Yesterday I went to see the new movie about James Brown called Get On Up. The movie chronicles the highs and lows of Brown’s life. It showcases Brown’s difficult childhood and the great success he received from being a soul singer. Chadwick Boseman, the man who played Brown, did a great job playing the singer. The only issue I had with his performance throughout the film was the monolouges he performed — he spoke to the camera as though it was a character. One of Boseman’s best scenes in the film is when he explains to the musicians in the band that whether they play the guitar or the saxophone, every instrument is a “drum”. This speech is very true of music. Every instrument does have its own rhythum, and therefor each one is a drum.
Another problem with the film, was its chronology. It would jump from one year to the other. For instance, it would jump from ’65 to ’63. Flashbacks made it hard to follow the story, instead of helping the story. If movies are going to have flashbacks they should let audience to know that the scene is a flashback. Had these problems with jumping around in time not had happened, the movie would have been easier to follow and much more enjoyable.
Thankfully the great humor and music made up for the film’s time-jumping. The most humorous scene had to be when Brown meets the president of King Records and the president performs the mash potato. This not only made the audience laugh, but also made James laugh at the man’s moves.
This movie is definately worth seeing, just because of the fact that it teaches audiences about the real life of such a legendary performer. It made me wish that Holloywood would put out more movies about musicians. The music movies that they’ve made besides Get On Up, are Walk the Line and Ray. Hopefully they will continue making movies about music legends like James Brown.
