No body double for Joe Jackson in this movie. I looked..
The comparisons are inevitable and not just for the short philosophical three word titles. Both were the most important entertainers of their era. Both were coming to the end their careers unknowingly with the cameras there to record it for posterity. Both were trying to turn back the clock return to their natural habitat. And both were rehearsing for big scale concerts that never took place.
The comparisons should end there for the Beatles’ cinematic swansong finds a group unable to get back to where they once belonged and hadn’t admitted to themselves they didn’t all want to go there until the cameras caught it all— the squabbling, the political shows of disinterest in what the other members were saying and the uninspired playing. In This Is It, every participant wants more than anything to make those 50 dates in London the greatest show on earth.
And that includes Michael Jackson.
Don’t believe the hubbub that Jackson’s heart wasn’t into a comeback or he wasn’t physically up to the challenge of 50 shows. From the footage collected for the theatrical run of This Is It, there is no evidence of it. People who don’t understand performing and the necessity of holding back in rehearsals might gripe about the one or two moments when Jackson doesn’t employ the same exact dance steps or intensity he did in a video 25 years ago. But they’ll probably gripe about the seats in the theater.
No clearly even when Michael protests to director Kenny Ortega that he wants to preserve his voice, he can’t help it. All the dancers and musicians who grew up listening to Michael Jackson are giving it their all and you can see the respect that Michael feeds them back by not slumming it. And adding in the missing ingredient of a loving audience, he would’ve easily surpassed anything that’s on display here, That’s what showmen do.
Some of the most incredible moments in the film involve watching Michael Jackson just singing. At one point during “I Just Can’t Stop Loving You “ you have to turn your head to the right side of the screen to realize it’s Jackson and not his Siedah Garrett stand-in that’s hitting these incredible notes. And there’s a sideways nod he does with his head when he’s just standing there delivering a lyric that suggests Frank Sinatra until he does something that reminds you of Jackie Wilson. Or more often, Michael Jackson.
Another way in which This Is It differs from Let It Be is that the Beatles ‘ appeal was chiefly as recording artists and not live performance artists from 19666 on. The excitement of seeing the Beatles was chiefly just in watching them play music like mere mortals. Jackson was the first video legend so much of his appeal is grounded in spectacle and larger than life production. That’s why his rehearsals translate into a far more satisfying movie experience than Let It Be. Jackson has dancers, cheery pickers, flying ghosts, zombies and a robotic spider as his extras. The Beatles just had Yoko.
The most over the top creation is for “Earth Song,” which is bookend with Michael’s spoken pleas about saving the earth. Heartfelt but also a little schizoid- imagine the carbon footprint of one Michael Jackson; surely some of those rainforest trees could’ve been rerouted to make all those mannequins in Neverland. But you still have to marvel the contradictions fighting in Jackson's creative mind,. Here's a guy who waxes euphoric about nature, then he creates a virtual garden of earthly delights for his audience only to destroy and burn it for their viewing pleasure.
If there can be any disappointment besides the actual concerts not realizing the finishing touch, it’s that the focus of this show, essentially a greatest hits revue, is with the exception of two songs from HIStory, concentrated on the era from the Jackson Five to Dangerous era, the point right before the first child molestation charges arose and scandal brought Jackson down. Since then he's clung desperately to a King of Pop title that ceased to mean very much. Pop is about immediacy and being in the moment, not rehash and retrospection. Since HIStory, he’s been accused of trading on his past with every new release. This Is It doesn’t relieve that nagging notion that as a hitmaker, his best days were behind him. But it does prove beyond a doubt that his best days as an entertainer and showman lay just ahead.
Future King of Pop? Hard to say. Future King of Vegas? Definitely!
Comments
I don't belive his bset days where behind himand he did not creat a vitaul garden oly to destoy it he was trying to regrate what realy goes on on the rain forest. if you where to watch the video for the song earth song you might notice that. to say that micael not notice he was being recorded was a misconsetion becausce he and the company he was doing the concert higher the video people. for prived vewing maybe. So Michael could see where he may or may not have made mistakes. so he couuld correct them in the future becausce Michael was a perfectionist. Most of all i thank you for your coments I realy enjoyed reading it hope to read more of what you have to say in the furture.
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