Movie Review – Michael

I grew up listening to Michael Jackson and the Jackson 5. The music is engrained in my memories and my playlists. The Thriller video was essentially gateway horror when I was a kid. I’ve always been a fan.

In the 90s, one of the networks released a miniseries about Michael’s family life. It concentrated on patriarch Joe’s abuse and how he was somehow forgiven at the end when the Jackson 5 reunion tour took place. I’m happy to say that this new film concentrates on Michael overcoming Joe’s mental and physical abuse as he explicitly states at the end of the reunion tour that it’ll be his last with his brothers. He took that control back, and I was happy to see it. Colman Domingo’s performance as Joe was so good that it was hard to see the actor behind the part. That was some good casting. So was Jafaar Jackson as Michael. Embodied the character and the dancing.

What this film gets right is the recreations of the concerts, shows, music videos, and recording sessions. The recreations of the Thriller and Beat it videos in particular were well done. As a fan, it gave me chills and it was hard not to sing along.

Michael was known for his plastic surgeries and this film doesn’t shy away from it. He also had vitiligo, a skin condition that causes loss of skin pigmentation in patches all over the body. Given his life in the public eye and Michael not wanting to look like his father – both had large noses – Michael had several surgeries to change his nose. The film handles this well and while it initially gives Michael confidence, it doesn’t stop him from getting the procedure several more times during his life.

With this, it also does well with the scary Pepsi ad recording during which his hair caught on fire, burning his scalp and causing nerve damage. It was a bit scary watching this unfold because I knew what was coming.

Where this movie fails a bit is stopping at the release of Bad. For me, that’s when the public started to turn on Michael over perceptions that he was weird for the plastic surgeries and skin lightening. The film shows Michael as the biggest performer in the world, but doesn’t show his downfall. The fall from grace. And it doesn’t do anything with his later albums which have great songs on them, including a collab with sister Janet who did not want to be portrayed in this. Her absence is felt in scenes with the entire family where the only sister present is LaToya. I would have liked a miniseries that shows the whole life of the man behind the music, but the film that exists as it is is fine on its own even if it skips the second half of his life. Those allegations. His marriages. His kids.

And what was with CGI Bubbles the Chimp? Was the live chimp uncooperative or were they just too cheap to get one? Regardless, I found it a bit off putting.

I wasn’t expecting Mike Myers or Miles Teller, so I was pleasantly surprised to see them, especially Myers who is almost unrecognizable in makeup. Also enjoyed the dynamic between Michael and his bodyguard, something that I hadn’t seen on film before.

Does this go far enough to tell the story of how Joe’s abuse affected Michael? Maybe not. Is it positive in tone on purpose? Yep, but maybe the world needs positivity right now. Is it an enjoyable watch because the music is so catchy? Certainly. I don’t see this getting an Oscar run by any means, but I said the same about Bohemian Rhapsody so we shall see.

3.5 out of 5 stars .