Are you guys interested in seeing Michael Jackson’s This Is It? Why or why not? Have you seen it already? What did you think?
The critical response to this concert film/documentary, which tracks the rehearsal process for the series of London concerts Michael Jackson was preparing before he died this summer, has been wildly divided , and I’ve got to say, I’m of two minds myself.
On one hand, I’m just not that interested in Michael Jackson. Or at least, writing this post and watching a day’s worth of his music videos last June pretty much got me out of my celebrity mourning period. When he died, Jackson’s music hadn’t been an active part of my life for years, and even though I put a few of his songs on my iPod immediately after he passed, I’m not interested in listening to them now. I mean, I don’t complain when “I Want You Back” or “Smooth Criminal” pops up at a wedding or in shuffle mode, but when I’m hankering for older music, I never dip into his catalogue.
On the other hand, I am intrigued to see a talented artist piecing together a show. The creative process is fascinating and too rarely documented, and it could be interesting to watch a gifted musician and dancer deciding how to make his magic happen.
At best, I’ll end up seeing this movie on DVD. I won’t be surprised, however, if I never see it at all.
Now I’m wondering why I don’t care that much. Is it because Jackson’s work seems so rehearsed and so perfected that it lacks a sense of spontaneous human energy and therefore leaves me cold? Maybe. But I like Madonna’s recent music, and there’s nothing spontaneous there.
Is it because I tend to reject pop stars whom the culture insists are Important? Maybe. Lord knows I never listen to the Beatles of my own volition, and that’s partially because I resent being told that I must love them.
But there was a time, especially when Dangerous came out, that I was up in some Michael Jackson fandom.
Hm… I’ll have to think about this. And watch… I’ll probably see This Is It on cable next year and totally love it.
11 responses so far ↓
1 ferretrick // Oct 30, 2009 at 1:10 pm
OMG, someone else who loathes being told the Beatles are the greatest band ever, invented rock and roll, etc.,etc.,etc….Newsflash: they were not all that talented, wrote as many generic pop songs with forgettable melodies and lyrics as good ones, and weren’t actually that good at singing. They weren’t completely untalented, but I loathe them simply because I think they are the most overrated musicians in the history of music.
Oh, I’m sorry, your post was about MJ. Yeah, I don’t care about This is It either.
2 Dustin L // Oct 30, 2009 at 1:39 pm
I was full of morbid curiosity about This Is It, but Karina Longworth’s review told me everything I wanted to know, so I’m over that.
3 Pristine // Oct 30, 2009 at 1:56 pm
Well, I finally made the jump and signed up on Twitter, where I saw your latest post.
You know…I was completely blasé about Michael Jackson’s death. I read a prediction that This Is It would do better overseas than in the US because his image had not been so badly smeared. The thing is, as a child growing up in the 90s, I knew Michael Jackson first as an accused pedophile than a musician. It wasn’t until two years ago that I heard Man in the Mirror, loved it and discovered Michael Jackson the musician for the first time.
But until you described This Is It showing the process “behind the magic”, I wouldn’t have considered watching it. I just watched The September Issue and loved seeing the decisions and processes that go behind creating something, so just for that, I guess I wouldn’t mind watching This is It.
4 K. // Oct 30, 2009 at 2:11 pm
I have tickets to see it tonight. I looked at it as a piece of pop culture (although so was the Sex and the City movie, and wasn’t no way I was gonna see that), something I “should see.” I’m curious – I am young enough that Michael was more “Wacko Jacko” than brilliant artist, and apparently this film highlights the creative process and the work that went into the tour. We’ll see how I like it.
5 Mark Blankenship // Oct 30, 2009 at 2:34 pm
Hey K — I would love to hear your thoughts once you see the film
6 Casey // Oct 30, 2009 at 4:21 pm
ferretrick – make that TWO people who loathe being told the Beatles are the greatest band of all time. What a sham.
7 stephanie // Oct 30, 2009 at 6:56 pm
Nope. Not going to see it in the theaters, probably won’t rent the DVD. While I was a Jackson fan back in the day (’80s), and I can recognize his contribution to music, I really didn’t understand why people acted like one of their parents died when he passed. I’ve never understood that level of celebrity worship. Additionally, I still can’t get over the pedophilia accusations.
8 Stephan Stubbins // Oct 30, 2009 at 7:00 pm
hey Mark, I actually saw it on opening night… my roommate ended up with an extra ticket here in LA. I went in feeling very much the same as you about the whole hype of MJ, his death, and questioning how his music is important to me now, but I must say that to me that movie was quite an inspiration. To hear his authentic voice and get a real feeling for the man. It really made me appreciate what a fearless creative spirit he was. Sometimes he’s too much (I wish he could just stand there and sing a ballad without half dancing it), but there is something about him that is also so uniquely raw. If we had more people who moved how they FELT they should move (in spite of how different they may appear), and sing how they FELT they should sing, who pave new roads (from the heart…not like Lady Gaga’s heady attempts at “new”) and write songs about ISSUES, goodwill, and what they experience as hopeful or wrong about the system, I think we’d be on a better road right now. If we had more UNIQUE voices like MJ (especially in the Theatre), I think we’d be encouraging each other to come out from behind the fear of the times and the complacency of computer screens and have a voice, be different, be more clearly yourself, and be seen. Should you see it?? Maybe not… but there’s some real power to be found in his work and his example.
9 K. // Oct 31, 2009 at 4:29 pm
I have to say, I enjoyed it. When MJ died, I didn’t really mourn – my reaction was more “Holy shit, MJ died?” So I didn’t approach the movie with any sort of reverence; more curiosity. It opens with aspiring backup dancers in tears over the prospect of auditioning for Michael, which struck me as odd. They were as young or younger than I am, so surely they remembered Wacko Jacko over Thriller. Weren’t they nervous about being with someone as … eccentric as he is? But as the movie goes on, you kind of get it. He’s a perfectionist, and you know the shows are going to be good so you can understand why people would jump at the chance to be part of them. At one point (my moviegoing companion’s favorite part), he and one of his musicians are working on a slowed-down, kind of doo-wop intro for “The Way You Make Me Feel,” and the musician says something like “Only you can tell me the way you want it to sound.” Michael replies, with just a hint of attitude, “I want it the way I wrote it.” (The audience, packed to the hilt: “Oh, SNAP!”) And you remember that yeah, he WROTE all this stuff. His catalog of music is huge, and of course he wants these shows to go his way. You see him at the backup dancer auditions and with the lighting techs and working his way through heavy choreography, keeping up with dancers half his age. (The only time he shows limitations is when he does Jackson 5 stuff – he’s not nine anymore and it’s out of his range, even with key adjustments.) And he can still sing. He sings “Human Nature” (one of my favorite MJ songs) a cappella, and it’s as pure and simple as it was when I first heard it.
He’s still strange. He complains about the mic in his ear but does so “with the love. With love, L-O-V-E love” and asks musicians to “let it simmer, just bathe in the moonlight,” and a prayer with his dancers and crew turns into a mildly-delivered rant about how the planet is being ravaged. There’s no way he wasn’t going to look at least a little weird; he was a weird guy. I think it’s impossible to be as famous as he was and not be weird (I’d say he was the most famous person in the world in the 80s – I don’t think any pop star since has come close to his level of fame). But he also looks like a seasoned performer. With the way he conducted his personal life, it’s easy to forget that he’s famous for being musically talented, and the movie does its best to remind you of that. And also: damn, a lot of work goes into planning a concert tour. At the very least, viewers can appreciate that.
10 Michael // Nov 3, 2009 at 2:14 am
Any resistance to this thing because it’s making money off Jackson’s death?
11 Reese // Nov 4, 2009 at 3:06 pm
I was a fan of MJ as a kid. But I hadn’t thought about him as a musician in many years. It was difficult to think of him that way after all the strange stories and accusations of child molestation. He was, at best, an extremely strange man over the last few years of his life.
However, I wanted to see “This Is It” because of the technical aspects of putting a show like that together. I worked behind the scenes in theatre during high school and college, and I knew that the techie geek in me would love it. And I was right.
If anyone has worked behind the scenes in theatre, the movie is worth seeing for that aspect alone. It’s worth renting.
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