Get On Up (1/6/2015)

Rated PG-13 for sexual content, drug use, some strong language, and violent situations.

Starring Chadwick Boseman, Nelsan Ellis, Dan Aykroyd, Viola Davis and Craig Robinson

Directed by Tate Taylor (The Help)

This film about the hardest working man in the music industry is worth your time.

In his follow-up to the four-time Academy Award®-nominated blockbuster The Help, Tate Taylor directs 42‘s Chadwick Boseman as James Brown in Get on Up. Based on the incredible life story of the Godfather of Soul, the film will give a fearless look inside the music, moves and moods of Brown, taking audiences on the journey from his impoverished childhood to his evolution into one of the most influential figures of the 20th century.

I generally enjoy biopics. Learning about the person behind the story, event or music is usually pretty entertaining. So when Tate Taylor decided to tell the story of The Godfather of Soul, James Brown, I was torn. I’m not the biggest James Brown fan, but I do enjoy some of his music. The bigger issue was his personal life… particularly his abusive relationships with his wives.

Unfortunately, like most Hollywood movies about celebrities, this is a whitewash. There is no mention of his illegitimate children (at least three), and his wife beatings and abuse of drugs are only mentioned in passing. Speaking of drugs, Brown was actually quite the hypocrite. He often used drugs but fired employees and band members when they were caught using drugs. For instance, he was arrested for hitting his third wife, Adrienne Lois Rodriguez, with a lead pipe while high on PCP. But the movie is not only silent on this and almost all of his other domestic violence incidents (there were many) and use of drugs, but Rodriguez is never even mentioned, even though they were married for 12 years.

But this is a movie and meant to be entertaining, and it is. While it’s Brown’s voice, it’s really Boseman doing the dancing and Brown couldn’t do it much better. One day Boseman had to do more than 60 splits. That alone puts him in contention for an Academy Award. All joking aside, Boseman flawlessly captures Brown’s charisma and charm. In fact, Boseman duplicates Brown’s manner of speaking so well that at times I found him difficult to understand. Brilliant.

Directed by Tate Taylor, the film covers a lot of ground and never really slows down. Tate uses clever (sometimes frustrating) flashbacks to reveal some of the more powerful or disturbing parts of Brown’s life. The flashbacks come throughout the film and take us to different “times” mostly to fill in gaps that were left out the first time we saw that particular time period. His hair is the easiest way to decipher what time period we are in, but dates would have been nice.

This is an entertaining, white-washed biopic that doubles as a concert of Brown’s music. One of these days Hollywood will make a biopic of an entertainer and tell the truth, which is a much better story than what we see here. Much of Brown’s story is amazing and admirable, rising from abject poverty and an extremely difficult childhood, to worldwide fame, success, and wealth. But because they left out most of the flaws, I’ll personally score it a “Rental.”

SHOULD KIDS SEE IT?
Although there is no nudity, we see a young James and a young woman having sex very briefly, as well as some sexual references.

There are several fist fights, one involving Brown’s wife. It is brief but disturbing.

There is one F-word, 6-10 S-words and several racial slurs and some mild profanity.

CONVERSATION STARTER:

1. What were some things you learned about James Brown that you didn’t know prior to watching this film?


2. What was the most shocking?


3. How would you describe his relationships with those closest to him?


4. Who are you closest to?


5. How would you describe those relationships?


6. What do you think makes a good friend?


7. What can you do this week to be a better friend?