MOVIE REVIEW: Michael Jackson's This Is It

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MOVIE REVIEW: Michael Jackson's This Is It

POSTED: Wednesday, October 28, 2009, 4:41 PM

Filed Under: Movies | Movie Review

Michael Jackson rehearsal documentary This Is It did not screen in time for print, but we sent our very own Cindy Fuchs anyway.

This Is It ' C+

"Everyone in a Michael Jackson show is an extension of Michael Jackson," says director/choreographer Kenny Ortega, exhorting the young dancers assembled for Jackson's last extravaganza. He makes his documentary's premise clear: It will revere the King of Pop, remind us that he was grand and singular, tragic and brilliant. He's also dead. And this, like everything else about Jackson, apparently bears repeating ' everything here is familiar, from Jackson's dance moves to his "hee-hees." A jumble of reflections and allusions, rehearsal clips cut together in split screens and sequences, the film helps you to remember what might have been. In theory, it's intriguing, a documentary on an event that didn't happen. But in practice, it's a compilation of unfinished preparations and imperfect performances. Most of the songs are, of course, sensational: Even pieces of "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" or "The Way You Make Me Feel" can be rousing, bits of performances that reveal again Jackson's dedication and gifts. This Is It mostly refrains from close-ups of his disfigured face, using long shots instead to emphasize his enduring dance skills, his meticulous rhythms and familiar gestures. This reminds you of what's been lost, the pains he endured and the losses he embodied. As much as the documentary does right by Jackson, recalling his genius, it perpetuates the exploitations that shaped his life.

This Is It opens wide today. Check citypaper.net/showtimes for more info.

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