Michael Jackson "This is It" DVD - A Maddening Tease of What Could Have Been

Remember when Michael Jackson was Black?

The late Michael Jackson, more than almost any other personality in Music, brings out mixed feelings in me. There will always be a part of me that loved the young, "Cute Cuddly Michael" who burst onto the scene with his brothers in those early Jackson 5 records. To be so talented and successful at such a young age, Michael must truly have been born with that monster talent. Some people are just touched by God. Another part of me is truly repulsed by the distorted freak he turned into in his later years.

Determined to avoid becoming a washed-up child star, Michael strove to improve and perfect his art. He released some surprisingly solid (and unfairly ignored) early solo records in his teens on his way to the triumphs of "Off the Wall" and "Thriller" and everything that followed. Like everyone else in the world, I was blown away by his 1983 performance on the "Motown 25" show when he debuted "Billie Jean" and "moonwalked" for the first time.

In his prime, Michael was certainly a "Thriller!"

In his unprecedented career Michael shattered boundaries for both himself and other Black artists. He opened the door of MTV at a time when it was segregated, even if they didn't admit it. His recordings shattered all sales records, starting from his days with the J5 when he became the first artist to have five consecutive Number One singles on the Pop chart. His records will probably never be broken, as the paradigm of the Music Business has changed so radically since then.

Michael proclaimed himself "King of Pop" and who could refute him?

To his credit, the Michael shown in "This is It" still wants to break barriers and put together an unprecedented show. Imagine having the world's best musicians, the best sound people, the best singers, the best dancers, the best production people, all dying to work with you. Imagine if money were no object and the only boundary was your imagination. The movie depicts a Michael determined to remove the bad taste of all the unsavory headlines; determined to reclaim his crown as the self-proclaimed "King of Pop" after ten years away from the stage. This Michael is crafting a boundary-breaking series of shows at the O2 Arena in London; all 50 of which sold out immediately.

In the end, "This is It" is all appetizer and no main course.

What an amazing show it would have been! Michael oversees every aspect of the production with his Director Kenny Ortega. From the arrangements to the choreography to the CGI to the production, he's right in there mixing it up. He seems very clear on what he wants, and his starstruck staff is more than eager to give it to him. Even the most hardened pros are shown as calling working with Michael the Living Legend a "pinnacle."

The Michael shown in the movie is suprisingly vital; nowhere near his real age of 50. His singing and dancing abilities are remarkably intact. And yet Michael seems frail in the movie - certainly not strong enough to make it through fifty - yes fifty! - sold-out performances of this very physically demanding show.

But in the end, Michael died before the show could go on and the vision went unrealized. AEG had spent gobs of money on the pre-production and they had to recoup their losses somehow - so we get "This is It." If the concert had actually happened, this "behind the scenes" rehearsal footage would have been the first fifteen minutes of the movie, tops. What we wind up with is a whole lot of appetizer and no main course, so we walk away from the table unsatisfied.

Ultimately "This is It" is unsatisfying in the same way as a posthumous Hendrix release - showing flashes of genius but in the end, unfulfilling; a maddening tease. "This is It" is saddening in the imagining of what could have been Michael's greatest triumph, and the knowledge that the artist is no longer here to complete it.