MovieChat Forums > Get on Up (2014) Discussion > 2.5 hours of Boring

2.5 hours of Boring

posted 10 years ago by RASlater
6 replies | jump to latest

First, the director (Tate Taylor) has been telling all of the tabloid t.v. shows that he deliberately revised and underplayed James Brown's violence and played up the white racism. In other words, this is really not a biopic, but an imagining of what James Brown might be like if a director wanted to use a famous black entertainer to teach that white people were all awful and must pay reparations to blacks for anything that happened to any black in the past by paying off all blacks. Every white person in the film is a vile devilish racist, except for James Brown's manager who is a stereotypical Jew who loves loves loves money above all else. The film also was written to make James Brown a business and financial genius, when in real life he was the opposite (he was disorganized, he owed the feds millions, and was constantly in debt to everyone). So this film about James Brown is really about a different person the director named James Brown to get you in the theatre.

Second, the film makes thew point that James' mother abandoning him and his father sending him to his aunt's brothel to be raised is white society's fault, not his parent's. And his wife-beating (as I said, "played down") is also the white person's fault.

So the film is for liberal white people needing their "kick me" fix and blacks who embrace being victims of their own lives. Predictably, the largely black audience in my theatre clapped at the end. Much I suppose they clapped when OJ was found not guilty of Nicole Brown's and Goldman's murders.

Third, it's a "lecture" movie. You are lectured that James Brown was entitled to be a violent jerk and criminal because of whites.

[–] Mehki_Girl 10 years ago

You are obviously never actually saw the movie and just taking a stab a what your tiny racist mind assumes it was about.

Now crawl back under your rock.

[–] TheBeardedWonder 10 years ago

Haha pretty much. When was it even implied that the Dad's abuse towards his family was the white mans fault? Like you said, sounds like they never even saw the movie.

JB was a flawed man, nobody would argue that. But nowhere does this movie say its the white mans fault. If anything the closing narration says he knew it was his own fault

[–] plopplopfizzfizzz 10 years ago

OP just sounds crazy and making up stuff as they go along.

[–] plopplopfizzfizzz 10 years ago

Ugh you're annoying, OP. Oh boo hoo, a movie painted white people in a bad light! What ever will you do? Oh! Maybe you can choose from the thousands of other movies that don't paint white people badly. Trust me, there are plenty! Funny you wanna say black people embrace being victims when your whole post is nothing but you whining about white people being portrayed negatively. What do you expect of a movie set in the 40s, 50s, and 60s about any black person? White people being racist was the reality for black people especially then, sorry you can't stand it and want to pretend like everything was peaches & cream! Oh and don't watch movies about slavery, you'll really pop a blood vessel.

[–] nedhorn 10 years ago

Actually this was one of the few black musician biopics that depicted the white businessmen as more-or-less decent guys who weren't out to exploit JB. In reality, King records had a record of underpaying royalties, but it never raised that point.

[–] Freedom1981 10 years ago

I get the feeling that you're judging a film that you haven't watched. Here's my two cents.

First off, Brown came of age in the South in the pre-Civil Rights era, if anything the film waters down the White Racism. It was far worse for Blacks in the Jim Crow South in reality.

Secondly, there's a pretty violent scene in the film between James and one of his wives. Overall the movie focuses on James' music career and spends very little screen time depicting Brown's relationships with his wives and his children. Despite the fact that very little time is spent on Brown's family outside of his mother and father, the film still found a way to include scenes showing him abusing his wife.

Thirdly, it's not a lecture movie. It doesn't portray Brown as a victim or hero. He's portrayed as complex man with great musical and entrepreneurial gifts. It does an excellent job of showing Brown's good and bad sides warts and all.