Get On Up: Movie Review

A film’s rating rarely has an effect on my enjoyment of it. Unfortunately director Tate Taylor’s follow-up to 2011’s “The Help” is seriously hindered by not only its’ PG-13 rating but also by its’ direction. James Brown led a fascinating life, but it was also a hard-R-rated life. Watering it down to a PG-13 story to get more butts in the seats is a disservice to Mr. Dynamite’s legacy. I might have been able to look over these issues if “Get On Up” was at least entertaining. Unfortunately, it’s not.

I can’t say that I listened to a whole lot of James Brown growing up, well not in the way you would think. I grew up on hip-hop and many of the samples that the artists used were that of James Brown. The singer has influenced all types of music artists over the last few decades and his life story was just as electric as the music he created. I love music bio-pics and was looking forward to this one, but aside from stand-out performances from Chadwick Boseman who portrays the legendary James Brown and Nelsan Ellis who plays his longtime friend and music partner Bobby Byrd, “Get On Up’ is a straight dud.

You won’t hear me complaining about the music. You know there is no way they could mess that up, but everything from Brown’s backwater childhood to his rise to fame is handled so superficially. Even Brown’s drug use is pretty much glossed over, and that was a major part of his life. I think the bigger the James Brown fan you are, the more you will dislike “Get On Up”. Skip the movie and download some of his classics of iTunes instead.

By: Marc Ferman