I can’t imagine this will get much in the way of discussion here on the Dope- pop music rarely does; but maybe a few others will see the movie and we can discuss.
I should preface that I’m a giant Michael Jackson fan and have been since I was in utero- mom used to put headphones with MJ on her belly, went to his concert while pregnant, and basically, my entire childhood had Michael as a soundtrack.
So, I wasn’t sure what to expect in this movie, but I expected it to be an interesting look into the creative process of putting on a monumental show and it definitely was that. It’s just amazing how many tiny elements come together it what would have been a totally spectacular show. What was most interesting to me was how involved in every tiny detail Michael was- I suppose this shouldn’t surprise me, I mean, he was the biggest star in the world, but I guess I’m just used to my puppet popstars who have no creative control.
What I should have logically been prepared for, but wasn’t, was just how sick Michael looked. I had read before that director, Kenny Ortega, said Michael looked great, healthy, and it took everyone by surprise that he died. Bullshit. In the movie, they supposedly mixed clips together from the start and end of rehearsals (the day he died) so the viewer wont have a sense of the time before he died. But the thing is, anyone with eyes can tell which clips were from closer to his death- his weight between certain clips literally drops at least 25 lbs. And that’s on a man who was already thin. It’s scary. He’s smaller than his female dancers.
Overall, that concert would have been bad ass. Thriller was amazing, Smooth Criminal, Earth Song, etc.- all great. The movie itself was interesting because you get to see the creative process first hand.
My favorite part? The dancers fangirling basically the entire movie. Any time Michael would be doing something in a solo on stage, the camera would pan to the “audience”, where the dancers would be jumping up and down, hands over their mouths, gasping. Hilarious.