Time for a trip to the cinema then, to see if this is worth or if its a waste of time. I mean Aretha did pick Jennifer to play her before her dead, & the girls got pipes she always had so lets see how cool this is going to be.

I think i lowered the average age at the cinema for this. I also think i was the only one at the cinema too. Everyone in there was at least in their 50s & looked like they were on date night. There was one couple who were a little older than me but we will get to them later.

Trailers, new Bond (yep) Dear Even Hansen (yep) West Side Story (at last), Malignant (nope) & the French Dispatch (yep) I mean thats a good set of films isnt it, how cool is that. I mean yeah i really want to see most of those.

& then the film started… So that couple i was on about when they left they said its the best film they have seen this year & the most magical film. I think i saw a different film to them because if it wasnt for Jennifer it would be a really poor forgettable film.

Okay Jennifer is good, there is no doubt about that, but only good. When she sings it is still her voice coming out of her mouth & not even an impression of Aretha or her trying to be more her. Yes shes got an epic voice which i do love, but its not Aretha’s. If she is nominated for or wins an oscar this year, its because of who shes playing & not the performance which was only good. It wasnt anything stunning or sublime where you sit there & tell people about it. I mean it could be a piss poor year for actresses but i doubt that. She doesnt deserve it.

Some of the actual filming of the film was atrocious there were some sections completely out of focus or not focused on the person speaking or even looking at someone mystically while someone else was talking. It was badly film. It was at times just so piss poor. The script at times felt like i could have done a better job than them & i know im not the best writer my gramma is crap, however i know what i type i mean & feel, none of this felt like it. I mean it even made Martin Luther King feel a little bland, & thats saying a lot.

The domestic abuse was shown quite alot which was good, very dark at points, but the way her church & family dealt with her mental health as demons was not good. It was included but not in a healthy good way it still had so much stigma attached to it & it wasnt nice.

No one else aged in the film. Aretha & her siblings did but no one else did. Forrest wasnt mad to look a little older as her dad, the family friends all remained the same age too, a bit more effort in that would have made that more believable. Also random time jumps for years we dont see & then a time jump that wasnt registered it just wasnt coherent. Just felt very random.

As much as it was a film biopic, it lost its way multiple times in the film. It didnt know which side of Aretha it wanted us to see & then got confused along the way.

So much was put onto the song respect too. I mean yes its when the films called &it was her biggest hit but nah the rest of her music was pushed a side a little.

If it was just a non biopic film about a random musician with this struggle & the poor script it would be instantly forgettable. But because Jennifer realises shes got a legacy to try & hold it just about passes as average. I mean im glad ive seen it & am now hoping for better films this award season that that. Its nothing to write home about.