Biopics surrounding musicians are already well-worn tropes. Of course, we have the classic tragedies like "La Bamba" and "Sweet Dreams" — full of abusive spouses, angst and flawed matinee idols. Then there are the more contemporary "Walk the Line" and "Ray"-type films — full of drug abuse, angst and flawed matinee idols.
And so we have "Get On Up," which follows the formula so closely it almost seems like it's parodying "Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story," which, of course, itself parodied those movies.
The biopic of James Brown's life does its thing, which just happens to be the thing most of those other movies do. But, as the Godfather of Soul was wont to do, it's done with such style that it doesn't really matter if we've seen the story before.
Brown (played with gusto by Chadwick Boseman, who last year played Jackie Robinson with the same passion, but as a much different man) grew up dirt-poor in a time when that phrase took a literal meaning. Living in a dilapidated shack in the woods, Brown's mother (Viola Davis) takes to distracting him from his hunger.
Director Tate Taylor ("The Help") plays with linear narration, sprinkling in these sequences as flashback and wisely choosing to keep the focus on Brown's prime — during which Boseman plays him as a charismatic, boastful man who rules his world, many times with an iron fist, equally generous and selfish, as cruel as often as he is kind.
Boseman is spot-on — a better James Brown than he was Jackie Robinson, though the two characters couldn't be more dissimilar. He plays both men as proud, but his Brown is perhaps Robinson's unfettered, unencumbered id cranked up to 11, freed from the responsibility of putting an entire race on his back. He is perfect for both parts, and the worst unintended consequence of his stellar performance here is that his career may be limited to playing historical figures in the stories of their lives.
Taylor assembles a terrific cast, including "Help" holdovers Nelsan Ellis, Davis, Octavia Spencer and even Allison Janney in a small but memorable role as the avatar for white society, who objects to Brown taking over the hotel pool she wants to swim in but later rocks out to his music. Ellis and Davis especially stand out, as does Dan Aykroyd, playing the Godfather's link to the white man's world and the key who helps him conquer it. Craig Robinson ("Hot Tub Time Machine") also has a memorable part as one of Brown's band members.
"Get On Up," is a fun, rollicking time at the movies, full of great music, tremendous performances and just enough social commentary to make a statement without being heavy-handed. It treats Brown with admiration but isn't overly reverential.
Virtually all of it has been done before, but I can't say with any kind of certainty that it's ever been done better. It's instantly one of my favorite films of the summer and one of the year's best.