george.schmidt Review of Get on Up

Get on Up (2014)

Boseman gives it his all in spite of a somewhat bungled biopic

[7/10 · 1 August 2014]

GET ON UP (2014) *** Chadwick Boseman, Nelsan Ellis, Dan Aykroyd, Viola Davis, Lennie James, Craig Robinson, Jill Scott, Octavia Spencer (Cameos: Alllison Janney & John Benjamin Hickey) Boseman gives it his all totally embodying The Godfather of Soul, James Brown in this otherwise routine and misdirected biopic from director Tate Taylor (who does a yeoman's job at best) and a half-baked screenplay by Jez Butterworth, John-Henry Butterworth & Steven Baigelman that pogos back in time in a relatively non-linear schism that falters largely in not showing the creative process of who Brown was but instead the man's demons and struggles in becoming The Hardest Working Man in Show Business, warts and all. Lip-synching to the late, great pioneer of r&b Boseman has the man's mannerisms, vocalizations and physiognomy down pact (until the negligible make-up in his later years) particularly in his greatest hits dancing like a slab of butter on a hot skillet and singing as if his very life depended on it. The stock cast is largely wasted except for Elwood Blues (I mean Aykroyd) as Brown's manager and father-figure-of-sorts; go figure. While we get glimpses of what the man was we by no means get the full picture of what truly made him a performer's performer which is a crying shame.