Last night — well, very early this morning, I attended the world premier of “Michael Jackson’s This Is It.” I’ve never really been a huge MJ fan and I’ll be the first to admit that I may have bought into the media distortion of him. When I decided to go, it stemmed more from the fact that I’m a pop-culture junkie rather than an MJ fan. There was a point in time that the “Wacko-Jacko” persona was the only thing I could see when I saw him. But, over the past four months, the media has focused on what made Michael Jackson a legend, a musical prodigy, and in turn reminded us that, first and foremost, he was a person.
I was at a bed and breakfast in Torino, Italy when I heard the news of Michael’s death. The four friends that I was with were just as stunned and shocked as I. It seemed like a hoax or a bad publicity stunt; it was too hard to believe. We had just been in London a few days earlier where Michael was set to perform “This Is It” at the O2 Arena. The city was so hyped for his return to the spotlight. We had even contemplated going to see Thriller the Musical, which is running in the West End. Regrettably, we didn’t see the stage show.
We had to travel back through London on are way home. The sense of loss and sadness was palpable. While all of the televisions were set to BBC News, all of the British tabloids had already started speculating and running fabricated stories. Emanating from nearly ever shop, as we walked through the terminal at Heathrow Airport, were the hypnotic beats and melodic voice that were signatures to every song of Michael’s.
Over the next four months, the media would be relentless and scrutinize every angle of this bizarre story. Only now have the details come into clearer focus, although I’m sure there is much that has still yet to be uncovered. The most important thing that has come from his untimely and sudden passing is the reminder of what Michael Jackson was all about. If ever there was a documentary that humanized an otherwise caricature-like persona, “Michael Jackson’s This Is It” did just that.
There was no lack of excitement in the caravel-like movie theater, playing host to Michael Jackson karaoke. Everyone in the theater was so pumped for this show — and what a show it was! This would have been THE most ambitious, intense, dynamic stage show. The dancers, sets, video, themes… just everything was over the top. And then there was the King of Pop.
For someone who was allegedly on so many drugs, MJ was KILLIN’ it until the very end. He was the essence of perfection. Every note he sang, every move he hit was on key, on point and nothing less than perfect. At times I could feel myself dancing in my seat. You felt as though you were right there on stage with MJ.
The most important thing that this documentary does is show you the human side of Michael Jackson. Dude was funny! He had a rapier wit and a quick tongue. You got the sense that everyone involved with this tour production were so elated to be doing what they were doing. While this cinematic version could have been sad, I feel that it ended on a high note. It was a celebration of Michael Jackson’s life and accomplishments.
After the movie, in the the lobby of the theater were several huge poster-boards on which the audience could leave messages to Michael.
[[The message I left. Not the most profound, but I was half asleep.]]
[[Thriller the Musical in London’s West End.]]
[[My ticket stub, which, now that I really look at it, is dated incorrectly.]]
