Ron Jacobsohn Reviews Respect

Respect begins and ends with Aretha singing in church as it chronicles one of America’s greatest icons of all times from childhood until the end of her life at age of seventy-six in 2018.

The song Respect is one of the all-time greatest anthems ever sung, yet one of the facts we learn during the flick is that Franklin herself didn’t really always live by her own words. We get a glimpse of a very sensitive and unguarded woman, not so much the icon she appeared to be to the world.

Jennifer Hudson who was chosen by Franklin to portray her (and even managed to have some personal meetings with her before she passed). Hudson definitely has the voice to portray Franklin for the over two-and-a-half-hour running time. but is a lot less impressive when it comes to her portraying the character.

The pandemic pushed the release date of Respect by a over a year, which gave the NatGeo’s Cynthia Erivo-starrer, Aretha-focused season of Genius a chance to reach audiences first, despite objections from the Franklin family. Both projects essentially are committed in celebrating Aretha Franklin’s accomplishments but the movie, ironically, is the one which is a bit light on the drama side.

This MGM Picture is the directorial debut for Broadway vet, Liesl Tommy, with a stellar cast that includes Oscar winners Jennifer Hudson and Forest Whitaker, as well as, Marlon Wayans, Audra McDonald and Mary J. Blige. I give it a THUMBS UP nonetheless.

About Ron Jacobsohn

World renowned, award winning, correspondent, Ron Jacobsohn, brings from his very entertaining world to Ron's World.

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