Michael Jackson's This is It -- A Video Eulogy and Repast

November 6, 10:37 AMTampa Writing ExaminerPatricia Woodside

Previous Next

Comment Print Email RSS Subscribe

Subscribe

Get alerts when there is a new article from the Tampa Writing Examiner. Read Examiner.com's terms of use.

Email Address   Include other special offers from Examiner.com Terms of Use

Lives begin and end with words.  Upon birth, physicians utter congratulations to beaming parents.  In death, a clergy member, or perhaps a favored family member or friend, offers a eulogy, speaking words that to remind others of who we were, why we were important, who we touched, and how much we will be missed.

Producer/director Kenny Ortega's film, Michael Jackson's This Is It, is a eulogy for Michael Jackson.

A rare backstage look into the making of the 50-date concert tour aborted by the singer’s untimely death uses footage shot for Michael Jackson’s personal video vault.This Is It is intended to give us a glimpse of what we, Michael's fans, would have enjoyed had he lived.  It's intended to share an insider's view of the behind the scenes work to put together one of Michael's grandiose stage shows.  It's also intended to make money for his estate and the concert promoters, which it has done, raking in more than $101M dollars in the first five days of its release and breaking records for a concert documentary.

But is this really it?

Local moviegoers, from as young as my four-year-old, who loves to sing and dance to Beat It, up through a senior citizen who was rolled into the theater in her wheelchair, cited Jackson’s genius, dancing, and generational appeal as reasons for taking in the flick.

Shelly of St. Petersburg said she came because "of his God-given talent which he pursued to its extreme.  Just like the Bible says, we're supposed to increase our talents, and he did that."

Teens Phillip and Courtney, also of St. Petersburg, "just like his music" and "grew up listening to someone who listens to his music".  Their mother laughed and nodded her confirmation.

As the lights dimmed and the film began to roll, it occurred to me that every person in the theater--except maybe the youngest viewers--would be looking for signs, indicators that would perhaps make sense of Michael’s tragic demise.  I looked, and although he bore a slender dancer's physique and protected his voice during the rehearsals, I found none.

What struck me as most interesting was not Michael’s performance, not his singing or dancing, especially since the film largely consists of putting new steps to what are now “old standards”, such as Human Nature, Wanna Be Startin’ Something, Billie Jean, and of course, the requisite Jackson 5 tribute medley. The most intriguing aspect of the film was the glimpse into Michael’s storytelling genius. The craft decisions he made about how to tell the story associated with each song, how to produce the best performance, things like pauses that would allow the music to “simmer” and the use of 3-D technology to update the telling of Thriller.

Michael was pure genius, and everyone in the film—his dancers, his musicians, his producers—knew it. They all knew and acted like they were part of a once-in-a-lifetime type of gig, even those who’d obviously toured with Michael on previous occasions. At one point the young background dancers watched Michael do his thing, cheering and pointing, as much fans as they were skilled professionals in their own right.  The eulogy had segued into the gathering back at the family's residence, where despite the tears, loved ones could tell jokes, laugh, and remember the good times.

Watching the film, I was struck more solidly by the senselessness of this man’s death.   The controversy surrounding Michael's death hangs over this movie too, as some feel that it was staged to cover up evidence of Michael's alleged drug usage. 

Sadly, unless other footage is later released from MJ’s personal vault, This Is It may very well be it. Pre-orders are already being taken for the DVD and Blu-ray releases of this film, but there’s something about watching Michael kick and slide and groove—with a voice that is near pitch perfect—on the big screen. In the dark. Where your grief can be your own.