing how much his music ran through his blood. The spontaneous singing and dancing during the rehearsals clearly showed the love he had for his music. As a fan, I found that extremely enjoyable to experience.
I will note one standout in This Is It and that’s MJ’s female guitarist: Orianthi Panagaris. She was fire! Just as awesome as Jennifer Batten.
Shortly after MJ passed away, I caught a short clip of him performing next to a blonde female guitarist. For a second, I thought MJ had brought back Jennifer Batten, his former lead guitarist for the Bad, Dangerous, and HIStory tours. However, I later learned that it wasn’t Batten but a new face named Orianthi Panagaris. Before the film premiered, I had done a bit of research on Orianthi. I knew she’d played for Carrie Underwood at the 51st annual Grammy Awards. I also had heard a bit of her guitar playing, and I was quite impressed. Still, I mostly stayed away from too many clips of Orianthi’s guitar playing because I wanted to hear her shine in This Is It. And my goodness, shine, did she ever! I knew that like Batten before her, Orianthi played the “Beat It” solo when auditioning for MJ’s touring band. The “Beat It” solo was one moment that I was looking forward to since I know exactly how it’s supposed to sound. When Orianthi started playing the “Beat It” solo, I couldn’t help but be wowed. When she was done playing, I glanced at my youngest brother (who saw the film with me), and he was wearing that same expression of astonishment. She was just as amazing of a guitar player as Batten – both whom is head and shoulders above many of their male counterparts. From that moment forward in This Is It, I kept my eye on Orianthi, even drifting away from MJ at times to study her. She had this cool, funky swagger as a player that I just enjoyed watching, especially during “Black or White.” Similar to my admiration of Batten, I became a fan of Orianthi’s very impressive guitar work.
As for MJ himself, you saw a different side of the icon that you’ve never seen before. He was funny, charming, humble, and into the music.
Over the years, I’d heard MJ’s former backup dancers, background singers, and touring band express their sentiments about the icon. To them, he wasn’t just an icon; MJ was very much a human being. When I watched This Is It, I saw exactly what the people who worked with him saw. The “icon barrier” was down while MJ was rehearsing, and I truly got a peek into the beautiful soul this man had. MJ was patient with his touring band when they made mistakes, and he often ended his “constructive criticism” (more like a gentle please fix this) with a “God bless you” or “that’s with L.O.V.E.” I was touched hearing him say that, so I can only imagine how his touring band felt when he punctuated his “constructive criticism” with loving words at the end.
When he wasn’t being humble and caring towards his band and crew, MJ was quite the charmer and often humorous. I watched him during a couple of songs – “I Just Can’t Stop Loving You” and “The Way You Make Me Feel” – and he was being quite charming towards his female leads. It was there in the way he smiled, moved, and interacted with them on stage. Additionally, I noticed something else during these interactions with his female leads. There have been longstanding rumors that MJ wasn’t really into women (never believed that) and was even perhaps asexual (ridiculous). When I watched MJ and his female leads, I felt he was being a bit flirty (in addition to humorous and charming) when they were rehearsing. Of course, I’ve seen MJ interact with female leads dozens of times in videos and concert footage; however, this was different. I felt like MJ was being his true, everyday self during the This Is It rehearsals. He definitely wasn’t wearing that “King of Pop” persona that he presented to the public. He was just being a flirtatious, charming, and humorous man with his female leads. He also expressed that sense of humor and charm with the band and crew. I found that most interesting to see because it definitely gave me a glimpse into the man, not the musical legend.
This Is It is rehearsals. Anyone who has ever been a musician (me) and dancer (me, too), then you know it’s not polished like a full show. Nevertheless, This Is It gave you an awesome look behind the magic of MJ’s show. It is one of the best concert films I’ve ever seen.
I knew what to expect when I watched This Is It – rehearsals. I knew that I wasn’t going to see MJ at full throttle the entire time. From what I understand, he was told to conserve his voice (something he stated in the film), so there were moments where he didn’t sing during songs. There were also times where he wasn’t dancing during songs, but I knew he would have been had it been the actual concert. Still, I knew these are the kind of things that occur in rehearsals. I felt This Is It was an honest look at how rehearsals run prior to the actual concert. This Is It is not something similar to the Live Concert in Bucharest: The Dangerous Tour concert film. As a result, viewers should have the expectation that rehearsals and concerts are different entities.
I have seen several concert films throughout the years. This Is It achieves a standard that other concert films should aim towards in the future. Director Kenny Ortega did an outstanding job editing the footage together to create This Is It. Ortega gave me a glimpse of sound checks, a behind the scenes look at the visual effects/footage for the concert, and interviews with many personalities who were a part of This Is It. Other than one brief clip of “MJ mania” at the beginning, Ortega kept the film very intimate.
The visuals for MJ’s This Is It concert series were stunning. He was going to put on a bloody fantastic show. You could see it.
MJ and Ortega crafted some pretty remarkable ideas and visuals for the This Is It concert series. They were really pushing the boundaries in terms of spectacle. There really was a Hollywood production touch to the new footage shot for “Thriller,” “Smooth Criminal,” and other songs. It was going to be an astonishing experience for fans that would have been fortunate to see it. It would have been well worth the money to see these MJ shows.
This Is It did put me on an emotional roller coaster. I felt joy, sadness, anger (at an irresponsible doctor), and humor.
I was a bit worried how This Is It would make me feel when I watched it. I didn’t want to be sad when I saw him, and I was concerned I would be. I have stayed away from a lot of MJ footage since he died, which includes the memorial that I can’t bear to watch. Many of MJ’s videos, interviews, and concert footage was entirely too painful to watch early on, and it still brings a touch of pain to my heart when I see footage now. Fortunately, I didn’t have that many moments of sadness during This Is It. While I did swing like a pendulum between certain emotions, I would have to say I felt joy and humor the most. I also would experience a touch of anger at the doctor who is allegedly responsible for MJ’s death. When I watched MJ in This Is It, he was so alive and vibrant, and it made me angry that the incandescent fire in the physical form of MJ is dead. His death still makes no sense to me, and after watching This Is It, I really felt that he was gone far too soon. As I stated previously, MJ still had work to complete.
I have to say I held up well until “Man in the Mirror” in This Is It. I have not been able to listen to that song since MJ died. When MJ performed “Man in the Mirror” in This Is It, I was crying. For me, MJ was one of two of the most important music icons to me.
MJ’s performance of “Man in the Mirror” was the one truly saddening moment for me during This Is It. I knew the song was going to be in the film, and I thought I would be prepared for it. I thought I would be able to get through it without crying but I couldn’t. When I watched him perform “Man in the Mirror” and sing it with passion, it just got to me emotionally. The tears flowed silently the both times I saw This Is It during “Man in the Mirror.” I had that gut clenching moment where I knew there was never going to be another human being like MJ. I knew there was no one who was going to touch the legacy of artistry, music, and creative genius that MJ left behind.
After This Is It ended, the audience clapped, and no one moved during the credits. People stayed to finish watching more footage. Awesome.
I have been to the theater often enough to know that the majority of people leave as soon as the credits roll. No one did during the two times I saw This Is It in theaters. Once again, I knew I was amongst fans, and like me, they wanted to see every drop of MJ footage. Watching This Is It with other fans was truly an amazing experience for me. It is the best in-theater experience I’ve ever had…hands down. If you have the opportunity to see This Is It in theaters and you’re a fan, please do so. For me, there was no other film experience like it.
If you are a MJ fan, I highly recommend you see This Is It. I’m seeing it at least twice more. I want more. It’s an A+!
To add onto this, I just want to say that This Is It is definitely one of my favorite films of 2009. I’m aware that Sony will submit it for Academy Awards consideration. I think it should be an Academy Award nominee, and I’m not just saying that simply because I’m a major MJ fan. The film was well crafted in its entirety. Director Kenny Ortega put his heart and soul into constructing this film. Not only did he give the fans a wonderful experience, but I also believe he gave non-fans an appreciation for MJ’s humanity and showmanship. It really was a beautiful work of art, and I applaud Ortega’s efforts in giving the fans something wonderful to remember MJ by – a performer, artist, and genius…a human being.
Tags: artists, entertainment, movie review, movies, music, review
