Everyone else is in this movie (save for Wylie Draper) were either miscast or dead weight in this 5-hour snoozefest. For starters, most of the actors bore no resemblance, physically or characteristically, to the actual people. Also, the inaccuracies in this movie are mind-spinning, considering that it was produced by Suzanne DePasse and Jermaine and Margaret Jackson. It begs to ask the question: what is the point of making a biographical movie if it is not accurate or even true?
1. The discovery of Joseph's infidelity towards the end is laughable, as it implies that this was an isolated event. It's common knowledge that Joseph has never been faithful to Katherine, even before they married. The fact that he had a daughter out of wedlock with a Jackson 5 fan in 1974 was also omitted from the movie. Katherine filed for divorce shortly thereafter, but later reconciled.
2. Michael's birth date is shown as having been born in 1959. He was born in 1958.
3. Marlon was a twin. His twin brother having died shortly after birth was never mentioned.
4. The Jackson 5 did not record "Kansas City" for Steeltown Records. Their Steeltown single was an original called "Big Boy."
5. Berry Gordy was not present during the Jacksons audition for Motown, as depicted in the movie. The audition was recorded on video and later mailed to Berry Gordy.
6. Most of the choreography was nowhere near the actual dance routines performed by the Jackson 5, which was part of what made them so popular in their heyday. Also, the movie did not include many of the Jackson 5's songs, including their #1 hit "The Love You Save." Jacksonmania was really downplayed in the movie, giving only one reenactment of the boys being chased off the stage by crazed fans. In reality, Jackson 5 fans were such menaces that the riot shown in the movie would have been considered a good day in real life.
7. In the movie, it is depicted that the rumor of Diana Ross having discovered the Jackson 5 was unintentionally started by a slip of the tongue on "The Hollywood Palace." This, of course, is far from the truth. Motown purposely linked the two acts together, and the Jacksons were quoted many times during this time period as having said that they were discovered by Ross. In fact, the first J5 Motown album was entitled "Diana Ross Presents The Jackson 5."
8. The Jackson 5 had numerous television appearances, including their famous stints on "The Ed Sullivan Show" and "American Bandstand." They also had a Saturday morning cartoon - the first black animated series ever - and their own television specials ("Diana!" "Goin' Back To Indiana") and variety shows. None of these landmark TV appearances were included in the movie.
9. The romance between Jermaine and Hazel was highly fabricated. It has been revealed that Jermaine was a womanizer, even as a teenager, and was sleeping regularly with groupies. Many wedding guests later described the event as more of a business merger than a ceremony of love.
10. This movie did an unforgivable disservice to Randy Jackson. First of all, he did not replace Jermaine in the Jackson 5. Randy joined the group in 1972 at the age of 11 as a conga drummer, and the group toured with him unofficially as The Jackson Five Plus One. When Jermaine did leave the group in 1975, Randy was only 14-years-old. However, the actor playing him looked about 30. At 18, Randy nearly lost his life in a car wreck and was told that he would never walk again. He was back on stage with his brothers after only 6 months. This incredible story was never mentioned, however, Michael's hair going up in flame was depicted as a life-threatening accident.
11. The film made no mention of any of the other siblings' solo careers, even though Maureen (Rebbie), Jackie, Tito, LaToya, Jermaine, and Janet had all released solo albums by 1984. There was also never any mention of the hidden scandals concerning the family long before Michael's run-ins with fouled plastic surgery, Neverland, Emmanuel Lewis, Macauley Culkin, and his child molestation circus. In 1980, the Jackson family settled with Joe Jackson's ex-secretary Gina Sprague, who suffered injuries after being assaulted by Katherine, Randy, and Janet Jackson, because they believed she was having an affair with Joseph.
12. The infamous Pepsi commercial in which Michael went boom was not his father's idea. That was set up by Don King (the boxing promoter), whom the family had hired to promote the Victory Tour. It seems that Joseph was picked to be the villain of the movie, and to portray Michael's injuries as his fault was just another way to demonize the man.
And there are many more. All in all, this movie is a boring waste of time and shows that shady families should not make movies about their own lives. This film only provided Jason Weaver and the late Wylie Draper a means to showcase their acting, dancing, and (Weaver) singing talents. Everyone else was rather horrible, which is sad considering all the big names in this movie.
1. The discovery of Joseph's infidelity towards the end is laughable, as it implies that this was an isolated event. It's common knowledge that Joseph has never been faithful to Katherine, even before they married. The fact that he had a daughter out of wedlock with a Jackson 5 fan in 1974 was also omitted from the movie. Katherine filed for divorce shortly thereafter, but later reconciled.
2. Michael's birth date is shown as having been born in 1959. He was born in 1958.
3. Marlon was a twin. His twin brother having died shortly after birth was never mentioned.
4. The Jackson 5 did not record "Kansas City" for Steeltown Records. Their Steeltown single was an original called "Big Boy."
5. Berry Gordy was not present during the Jacksons audition for Motown, as depicted in the movie. The audition was recorded on video and later mailed to Berry Gordy.
6. Most of the choreography was nowhere near the actual dance routines performed by the Jackson 5, which was part of what made them so popular in their heyday. Also, the movie did not include many of the Jackson 5's songs, including their #1 hit "The Love You Save." Jacksonmania was really downplayed in the movie, giving only one reenactment of the boys being chased off the stage by crazed fans. In reality, Jackson 5 fans were such menaces that the riot shown in the movie would have been considered a good day in real life.
7. In the movie, it is depicted that the rumor of Diana Ross having discovered the Jackson 5 was unintentionally started by a slip of the tongue on "The Hollywood Palace." This, of course, is far from the truth. Motown purposely linked the two acts together, and the Jacksons were quoted many times during this time period as having said that they were discovered by Ross. In fact, the first J5 Motown album was entitled "Diana Ross Presents The Jackson 5."
8. The Jackson 5 had numerous television appearances, including their famous stints on "The Ed Sullivan Show" and "American Bandstand." They also had a Saturday morning cartoon - the first black animated series ever - and their own television specials ("Diana!" "Goin' Back To Indiana") and variety shows. None of these landmark TV appearances were included in the movie.
9. The romance between Jermaine and Hazel was highly fabricated. It has been revealed that Jermaine was a womanizer, even as a teenager, and was sleeping regularly with groupies. Many wedding guests later described the event as more of a business merger than a ceremony of love.
10. This movie did an unforgivable disservice to Randy Jackson. First of all, he did not replace Jermaine in the Jackson 5. Randy joined the group in 1972 at the age of 11 as a conga drummer, and the group toured with him unofficially as The Jackson Five Plus One. When Jermaine did leave the group in 1975, Randy was only 14-years-old. However, the actor playing him looked about 30. At 18, Randy nearly lost his life in a car wreck and was told that he would never walk again. He was back on stage with his brothers after only 6 months. This incredible story was never mentioned, however, Michael's hair going up in flame was depicted as a life-threatening accident.
11. The film made no mention of any of the other siblings' solo careers, even though Maureen (Rebbie), Jackie, Tito, LaToya, Jermaine, and Janet had all released solo albums by 1984. There was also never any mention of the hidden scandals concerning the family long before Michael's run-ins with fouled plastic surgery, Neverland, Emmanuel Lewis, Macauley Culkin, and his child molestation circus. In 1980, the Jackson family settled with Joe Jackson's ex-secretary Gina Sprague, who suffered injuries after being assaulted by Katherine, Randy, and Janet Jackson, because they believed she was having an affair with Joseph.
12. The infamous Pepsi commercial in which Michael went boom was not his father's idea. That was set up by Don King (the boxing promoter), whom the family had hired to promote the Victory Tour. It seems that Joseph was picked to be the villain of the movie, and to portray Michael's injuries as his fault was just another way to demonize the man.
And there are many more. All in all, this movie is a boring waste of time and shows that shady families should not make movies about their own lives. This film only provided Jason Weaver and the late Wylie Draper a means to showcase their acting, dancing, and (Weaver) singing talents. Everyone else was rather horrible, which is sad considering all the big names in this movie.