RESPECT

 Jennifer Hudson     Forest Whitaker     Audra McDonald     Saycon Sengbloh

Tituss Burgess     Marlon Wayans     Mark Maron     Albert Jones 

Respect shows a cross-section of Aretha Franklin’s life from her childhood up through the first several of her many successes (1972 album Amazing Grace).  It makes good use of flashbacks to fill out the early stories, showing the kind of background from which Aretha came and the strong influence of her father throughout her life.  His influence even extends to her standing up to him and forging a life and career unbeknownst to him.  That he did not approve didn’t seem to lessen their continued deep love for one another even through rocky times.

And there would be many rocky times as a function of the first man Aretha chose to marry, the rigors of a music idol’s life, a certain degree of rebelliousness, and her own susceptibility to alcoholism.  The story is well told, and although beginning sections of the 2½ hour film could have been shortened, the rest of the production is gripping.  The processes by which Aretha and her fellow musicians are composing and recording songs is highly entertaining, both for their explication of the process and the discord/accord that rises and falls.  When a song hits that special note, the audience breathes a sigh of relief and has a joyful moment along with the musicians.

Young director Liesl Tommy, whose previous work has been in television, shows great sensitivity in the types of experiences she has chosen to feature, in the aptness of the flashbacks, and in the overall picture of the times during these periods of Franklin’s life.  She has shown good judgment as well in showing almost complete renditions of many of Aretha’s most popular songs.  Credit is likewise due to the primary writer, a close friend of Liesl, Tracey Scott Wilson (TV’s “Fosse/Verdon” and “The Americans”), who was thrilled to work on the project after being a fan.  She says, “It’s one of those things where you want to get it right. She’s just so important. There’s not many musical biopics about Black women in general. It was really important to us to represent her as she was, with a lot of love and care.”

As Aretha, Jennifer Hudson (chosen by Aretha before her death), captures the music and the complex/complexing personality that was Aretha—her early sense of herself as someone who knows her own mind and has clear opinions and one with a rebellious streak who may show flashes of temper.  At the same time, one who could be meek and at sometimes be sensitive to another person’s point of view.  

Forest Whitaker, with so many credentials in portraying complex characters, is a perfect choice to stand in as a powerful man with obvious weaknesses and contradictory positions.  All the actors chosen are strong:  Audra McDonald cameos of Aretha’s mother; Marlon Wayans as an abusive, controlling husband; Tituss Burgess as a mentor to the child Aretha through her adulthood; and the music producers played by Mark Maron and Tate Donovan.

As a biopic, Respect is likely to please the fans of Aretha Franklin.

 

“How does the woman with the greatest voice of all time find her own voice?"    

 Director Liesl Tommy

Grade:  A                              By Donna R. Copeland

SING

Voices of:  Matthew McConaughey   Reese Witherspoon   Seth MacFarlane   Scarlett Johansson   John C. Reilly  

Nick Kroll   Nick Offerman   Leslie Jones   Jennifer Saunders   Rhea Perlman   

Jennifer Hudson   Tori Kelly   Taron Egerton   Garth Jennings   

       The show must go on.  Clever animation and a wealth of songs tell the story of Showman Buster Moon (McConaughey), a koala who has inherited a famous theater from his father, and he is desperately trying to keep it going.  But he has had a number of failed projects and is about to lose it to the bank when he has a great idea for a singing contest. 

          The screwball comedy in the efforts to make it happen include such things as Buster’s secretary Miss Crawley (Jennings) constantly losing her glass eye, which bounces around, landing on the computer keyboard, and making $1,000 into $100,000.  Buster doesn’t find out about this until much later, because as Miss Crawley was carrying a stack of the flyers announcing the contest to show Buster, the whole stack gets blown out the window and scattered by the wind.  Hundreds of flyers all get picked up by aspiring vocalists all around the city in need of cash.

        Sing is animated and all the characters are animals.  There are pigs, elephants, sheep, baboons, giraffes, and an alligator among others, but these are only the main players.  Rosita (Witherspoon) is a housewife pig with 25 kids and an absent-minded husband who takes her for granted.  She is tech-savvy, and creates an automated assembly line at home so she can get out of the house to compete.  Mike (MacFarlane) is a mouse with a Frank Sinatra voice who has a gambling problem, and hence has big brown bears chasing after him for cheating.  Ash (Johansson), a porcupine is part of a duo, but Buster only wants her to sing, wounding her narcissistic partner deeply.  When she gets really into her songs, quills have a tendency to fly out and get stuck in the audience.  Meena (Kelly) is an elephant with a voice, but she is so shy she clams up during a performance, which enrages her “stage-mother” father.  Included is Johnny (Egerton), a gorilla who has great talent for jazz piano, the only problem being that his gangster father wants him to continue to pull off jobs with him.

       When one disaster follows another, and it looks like all is lost, Buster engages the help of his friend Eddie (Reilly) the sheep, who comes from a wealthy family and has a nanna, Nana Noodleman (Hudson and Saunders) who used to perform in operas at Moon’s concert hall.  Buster wants her to sponsor the contest, so invites her to a rehearsal.  Disasters happen, involving all the contestants and those chasing after them, so that it’s doubtful Buster and his hall will survive.

       The primary theme of the film is that everyone involved must pull together to make the show go on, and that fundraising is always something to be dealt with.  Sometimes it also takes boosting the self-confidence of the performer, holding back parents pushing their children inappropriately, and then convincing other parents that their child has talent and needs to be encouraged.

       The film is a bit of a mish-mash in the beginning, and I wonder how many children can appreciate the plot, because it has a lot to do with the “business” of running a theater.  But when the contest and parent involvement begin to happen, the story gets more interesting and engaging.  Writer-director Garth Jennings has conceived of a picture that is ultimately engaging and has good information for children.  The production design by Eric Guillon and animation pull the audience in visually, and Toby Talbot’s music is a running delight throughout.

This is a fanciful animation about what is actually involved in show business.

Grade:  B                                    By Donna R. Copeland