Respect-2021

Director Liesl Tommy

Starring Jennifer Hudson, Forest Whitaker, Marlon Wayans

Scott’s Review #1,208

Reviewed December 17, 2021

Grade: B-

I had high hopes when I heard that a new biopic based on the life and times of the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin, was in the works.

My elation was solidified when Jennifer Hudson was cast in the iconic role. It seemed just perfect for her.

After all, the singer has pipes for miles and is now far removed from her appearance as a chubby but lovable young upstart on television’s American Idol. She has already won an Oscar for portraying a singer Effie White in Dreamgirls (2006) and is firmly established in the big leagues.

Sadly, Respect (2021) underwhelms through no fault of Hudson’s.

Almost every aspect of the film is standard and by the numbers, and the word ‘safe’ comes to mind multiple times throughout the viewing. On par with a television movie rather than a big-screen spectacle, the feature can largely be skipped, except for Hudson’s performance scenes.

Hudson’s finale of ‘Amazing Grace’ is astonishing, as is the real-life performance by Aretha Franklin for President Obama and his wife, Michelle, that appears over the closing credits.

I would recommend this film only for the die-hard Aretha fans. If novice South African director, Liesl Tommy, had visions of mirroring the recent successes of Bohemian Rhapsody (2018) or Rocket Man (2019), she sadly missed the mark completely.

For a similar experience, watch the superior What’s Love Got to Do with It (1993) starring Angela Bassett as Tina Turner.

Respect follows the rise of Aretha Franklin’s career, from a privileged child singing in her father’s church choir to her international superstardom and her journey to find her voice.

She battles her ‘demons’ like overindulging in alcohol and dating abusive men as she struggles with the rigors of touring and recording hit singles, becoming a demanding diva along the way.

The film contains nearly every cliche in the book, and I have my doubts that all of the plots are even factual. It is expected that Franklin falls for a charismatic yet abusive man and returns home with a black eye to her controlling father, played by Forest Whitaker.

The talented actor has little to do besides what you would expect from a typical controlling movie father.

She struggles with her career, battles the bottle, collapses on stage, fights with her family, scolds a housekeeper, reunites with her sisters, returns to the stage a star, and just about every other experience that the rise and fall and rise again of a superstar would behold.

Strangely, the film’s timeline primarily spans from 1962 to 1972, during the singer’s rise to fame. Notably, one period was also skipped over in her return to the top of the charts in 1985 with ‘Freeway of Love’ or any of her other 1980s hits.

She died in 2018, so much of her life is not featured at all.

Aretha is often portrayed as being overweight, despite being overweight for most of her life. The fact that Hudson, who was once overweight herself and is now svelte, is in the lead role suggests that either Hudson or the filmmakers (or both) didn’t want her to be perceived as fat.

While understandable, missed is an essential trademark of the Queen of Soul.

The best parts of Respect are when Hudson performs. Besides her brilliant rendition of ‘Amazing Grace’, other treats are ‘Think’, ‘I Say a Little Prayer’, and, naturally, ‘Respect’. Hudson rises to the occasion with every number.

Jennifer Hudson excels in a role for which she is perfectly cast. She successfully channels her inner Aretha Franklin and soars when she is allowed to let loose and give a brilliant performance.

Unfortunately, the rest of the material is lackluster, with dialogue and situations that are generic, and a gnawing feeling of watching Jennifer Hudson perform Aretha Franklin’s songs cannot be shaken.

I expected greatness out of Respect (2021), but all I got was mediocrity.