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'This Is It' extended through Thanksgiving ... This is why
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Michael Jackson 'This Is It' (AEG/Sony)
During one of the This Is It tour rehearsals' final prayer circles, Michael Jackson had the last words.
“We want to show them talent like they’ve never seen before,” he said.
This is a goal that he and his back-up performers -- his “family” -- surpassed with flying colors, flying flames, green screens, acrobatics and a set-list of songs that defined decades. And, thanks to a few cameras that rolled throughout rehearsals, now Jackson’s sensational show can be shared the with everyone .
To all America’s cynics, his movie is not a cash cow for its producers -- it is a relic, a final bow. And the validity of this is evident in the care with which it was put together (by long-time friend and collaborator, Kenny Ortega).
The film allows Jackson’s performance to sing for itself. For those who imagine a frail Michael Jackson tripping through his old canon, this documentary serves as an astonishing correction. Jackson gave no sense of a man on his deathbed. There is nothing voyeuristic or inappropriate about this film. He ran and re-ran his dances. He sang with a soulfulness that only other legends could match. He had hope, drive, promise and literally unmatched talent. This Is It may well have been the greatest tour of all time, and this documentary keeps it from the untimely passing that befell its star.
In his performances, Jackson gives everything fans could ask for. He sings every hit, going all the way back to “I Want You Back,” “The Love You Save” and “I’ll Be There” from his days with The Jackson 5.
Early in the show, he performs “Jam,” in which he repeats “It ain’t too hard for me to jam,” and sets the scene for two hours of audacious entertainment. Yes, even at 50, Jackson is on point and on key -- astonishingly so. In “They Don’t Care About Us,” he moves in perfect synchrony with his backup dancers -- performing rigid military moves in front of a staggering green screen display. In “Human Nature,” the focus is on his vocals, which were remarkably unscathed over the years; Jackson's pitch and tone are identical to those of two decades ago. “The Way You Make Me Feel” is then performed as a slowed, soulful serenade, with another stunning green screen backdrop and 40’s-era silhouettes. And soon, Jackson picks it up again, with “Thriller.” This Is It’s 3-D, Haunted Mansion-style visuals served as a raucously entertaining modern upgrade to the original. No one can pull off gyrating ghouls quite like MJ.
Note: By this time in the show, people in the theater are singing along and clapping at each song’s end, for better or worse.
Jackson’s final performance is “Man In The Mirror,” which follows “Earth Song.” He intended to use both as reminders to his audience that it’s their responsibility to heal the earth, which he believed is “sick.” Rather than passing along responsibility, he pleaded that it's time for people to take matters into their own hands. This is the second resonating element of This Is It. Jackson mentions multiple times his hope to inspire environmentalism with his music, and this concert was to be a vital vehicle for that message.
But first, he entertains. “Let it sizzle,” Jackson often repeats, slowing the performance when reflection was due, and igniting it when it was at its most explosive. Throughout, This Is It depicts Jackson’s honed attention to even the minutia of his performance -- he ensured that each half-beat and each glance was perfect. And always, before sounding too demanding, he explained that he was correcting out of “L.O.V.E.”
There’s not too much to correct, ultimately. Jackson was singing with the world’s best musicians and dancing with the world’s best dancers. The result, of course, is the most exquisite, jaw-dropping concert you’ve never seen.
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