# This Is It- the Michael Jackson movie \[merged threads\] **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 28, 2009, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-it-the-michael-jackson-movie-merged-threads/515462 "2009-10-28T16:17:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![statsman1982](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e79b87/32.png) [@statsman1982](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/statsman1982)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2009, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-it-the-michael-jackson-movie-merged-threads/515462/61 "2009-11-02T05:23:00Z")
I was, as best as I can describe it, an apostate Michael Jackson fan until his death. I loved his music when I was a kid, to the point of naming two pets after him. When I got into junior high, I started to think liking Jackson’s music wasn’t cool, so I started listening to what my peers liked (Oasis, Bush, some gagsta rap, etc.). When he died in June, it was, as trite as it sounds, as if some part of my childhood died too. I saw the movie in Saturday, and I’ll admit that I cried during the first few minutes and at the closing song. The whole experience was like watching the Titanic heading for an iceberg and not being able to warn the people in charge in time. The man was clearly too thin, and someone needed to hire him a doctor that would have the sense not to put the guy into a coma every night. While watching the film, I also got quite angry at the idea that this would have been an awesome show that no one would ever get to see. The “what might have been” is what gets me riled up the most. In sum, I saw the movie and I rediscovered Michael’s music. I also think he was a wonderful, but very troubled, human being who left this world better than he found it. He was also, apparently, the opposite of a diva when it came to working with others, and that aspect comes through clearly on film. ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2009, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-it-the-michael-jackson-movie-merged-threads/515462/62 "2009-11-02T16:40:04Z")
> [@Eonwe](#): > > Heh. My impression was the opposite. I also found the technical/backstage aspects of interest, but I thought that he had a very poor way of communicating what he needed or wanted, and the extreme talents around him had to try to decipher what he might want and then making their choices sound like they came from him. > > [snip] > > He was an awful communicator; only rarely in the movie did he give anything resembling useful feedback other than “I like that” or “I don’t like that.” Actually, now that you mention it, you’re right. I was impressed that he got what he wanted out of the other performers, but, as you point out, that’s more a testament to their ability to decipher him, than to his communication skills. ---
**Author:** ![statsman1982](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e79b87/32.png) [@statsman1982](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/statsman1982)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2009, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-it-the-michael-jackson-movie-merged-threads/515462/63 "2009-11-02T17:13:22Z")
> [@commasense](#): > > Actually, now that you mention it, you’re right. I was impressed that he got what he wanted out of the other performers, but, as you point out, that’s more a testament to their ability to decipher him, than to his communication skills. Part of the reason why he wasn’t specific on what he wanted from the musicians was that he didn’t know how to play any instruments. He heard melodies and beats in his head, and had to work with people who could play instruments to translate that into music. He also said in testimony about a legal challenge to the song “Dangerous” that he did not know how to read music. ---
**Author:** ![satoridt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@satoridt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/satoridt)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2009, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-it-the-michael-jackson-movie-merged-threads/515462/64 "2009-11-03T06:01:40Z")
just saw the movie. This would have been possibly the greatest show ever. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2009, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-it-the-michael-jackson-movie-merged-threads/515462/65 "2009-11-03T12:36:33Z")
Merged two threads, one of which had already been merged, so there are three OPs sprinkled amongst the posts in this thread. Since the “do you want to see” thread, which was the longest, had included several posts from people who had seen it, though, it made more sense to me to put all the remarks into a single thread. twickster, Cafe Society moderator ---
**Author:** ![FallenAngel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@FallenAngel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FallenAngel)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2009, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-it-the-michael-jackson-movie-merged-threads/515462/66 "2009-11-04T22:13:24Z")
> [@BrandonR](#): > > No he wasn’t. The least you can do is keep out your unfounded, irrelevant comments out of the discussion, particularly since a jury of his peers found him innocent on all charges. :rolleyes: And so did the juries for OJ and Robert Blake. “Acquittal” does not equal “innocence.” I can’t believe after 20 years of repeated allegations anyone is still defending this predatory lunatic. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2009, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-it-the-michael-jackson-movie-merged-threads/515462/67 "2009-11-04T22:57:06Z")
> [@FallenAngel](#): > > And so did the juries for OJ and Robert Blake. “Acquittal” does not equal “innocence.” > > I can’t believe after 20 years of repeated allegations anyone is still defending this predatory lunatic. In case you didn’t read the whole thing, let me point out my post upthread: > [@twickster](#): > > Folks – this thread is about whether or not people want to see the movie, or, for those who have seen it, whether or not they’re glad they did. Pls. start a new thread elsewhere – or resuscitate one of the dozens of past threads – if you want to get into an involved argument about what MJ might or might not have done with young boys. (“No, because I think he’s a creep” is okay – but to develop the argument beyond that, you’re headed off topic.) > > twickster, Cafe Society moderator Let’s keep this thread primarily about the movie. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2009, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-it-the-michael-jackson-movie-merged-threads/515462/68 "2009-11-04T23:13:34Z")
Fine. His music sucked when he was alive. He was overrated as a dancer, and he looked like a circus freak. I don’t believe that his death changed any of those things or made a video tape of a rehearsal any more worth watching. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2009, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-it-the-michael-jackson-movie-merged-threads/515462/69 "2009-11-04T23:16:33Z")
Thank you. Delightfully on-topic. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![ProfessorX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@ProfessorX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ProfessorX)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2009, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-it-the-michael-jackson-movie-merged-threads/515462/70 "2009-11-06T21:45:36Z")
It did astoundingly well in it’s first weekend. So well that it’s theatrical run has [been extended](http://www.fandango.com/%60thisisittopschartswith101mworldwide/news/4200). For any that were on the fence about it, you now have more time to see it. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2009, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-it-the-michael-jackson-movie-merged-threads/515462/71 "2009-11-07T11:51:34Z")
> [@twickster](#): > > …[No] argument about what MJ might or might not have done with young boys. \ Sorry. I wasn’t trying to comment on that. I was just nitpicking language use. I have no opinion one way or the other. On the movie, however, I do have a bit of one, because my mom went to see it. Her friend really wanted to see it, and that friend is quite fearful of being alone in the dark. She really, really enjoyed it. Not so much the dancing, but how nice Michael was to everyone. She was impressed by his musical talent. She said it had almost a spiritual quality to it. Now, I’m not going to go see it in theaters. I have about the same curiosity as **Twickster** , maybe a little more since I’m an amateur musician. If my mom’s friend buys it, I’ll probably wind up borrowing it. But, honestly, if he looks too sick, I may have to turn it off. ---
**Author:** ![singular1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ba9def/32.png) [@singular1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/singular1)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2009, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-it-the-michael-jackson-movie-merged-threads/515462/72 "2009-11-07T13:11:29Z")
> [@ProfessorX](#): > > It did astoundingly well in it’s first weekend. So well that it’s theatrical run has [been extended](http://www.fandango.com/%60thisisittopschartswith101mworldwide/news/4200). For any that were on the fence about it, you now have more time to see it. Granted, it’s early, but I am somehow missing anything in that link that talks about the run being extended. I’m hoping it’s there and I missed it - point it out, please? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-it-the-michael-jackson-movie-merged-threads/515462.md?page=3)