I've seen the trailer for the Jennifer Hudson-starring Aretha biopic, Respect, several times now and am always left feeling uneasy about this film, which will be released next month. The art direction, costuming and hair all appear top notch, but some of the lines are clunky and land harshly on the ear. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qTtxoz3OIlU)
For example, the flawless Audra McDonald's instruction to the child Aretha (Skye Dakota Turner) to demand "respect" from others is so lacking in nuance that it might as well have been carved in the side of a mountain. Forest Whitaker plays Aretha's father C.L. Franklin and delivers a line that reads "You have a talent that folks call genius," which is so awkwardly phrased it nearly doesn't make sense. Marlon Wayans plays Aretha's husband/manager/controller Ted White, with whom Aretha butts heads over her "bidness," a word she spits with a Sistahgirl neck swivel, though the scene is set in the '60s. And her clap back to Daddy Franklin when he accuses his daughter of losing her mind is pure Sapphire: "Maybe I found IT!"
The film will undoubtedly snap and crackle and I'm saying a little prayer the music will sweeten what the trailer suggests will be some sour notes.
I've seen the trailer for the Jennifer Hudson-starring Aretha biopic, Respect, several times now and am always left feeling uneasy about this film, which will be released next month. The art direction, costuming and hair all appear top notch, but some of the lines are clunky and land harshly on the ear. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qTtxoz3OIlU)
For example, the flawless Audra McDonald's instruction to the child Aretha (Skye Dakota Turner) to demand "respect" from others is so lacking in nuance that it might as well have been carved in the side of a mountain. Forest Whitaker plays Aretha's father C.L. Franklin and delivers a line that reads "You have a talent that folks call genius," which is so awkwardly phrased it nearly doesn't make sense. Marlan Wayans plays Aretha's husband/manager/controller Ted White, with whom Aretha butts heads over her "bidness," a word she spits with a Sistahgirl neck swivel, though the scene is set in the '60s. And her clap back to Daddy Franklin when he accuses his daughter of losing her "damn mind" is pure Sapphire: "Maybe I found IT!"
The film will undoubtedly snap and crackle and I'm saying a little prayer the music will sweeten what the trailer suggests will be some sour notes.
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