ongoing

Joy or sadness? When you exit the theater, what will you be feeling as you walk away from “Michael Jackson’s This Is It”? The 111-minute film – fragments of rehearsals for the tour that never was – hit me both ways. On the upside, you can tell from the painstaking perfectionism, the performance and some of the special effects – the re-assembling of zombies for “Thriller” live – that this skein of 50 shows in London would have been spectacular, The Greatest Show on Earth and all that. Is Jackson running at full speed? No, of course not, but his ¾ speed tops virtually anyone else and he’s adamant about getting it right – down to coaxing the exact note out of his keyboardist for one song.

Each song was a set piece and Jackson clearly did not consider “over the top” to have any downsides. And since Jackson was such a prominent figure in the early rock video movement, you can almost see that aspect as him just honoring his roots. This was about dance, narrative, explosions, music (funk/pop/hard rock/soul, all part of the mix), green-screen projection and message. Message: Love everyone, save the earth – last chance everybody! 

Kenny Ortega, the tour’s director, is clearly cottoning to Jackson’s every wish. The two exchange the words “I love you” like most people say “hello.” Ortega assembled this film and certainly he did so in a way that shines the best light possible on the main attraction. At times, too much so, when fawning interview follows fawning interview among his band members, dancers, etc.

The fascination with “This Is It” lies, of course, in Ortega selectively parting the curtain on these rehearsal sessions and Sony investing $60 million in what likely would have ended up as DVD bonus material to the DVD that inevitably would have been culled from the London concerts. Usually, these behind-the-scenes/out-take sessions have some, but marginal, appeal. They’re not the finished work. And just as we know most demo tapes that are leaked after an album are not as good as the finished product, part of us likes being let in on the process. How did the songs build?

Here, it’s how did everything build? Ortega’s a dance choreographer – and Jackson’s dancing holds a close second to his music – so there’s a lot of dance routines worked on. And we do get to hear rippin’ – if likely enhanced after the fact – versions of “Beat It,” “Black and White,” “Billie Jean,” “Man in the Mirror” and most everything you’d want to hear. The “Thriller” re-enactment can’t help but be a little creepy. Yes, Jackson now resembles one of those corpses and it’s impossible to get that out of your head. But, hey, when he did it, he knew one day he, like us, would end up that way, and the way we most often deal with death – especially around Halloween – is to try and poke fun at it, knowing we’re not, ultimately, going to win this battle. And Jackson does show a sense of humor here, probably not the first thing you associate him with.

Will this do boffo box office? No doubt. The camera work is not super-slick, nor is it amateur-ish. It is worthy. Sure, you can make the case for exploitation – and count the money Jackson’s estate will reap as well as the movie studio – but to not put this out, especially after word leaked about its existence … No, that wouldn’t have cut it. The demand is too high and to not release it would have been perverse in denying fans that one last shot to see what was in works during the period leading up to the Big Gigs.

Now, there is no mention of Jackson’s death here. Agreed, it’s not the place. Enough controversy that has been bandied about elsewhere and that will continue for some time. It would have been fitting, though, for Ortega to insert a black screen with something like “Michael Jackson, In Memorium, 1959 –2009” at the end. So, we could at least have that moment of recognition and, well, closure. Yes, This Was It.
The movie is playing virtually everywhere, with tickets somewhere in the $10-$12 range. And the big shock: The announced limited two week run has been extended through Thanksgiving. You think it might screen ... even longer? It's already the biggest music doc of all time.

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