Get on Up

The life of James Brown, from his dirt-poor childhood in Georgia to his reign as the “Godfather of Soul,” provides grist for a standard Hollywood musical biopic. The best reason to see it is Chadwick Boseman's powerhouse performance as Brown; he goes as deep into the character as the shallow script (by Steven Baigelman and Jez and John-Henry Butterworth) and direction (by Tate Taylor) will allow. The movie jumps around in time, perhaps to make the cameo roles of Viola Davis (as Brown's mother) and Octavia Spencer (as his “aunt,” a bordello-keeper) seem bigger than they are. Boseman gets stronger support from Nelsan Ellis as sideman Bobby Byrd and Dan Aykroyd as manager Ben Bart. Aside form that, there's Brown's music, which is faithfully reproduced and gives a good sense of Brown's charisma in concert.