This Is It: A FAQ For the Doubting Moviegoer
Does Darryl Phinnessee make a cameo?
Not only does the background singer/breakout star of MJ's memorial service make an appearance, but he gets a vocal solo, performs "Black or White"'s rap interlude (complete with sideways ballcap!) and is interviewed for one of the documentary segments.
So what's the full set list?
Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'
They Don't Really Care About Us
Human Nature
Smooth Criminal
The Way You Make Me Feel
Jackson 5 Medley (One More Chance, The Love You Save, I'll Be There)
I Just Can't Stop Loving You
Thriller
Beat It
Black or White
Earth Song
Billie Jean
Man in the Mirror
Doesn't Michael throw us Off the Wall fans a bone?
Not really, sorry. While there is a brief, funny breakdown of the dancers' crotch-grab technique during "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough," this one's mostly a Thriller/Bad world.
Who's the guitar goddess?
That would be Orianthi Panagaris, a 24-year-old Aussie whose solo debut came out Tuesday and whose fascinating YouTube channel features oodles of hot-lixx tutorials and the biographical snippet below. Take it or leave it, but she pretty much nails Eddie Van Halen's original solo from "Beat it." Of course, she'll be judging American Idol by the time she's 30.
What's this "toaster" doohickey, anyway?
The "toaster" is a spring-loaded trap door that catapults dancers onstage in several of the concert numbers. We never get to see MJ himself try it out, alas; he sticks to his pokey cherry-picker rides instead.
How much money will it make?
Not $250 million in five days, but it has repeat-viewing capacity among fans who take Sony at its word regarding its two-weeks-and-out release plan. And it should get some crossover based on decent to good reviews so far. Could it do $100 million by Sunday? Sure. Could it get a third week? Probably. Is it going to break any records? Dream on.
Who's next?
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Comments
The movie is worth seeing just for the stunning array of jackets Michael wears during it -- quilted, bedazzled, shiny lame, puffy sleeved. He is positively Suzy Ormanesque.
Darryl Phinnessee? Sold.
Given the story about Mr. Jackson's time on "The Simpsons" where it is mentioned he had someone else singing "Man in the Mirror" during a read-through, do you feel when he was overdubbed that it was entirely his own voice?
For the FAQ can U tell for what percentage of the time they used a STANDIN to help cover up how ACUTELY sick Jackson was from Propofol addiction/toxicity? How likely is it that the shots of him where "cherry picked" from a mountain of clips to show the odd time he was free of the blatant symptoms of such a TOXIC drugs misuse ?
The three of you are terds. While the movie is bittersweet (I myself hadn't originally intended on seeing this movie due to my own doubts about whether it was justified) there are so many great moments - touching, exhilarating, funny - that make it worth it. Watching MJ put the music director in his place was worth it alone since it showed he was still the master in charge. And the Thriller bit . . . I mean, come on, how can you not get excited about that?
This has got an 80% (so far) at Rotten Tomatoes, so basically anyone who isn't entirely jaded liked it. I went from not caring less to kind of being excited (because of Phinnessee--LOVE YOU!)
I went to see it just so I could say I did (sucked in by hype, yet again). I paid my 16 dollars so I'm going to add my two cents. I thought it was pretty unremarkable. The sort of thing that should be on a TV, not a movie screen. My judgement is that it's a total cash-in.
That's a terrific question. It sounded to me like they just plunked in the studio vocal track from "Thriller" with a few very slight variations, so it's wholly possible that was a Jackoppelganger here as well.
Making special note of Daryl Phinnessee doing the rap in "Black or White" is the kind of shit that keeps me coming back to Movieline. I don't really disagree that it seems like kind of an HBO HD Event that found its way onto the big screen but for a long-lunch matinee you could do a lot worse.
Unless Ortega went back and restaged entire dance numbers at the Staples Center just so he could shoot an MJ stand-in from about 20 yards away for 5-10 seconds at a time, I don't think there were any doubles here. And yes, the images of MJ used here are very much selected for the purpose of showing him in good condition -- that's the whole point of a performance film, not to have the star outmaneuvered or outenergized by everyone around him. Love the conspiracy theories, though! Keep them coming!
NO, you're the TERD!
It's going to take me all weekend to figure out how to pronounce "Jackoppelganger". . .
OMG! You paid $16. I only paid $5. I look forward to seeing it.
u forgot that michael performed his song "jam" also
I watched bits online, yeah no real interviews or footage of mj chilling, just alot of crappy rehearsals of songs hes always done, no songs from like invinsible that have never been performed, or anything new whatsoever. Im so glad I never paid sony $ to see it. Mj never toured for invinsible he could have done songs from that.. or made some new songs. 5o years old and a mega washout. Should have got actual sleep instead of demerol... maybe he would have been more creative.