After watching This is It, I am completely positive that I’m not the target audience for the movie. I’m only a casual fan of Michael Jackson, but that’s not to say I’m the typical “Only knows ‘Thriller’ or ‘Billy Jean’”. Even so, I acknowledge I’m not one to weep at the sight of the dearly departed King of Pop, so some of the sentimentality is lost on me.

The movies confusing premise is probably best summarized as the pre-production part of shooting a movie, in that a lot of it is watching people walk around and get ready for the actual event, and hearing them rehearse for effects you’d see if the actual movie ever took place. Oh, and it’s very, very boring. The talking and rehearsal parts are uninteresting at best, and unnecessary at worst, making the film seem to drag on. The creepiest part of the movie is the seeing of Michael Jackson on screen, active and lively with people around, even though he is very much dead. In fact, the movie at times seems more of a cash in on the King’s death than anything else.

Having said that, the few performances that actually were shown were amazing. My particular favorites, “Smooth Criminal” and “Beat It” were fantastic to watch, and even more fantastic to hear. The choreography and music were all top notch, as expected with a Michael Jackson tour, and the whimsy of watching performers glide on wired poles and fly via accelerated trap-doors, is satisfying and entertaining.

Overall, the joys throughout the movie were excellent, but far too few. I’d compare the movie’s interesting performances and bland rehearsal to bread and butter. There is a lot of bread, way to much for my liking, and while the butter makes it tasty, there are so few bits of butter in the bread to make it worth while, its difficult to justify going to watch in theaters. I would only recommend it to the most avid of Michael Jackson fans, but a must-rental for those, like me, who are casual fans of his.