GET ON UP (Or as I Like to Call it: Sit Back Down): A Review

By Moriya

GRADE: C +

Get On Up did not make me want to get out of my seat. In fact, it left me wishing I'd gone to see Guardians of the Galaxy. What can I say? It was funkier than James Brown's music- and not in a good way.

Having known virtually nothing about James Brown or his story before entering this movie, I believed myself a perfect candidate for the review, thinking I would be more objective. While I have found this to ring true, I wish I could be a little bit more sympathetic toward the film. The movie follows the life of James Brown (Chadwick Boseman, 42, Draft Day), from humble beginnings to international fame. Other supporting characters include Brown's long time band member Bobby Byrd (Nelsan Ellis, True Blood, The Help), Susie Brown and Aunt Honey (Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer, The Help).

From the trailer, I had this film pegged as a feel-good tribute to one of America's most popular R & B singers, with some drama added into the mix since it was obviously about Brown's journey to fame. This was not at all the opinion that I had leaving the theater. There were objectionable elements throughout, including multiple cycles of abuse (some of which should be noted as inappropriate for children viewers), self-reliance, and cockiness bordering on narcissism. It was pretty chalk full of moral decisions that were collectively negative, with no consequences in return; just more fame and money. Not exactly principles I'd want to expose my children to.

Visually, the film is an enormous kaleidoscope of filming styles. To put it metaphorically, it's like the director and cinematographer went to the grocery store and couldn't decide on a box of cereal, so they bought the whole isle. Throughout the movie, the different styles of filming range from Show Me the End of the Movie at the Beginning (of which multiple beginnings were presented to the audience) to I’m Pulling an Inception With How Many Levels of Story are Happening Here, to Forget the Acting, I'll Just Look at the Camera and Narrate, all the way to my personal favorite, This Has All Gotten So Out Of Hand That We are Going to Give You Chapter Headings That Don't Really Help You Follow Our Non-Existent Chain Of Events.

Now, don't mistake this for aggressive disdain for the movie; it was entertaining for the most part and somewhat captivating. However, I found it very distracting and hard to enjoy because of how many elements that came in to play, most of which were completely unnecessary to throw into the mix. One thing that can be said though, is that the casting was exquisite and the performances given were even better. There was never any question of the actor's commitment to the roles at hand, but more of the collaboration between the screenwriters and director. It was disjointed cinematically, but not for lack of effort. It just tried too hard. Overall? Just a bit of a hot mess.

CONTENT OVERVIEW: This film is PG-13.  There are two instances of the F-word in one scene. There is one brief sex scene where there is no nudity, only clothed motion showed. There is one flash of partial nudity when the top half of a woman is shown from outside a window, but her breasts are covered. There is mild language and suggestive content throughout, as well as alcohol and smoking. Drug use is briefly implied.  There is also a scene of mild violence where a woman is hit off screen, but she comes back on screen, hits a table and then the floor, clutching her face.  There is no blood shown.