*very long post alert, please just skip it if you don't want to read anything critical about the docu (that is, if the length didn't make you skip it already in the first place
).*
I watched the documentary yesterday. My expectations were not very high. I enjoyed Bad 25 but thought it was very average as a music documentary. It was the behind the scenes footage that made it worth watching for me. Knowing there'd be less footage from the OTW era, I expected the documentary to be less interesting.
Unfortunately, that's what it turned out to be. I even felt that, with the exception of the 'June 25 segment' at the end of Bad 25, this documentary hit more low points as well. What I did like is that MJ's voice was used as a narrative device. It was limited and I do think with more research and effort it could have been used to a greater extent, but worked well when it was used. One of the more striking moments of the documentary to me was just hearing Michael talk about what he felt was his destiny while Todd Gray's photos were shown. I wish this was utilized more, as it was one of the few moments where it just felt like the focus was entirely on Michael.
I thought the first part of the documentary (up to The Wiz section) felt really out of place. Of course it makes sense to set up a bit of context, but I felt this was unnecessarily long for a 1,5 hour documentary that is supposed to be about the Off The Wall album. At the same time, it was not long enough to really go in-depth on anything (given that they were discussing a 20 year period). I think it would have made more sense to start the documentary with Michael arriving in New York for The Wiz and then give people a sense of the history that led up to that by showing clips that related to it (like Michael talking about going solo during the Sylvia Chase interview), or just condense everything they did here into 5 minutes or so.
To me it picked up a bit once we got to The Wiz. The way Michael and Quincy met was nicely described (glad to see at least some archive footage of Quincy in here). It was also good that Michael living in New York on his own with LaToya and going to Studio 54 during this time was brought up. This could have been explored (much) more, but at least it gave the viewer an idea of how the seeds were planted for this album.
After that things went off-track to me. We suddenly move into a discussion about the production quality of the album. Very much worth mentioning, but we go from the earliest stages of the album being created straight to an analysis of the end product. Odd. The song-by-song breakdown to me did not make any sense here, because most songs were hardly discussed at all. The first half of the album benefited from the live footage, but even those songs were really not discussed in any detail. It was heartbreaking how a lot of the live footage was broken up with 'insights' from the talking heads (a completely uninteresting person saying they danced all alone in their living room to Working Day And Night as if that is some sort of earth-shattering revelation? Whut??). Speaking of which: most of these people had no business being in this documentary. Some made at least a bit of sense. For instance, I like Kobe and I could see him being a suitable talking head in a documentary about Michael's later years (when he actually knew him) or one that focuses more on Michael's work ethic. But why was he in this much more than Bruce Swedien (btw, we know Kobe knew MJ, but this was not explained to the viewer at all. Bad filmmaking)? But what about all the seemingly random people. Rosie Perez? What the heck?
One of the low points to me was the She's Out Of My Life segment. It actually starts out as one of the best song discussions, because it was one of the few instances where we actually learned a little bit about the song's history. It was nice to hear Tom Bahler talk about how he came up with the song and how it ended up with Michael. This was followed by some nice comments by Bruce Swedien and Gamble & Huff about Michael's amazing vocal performance. But then we cut to Eddie Murphy... I like Delirious and I have no problem at all with Eddie's joke about MJ. But the way this was cut here, alternating between Eddie, Michael's live performance, and then back to Eddie crying and asking Tito for tissue, came across as borderline mocking to me (by the director, not Eddie). I thought this was so entirely out of place in what was supposed to be a documentary that makes people appreciate MJ more. And this is coming from someone who thinks the ending to the She's Out Of My Life performance is a bit too theatrical...
Some of the other 'lighthearted' moments also did not make sense to me, for a different but related reason. I don't really have a problem with including Questlove talking about how he thought MJ sang "keep on with the forks don't stop" or David Byrne saying Don't Stop's lyrics sounded like some crazy Star Wars shit to him. This might draw a laugh from viewers and make them relate - we all have at least one MJ song where we don't have a clue as to what the heck he is saying. However, I don't see the point of including this at all unless you then AFTERWARDS explain what Michael was actually saying and what he was talking about. Now it just comes across as "right, he was talking some gibberish about a force" whereas it should be "oh cool, I had no idea what he was talking about but I get it now."
Just think about it: in the end, what does the viewer really learn about the Off The Wall album from this documentary? They learn, in very abstract ways, about the history leading up to it, they learn a little about the impact it had, and the views of talking heads (of varying interest). But there is little to nothing to be learned about the record itself. What was Michael's idea for the album, what did he have in mind? What were the songs about? How did he set about composing these songs? Where were they composed? How long did it take him? What did the people working on the album, like Quincy, think of Michael's ideas? How many songs did Michael compose for the album? Were they all dance tracks (no, we know he wrote Little Susie too)? How many songs were considered? How were the sessions? Did it take a long time to make the album? Who played on it? Where was it recorded? How did Michael's involvement differ from that on previous (and perhaps later) projects? How was the tracklist chosen? Who came up with the idea for the album cover? How did the photoshoot go? What were the ideas for the videos? Who came up with those? How were the costumes designed? Etc etc etc etc... None of this made it into the documentary, presumably because it was more important to learn that it would be embarrassing to dance to Get On The Floor by yourself, that Rock With You was a popular rollerskating track, and that Spike Lee's love interest was not interested in seeing The Wiz with him...
Because Michael has a powerful presence, I can see how people can still come away from this documentary thinking he was a very talented, hardworking young man who dreamed big and completely dedicated himself to making his dreams come true. Just focusing on those elements is enough in that sense - and the live performance footage and other clips of Michael speak for themselves. I just feel, once again, like it could have done so much more for his artistry... Btw, the documentary just goes to show once more that the Estate's official statement about there being 'very little' in the archives is just rubbish. Just listen to the She's Out Of My Life session tape where MJ apologizes for being emotional, and look at the amazing live footage they have (including backstage interviews!). There is so much there...
The live footage was absolutely incredible though (though why did it look better in The One than here??). None of the live bands MJ ever had sounded this good and lively, and never was he as in tune with the band as he seemed here. Amazing, amazing stuff, which I hope we can all enjoy in full one day.
