Starring Jaafar Jackson, Colman Domingo, Nia Long, and Miles Teller
Directed by Antoine Fuqua
Music and Lyrics by Michael Jackson and others
I have a more personal connection here than I do to most musical biographies. I grew up alongside Michael Jackson's solo career. Off the Wall debuted four months after I was born. Thriller was one of the first albums I remember my family buying. We had Bad on cassette and Dangerous on CD in later years. I heard the stories about Jackson, about his bizarre behavior, how he was isolated, how he was a genius, about the infamous Pepsi accident...but as an 9-year-old when this movie ends in 1988, I cared nothing about all of that. I only knew I loved his songs, just like millions of other kids then. Does this movie fill in the gaps? We begin at a major concert and a man coming out for a number before fading into the past. Let's head to Gary, Indiana, as one small boy looks longingly out at the children playing in the snow, and find out...
The Story: That little boy is Michael Jackson (Juliano Krue Valdi), the youngest of the 8 Jackson children. Their father Joe Jackson (Domingo) is grooming them to go on the stage as a rock act, determined that they should have more than his grueling job in the steel mills. He pushes Michael and his sons hard and treats them rough, including using the strap when they speak against not having normal childhoods. The rehearsals pay off. They get bigger and bigger gigs, eventually landing a deal with Motown Records as The Jackson 5. Michael is delighted to learn all aspects of the record business from Motown's owner Berry Gordy (Laurenz Tate), but his father doesn't like sharing his son with other father figures.
The Jackson 5 rise to the top as one of the biggest artists on the Motown label, but despite them now having a far more lavish home, Michael is becoming more and more isolated. He loves the many pets his parents buy him, including a giraffe and a llama, but has no friends his own age. Gordy encourages Michael to go out on his own, but Joseph is afraid of what that would mean for the family and keeps him touring with the Jackson 5.
By 1979, Michael (Jackson) is a boy in a grown man's body who still loves toys and collects unique pets, including a chimp named Bubbles (Lily Colucci) he saved from a testing facility. He's even more eager to go solo after leaving Motown for Columbia's Epic Records label. Despite the tremendous success of his Off the Wall and Thriller albums and Michael having his new lawyer John Branca (Teller) fire his father via fax, Joseph is still convinced Michael is a little boy who will never leave the family. When the Pepsi commercial he talks Michael into doing with his brothers goes wrong and Michael ends up in the hospital, Michael has the time to reconsider his life, where it's headed, and just how loyal he should be to his abusive father.
The Song and Dance: For all the cliches, there's some terrific performances here. Yes, Jaafar is Jackson's nephew, but he's wonderful as his uncle, ably capturing his slightly dorky little-boy mannerisms, his vanity over his nose and his skin disorder, and even giving us a hint of the bizarre paranoia and obsession with children that eventually took over his life in the 90's. Long and Domingo may be even better as Michael's soft-spoken mother who protests how he's treated and his dominating father who sees his sons as his ticket out of Gary and poverty...as long as they stay together. Jackson's real-life family had input on this, assuring that the costumes and sets are perfect reflections of what Jackson wore and where he lived.
The Numbers: We open with Jackson's "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" in 1988 at a sold-out concert in London. After we fade in on 1964, we get the Jackson 5 rehearsing "Big Boy," and seeing what a taskmaster Joseph was. "Oh How Happy" is their first montage number as we see Joseph getting them bigger and better gigs. "I'll Be There" is the song that gets them into Motown. They try to get Michael to record "You've Changed," but he can't stop dancing, even in place. "Stand" gives us their act through the years, as we move from polished home-made brocade vests to late 60's Paisley-and-fringe. Michael's thrilled to see Gladys Knight (Liv Symone) and the Pips perform their huge hit "I Heard It Through the Grapevine," but their "Never Can Say Goodbye" is an even bigger success.
The Jackson 5 has a string of hits in the early-mid 70's, including "ABC," "Who's Lovin' You," and "I Want You Back." By 1979, Michael is a grown man, and it's becoming obvious that he's by far the most popular of the group. He gets his father to let him make Off the Wall for Epic Records after his solo ode to his pet rat "Ben" is a surprise success. "Don't Stop 'Till You Get Enough" and "I Can't Help It" are a smash, but Joseph would rather his son continue to record songs like "Rockin' Robin," "The Love You Save," and "We've Got a Good Thing Going" with his brothers.
Michael finally breaks from his family, hiring gang members from LA to dance in his "Beat It" video and turning "Thriller" into a dynamic horror tribute. His incredible performance of "Billie Jean" on the Motown at 25 TV special cements his popularity. He's heard humming "Smile," a song written by his idol Charlie Chaplin, before his father turns up again with his proposals. "Billie Jean" is briefly reprised during the Pepsi commercial before the pyrotechnics set fire to Michael's hair. The movie ends with Michael singing with his brothers before we return to "Human Nature" and "Bad" in London for Michael's first solo tour.
Trivia: This movie was originally supposed to come out in 2024, but it was delayed to 2025 due to the screen writer's strike in 2023. Heavy re-writes when the ending had to be reshot forced it to be moved to April 2026.
The movie was originally supposed to end with the allegations of child abuse Michael had to deal with in 1993, but the family protested, and due to a legal clause, it had to be re-written. Janet Jackson, Michael's younger sister, respectfully asked to be left out as well, and Diana Ross had to be written out due to legal clauses.
This is far from the only musical dealing with Michael Jackson's career. There's a stage jukebox biography running on Broadway at press time, MJ - The Musical, that starts in 1992 during the Dangerous World Tour and discusses some of the same topics as the film. We also have three TV projects, The Jacksons: An American Dream miniseries from 1992, Man In the Mirror: The Michael Jackson Story from 2004, and the Lifetime drama Michael Jackson: Searching for Neverland from 2017.
What I Don't Like: See the family involvement above. On one hand, I'm kind of glad this ends on a relatively positive note, especially after the real-life burn accident. On the other hand, they leave out a good chunk of Michael's history by stopping at 1988. Yes, those child abuse accusations were real, but so was Michael's continuing success. He had some of his biggest hits from 1988 onwards, including "Black and White," "Heal the World," "Will You Be There," and "You Rock My World." There's also the fact that, good performances aside, a lot of this comes off as bland, ridiculously cliched (even for a movie musical biopic), and way too campy, especially for something that lasts two hours.
The Big Finale: Yes, it's cliched to high heck and a little on the bland side, but it's still worth checking out for the great music and performances if you're a huge Michael Jackson fan or are like me and remember when he was the King of Pop, the biggest performer on Earth.
Home Media: No word on when the movie will be on physical media, but the soundtrack is currently available.
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