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Going out with a Beat

Few of Michael Jackson's fans would cite a sense of humor as one of the late pop superstar's defining characteristics. It is for this reason that some of the most endearing moments in "This Is It," the posthumously released film of Los Angeles rehearsals for his 50 sold-out comeback concerts in London, unexpectedly appear in the movie's most lighthearted moments.

In the first, Jackson croons "All my love is you" — in Spanish — to his longtime friend and artistic director Kenny Ortega, who oversaw the painstaking compilation of "This Is It" from more than 100 hours of rehearsal footage.

In the second, Jackson briefly takes a test run in a cranelike cherry picker for a concert segment designed to have him rise above his audience. When Ortega notes that "this is the lower height," Jackson is incredulous.

"Why would you say that to me?" the 50-year-old singer asks, then puckishly adds: "He knows I want to go higher!"

These welcome instances of the notoriously private Jackson with his guard down are as welcome as they are surprising. They help humanize, however briefly, this troubled man-child, who helped reshape pop music in the 1980s before descending into a dizzying series of controversies, including two high-profile court cases on charges of child molestation.

While he was not convicted, Jackson never recovered from his legal travails and tarnished image, personally or commercially. That is why his drug-fueled death on June 25 raised so many questions about how he would have fared, had his comeback concerts taken place as planned.

Could such a frail perfectionist have endured such a grueling performance schedule?

Viewers can draw their own conclusions from "This Is It," which moves from fleeting dance audition scenes to full-scale dress rehearsals.

Jackson appears ghostly and emaciated at first, but he comes alive as each song evolves on the stage of the Staples Center in Los Angeles. The periodic view of rows of empty seats is a grim reminder that, apart from earning cheers from some stage crew members, this comeback never had a chance to ignite.

The fawning spoken tributes to Jackson by various collaborators are hardly unexpected, although two teary-eyed dancers go over the top. Far more revealing are the rehearsals with his band, whose members quickly learn how exacting their employer can be in his musical instructions.

The emphasis is on his best-known songs, from the Jackson Five's 1970 breakthrough hit, "I Want You Back," to "Beat It," "Thriller" and "Man in the Mirror." Jackson appears to lip-sync some selections and sing others live, often in a lower key than on the original versions, concentrating as much or more on his dance moves. A few brief a cappella segments, while not bravura feats of vocal magic, rank among the film's most moving moments.

And in those instances when everything comes together — music, choreography and the Hollywood production bombast — the electrifying results offer a stirring coda to a career whose tragic ending was nearly two decades in the making.

"This Is It." Rated: PG. Running time: 1 hour, 51 minutes. 3 stars.

To find out more about George Varga and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.