People panning the new movie about pop icon Michael Jackson are disappointed that the so-called biopic doesn’t dive into some of the controversies surrounding his life, like the child molestation allegations or his alleged addiction to painkillers.
I have one question for the critics: What did you expect?
First of all, it’s just a movie. Calm down.
Secondly, it’s a movie produced and promoted by Jackson’s ever-protective family.
I mean, they cast a blood relative in the starring role.
You think they were trying to really come clean about his life? Of course they would want to protect his legacy. That’s just Human Nature.
I’m just glad these moviemakers didn’t hire another white guy to play Michael, like some outfit did nearly a decade ago during a British TV production of a bizarre buddy tale about an urban myth Michael Jackson road trip with Elizabeth Taylor and Marlon Brando.
After Joseph Fiennes was cast as the King of Pop, producers said it didn’t matter if the actor was Black or White. They seriously miscalculated. The episode was scrapped amid all the backlash.
They kept it In the Closet.
The new “Michael” movie, which opened this weekend, stars Jackson nephew — and son of Jermaine — Jaafar Jackson in the title role.
Talk about the Man in the Mirror. Michael Jackson’s own son Prince Jackson, who served as an executive producer for the film, said he needed a moment to collect himself after seeing his cousin bring his father back to life.
“It was difficult to maintain and keep composure because I really just wanted to give him a hug in that moment,” Prince told ABC News last week. “The first time that I saw him in person in his hair and makeup was, really, an emotional shock.”
What follows is what producer Graham King describes as an “uplifting story about his triumph.”
What also follows is a useless debate over the cultural impact of the movie amid concerns that the film is a little loose with the truth or outright forgetful about key moments of Jackson’s complex and complicated life.
The movie follow’s Jackson’s boy band start with his brothers in the Jackson 5 to his meteoric rise as a solo star.
“The film takes place from the ’60s to 1988, so it does not go into the first allegations,” actor Colman Domingo, who plays Michael’s taskmaster father and manager, Joe Jackson, told NBC’s “Today.” “Basically, we center it on the makings of Michael. So it’s an intimate portrait of who Michael is … through his eyes. So that’s what this film is.”
In other words, a real Thriller.
VINCENT AMALVY / AFP via Getty Images
Michael Jackson in 1996. (VINCENT AMALVY / AFP via Getty Images)
Also missing from the film are portrayals of Jackson’s daughter, Paris, and his siblings Rebbie, Randy and Janet, who apparently weren’t happy with many of the scenes.
What can you say. Families are complicated.
As for the rest of us, if you’ve never forgiven Michael Jackson for the unproven pedophile allegations, and are still hoping he rots in his California grave, this movie is probably not for you.
But let’s be honest. The fans who have already spent $12.6 million in previews en route to a record $90 million projected box office opening aren’t really trying to learn something new about him.
Just like the fans who pay $90 for tickets to “MJ The Musical” on Broadway, they want to celebrate Michael’s life, see a little singing, see a little dancing and have a good time.
They want to Jam.
The family and the estate are just trying to oblige. But make no mistake, they are cashing in on the King. Just like they did when he was alive.
They’re not trying to Heal the World.