I’ve come to realize that I’m a 50
year old trapped in an 18 year olds body. Last spring when my local library
hosted a jazz concert during the city’s annual festival of the arts, I was the
only one there in a crowd of 10 who didn’t have an AARP card. That was until my
dad and sister came halfway into the show to support and convince me that I wasn’t
alone in my interests.
Get On Up was the only movie I
anticipated to see this summer. I knew I was going to see it by myself because
most of my friends aren’t James Brown fans and when I asked my dad if he was
interested his response was “Redbox.” I was still determined to see this film so
I went to the theater and paid my $10.50 (which I will address in an upcoming post)
and I sat in the theater which had 8 people all paired up. I was fortunate
enough to sit in front of two cackling, elderly African-American women who have
probably went to their fair share of James Brown concerts back in the day,
which would explain why one of them fell asleep and snored throughout the second
half of the movie.
Review
This film made me feel like I was
riding a James Brown themed simulator at Universal Studios, travelling from the
30s to the 70s witnessing the highs and lows of James Brown’s life and career.
Now I understand where history and
english teachers are coming from when they complain about covering a vast curriculum
in a short school year. It’s impossible to cover a legend’s triumphs and
failures within 2 hours. The best way to handle it is through a miniseries
which did well for the Temptations. As a result of all the condensing the film
had a fast pacing and a lot of milestones in Brown’s life and career were given
brief honorable mentions. A perfect example of this is Brown’s T.A.M.I.
performance, a scene that disappointed me because I didn’t think they did the “cape
routine” proper justice.
My two biggest gripes were the
makeup and Boseman’s physique. The makeup in this movie looked cheap, as if it
came from the Nutty Professor kit. As for Boseman’s physique James Brown was
never a slender guy. He always had a toned stockiness to him and a fatter face.
I don’t know how long Boseman had to prep for the role before filming began but
he should’ve been put on a workout/diet plan to look the part more.
So what did I like about the film?
Everything else! I loved how the movie was cartoony at times and made sense because James
Brown was such a colorful character in real life. I thought the script was
great, shoutout to the Butterworths for that. Lastly, I enjoyed the nonlinear
plot. It kept things interesting and made me pay close attention to how things
ended.
This movie is great, 4 stars! Big
ups to Nelsan Ellis and Chadwick Boseman for yet another fantastic portrayal of
an American icon. I really hope he becomes a household name one day. A Michael
Jackson cameo would’ve been neat considering his and Brown’s mutual admiration
for each other, but I can see why it wasn’t done.
Bottom Line:
See this movie!
This is way off-topic but am I the
only one who hopes the Richard Pryor biopic can finally go into production
after seeing this movie?
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