The King of Pop is back from the dead to play the greatest hits. And that’s about it.
“Michael” is the first of a two-part biopic of the late music icon Michael Jackson. And it’s truly a family affair. Not only was it produced by the Michael Jackson estate, all of his siblings are listed as executive producers (minus Janet Jackson — due to pre-existing drama with the estate — she doesn’t even appear in the film!) and his own nephew Jaafar (son of Jermaine Jackson) was cast to play the “Man in the Mirror” himself.
The problem with keeping it in the family is that at the end of the day, they didn’t really make a movie. They made an infomercial.
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The origin story begins in 1966 in the Jackson living room in Gary, Indiana. Young Michael (played by an infectious Juliano Valdi) and his four brothers faced barking orders from their demanding father Joe Jackson (Colman Domingo), who they all call “Joseph.” In their formative years, Joe drills in them, “In this life, you’re either a winner or a loser.”
What follows is a hyper-sanitized timeline of Michael Jackson’s career trajectory, with virtually every one of his hit songs either performed onscreen or played in the soundtrack, from “ABC” and “I’ll Be There” from the Jackson 5 days, to “Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough,” “Beat It” and “Billie Jean.” We get everything on the cultural checklist from multiple references to “Peter Pan” and Neverland, his CGI pet chimp Bubbles, the making of the “Thriller” music video, to his hair being caught on fire while shooting the Pepsi commercial. And sprinkled throughout is his domineering father (set up as the film’s villain) trying to dictate his career being tied to the rest of the family. But overall, he simply glides through life with hardly any conflict, at least according to “Michael.”
Jaafar Jackson makes his big screen debut playing his uncle — quite big shoes to fill. He nails the speaking voice and all the dance moves, but the film’s lack of emotional depth leaves Jaafar with a solid impersonation of the pop superstar rather than a true acting performance.
What sticks in my craw with these music biopics is that they so often rely on the original recordings of the deceased artists and have the actors essentially lip-sync the songs. Think 2018’s “Bohemian Rhapsody.” The parallels shouldn’t come as a shock since both films were produced by Graham King. It personally takes me out of the film knowing they’re essentially lifting the entire soundtrack and slapping it on another person — though supposedly several songs blended Michael Jackson’s voice with Jaafar’s, but most viewers won’t be able to tell. I sure couldn’t.
Another trap “Michael” falls into like “Bohemian Rhapsody” is that it completely avoids controversy — at least in part one, which leaves off on the 1988 “Bad” tour — nor does it even attempt to delve into his psyche beyond the surface level stuff we all know, like his weird childlike behavior. But based on reports on the behind-the-scenes drama that occurred, including rewriting the ending to remove the 1993 sexual abuse allegations, it seems doubtful part two will touch the sensitive subjects. “Michael” is more sugar-coated than a Sour Patch Kid. It’s as if ChatGPT spat out a screenplay after skimming the Wikipedia page.
The biggest disparity is the amount of A-level talent involved in such a non-cinematic film. You have veteran director Antoine Fuqua (“Training Day,” “Olympus Has Fallen,” “The Equalizer” films), Oscar-nominated screenwriter John Logan (“Gladiator,” “The Aviator,” “Skyfall”) a star-studded cast, including Domingo, Miles Teller (as Jackson’s longtime manager John Branca), Nia Long (as his mother Katherine Jackson) and Mike Myers (as CBS Records CEO Walter Yetnikoff), as well as an outstanding makeup department, yet the film can’t go more than two or three minutes without hawking another Michael Jackson hit hoping audiences will rush home to listen to his music. This money-making scheme by the Jackson estate is truly genius.
Music biopics should take a page out of the “Rocketman” playbook, the under-appreciated 2019 Elton John jukebox musical. Unlike “Michael,” it was actually artistic and poor Taron Egerton poured his heart out (he did his own singing by the way!) and got completely snubbed by the Academy while lip-syncing Rami Malek won Best Actor and “Bohemian Rhapsody” earned a Best Picture nod. I don’t forget these grave injustices.
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“Michael” is less of a movie and more of an elaborate plot by the Jackson estate to replenish its coffers by reaping the benefits of a legendary music catalog. Superfans of the King of Pop will get their sugar rush, but don’t kid yourself into thinking this is anything more than what it actually is.
“Michael” is rated PG-13 for some thematic material, language, and smoking. Running time: 2 hours, 7 minutes. In theaters now.
