Get On Up

This film was a disappointment.
 James Brown (Chadwick Boseman) had an interesting life, from his humble and cruel beginnings as a child abandoned by both of his parents and forced to live in a brothel to his rise to fame and insistence that he knows the business when he, in fact, only received a seventh grade education. The film covers it all, but it misses the mark, failing to make a huge impact on its audience.
Sure, there are great scenes, like the one where Mr. Brown (he insists on the formality of last names throughout) tells the audience not to come up and dance on the stage. These are his own people and they have disappointed him, badly. And the one where his friend, Mr. Bobby Byrd (Nelsan Ellis) tells him that he's always only taken care of himself, which is true, because if he didn't do it, then no one else would have.
And the scene where his mother arrives to see him after the Apollo, he tells her firmly not to tell anyone that she's proud of her baby because she is not his mother, they both know that that isn't true. That is actually the only time he seems vulnerable in the whole film.
Now, Brown doesn't really know what true loyalty is. He is in prison when he meets Mr. Byrd while he's still in prison, in for five to thirteen years for stealing a suit. But luckily Mr. Byrd takes pity on him and invites him to stay at his mother's house and join his gospel group. Mr. Brown repays him by banging his sister and abandoning the band when they hit it big time. Sure, that actually wasn't his idea, it was the record company's and the band would remain as background at his insistence but that just won't do. But, at some point, Mr. Brown and Mr. Byrd make up, but that is left unclear in the film, leaving a huge plot hole that needs filling. Then when Mr. Byrd decides to break away from Brown for good and create his own record, Mr. Brown proclaims that he will not have his support, believing that his fame is a birthright for him and him alone.
Mr. Brown is also cruel to his second wife, Deedee (Jill Scott) by smacking her around when she wears something low cut around other men and he is furious when she doesn't answer the phone when he calls her. Yet, she is still attracted to him. But his personal life isn't the focus of this film. He fines his employees if they do something wrong and despite earning tons of money, he still manages to owe the government back taxes. He hints that after everything he has done, sell millions of records and settle a riot, he shouldn't have to pay the government anything.
And Brown continues having trouble with the law, angry at his one employee when she uses the bathroom and has a police chase in his car and spends some in jail before returning to his career.
As I've said, there is more than enough material in his life to create a good film, but this one falls flat, jumping around too much, trying to cover too much ground. That is a shame because Boseman is fantastic, dancing his heart out, nailing every line and scene that he is in and his performance is wasted on this film. He owns the film. Everyone else is fine, but the film belongs to him, certainly delivering one of the best performances I've seen this year on film, so far. Also, the aging make-up is considerably better in this film than in Jersey Boys. And the music is also good. This film has all the ingredients to make a great film but it doesn't mix them properly. Grade: B