Where Were YOU When Michael Jackson Died?

I was, of course, at work when I heard that Michael Jackson had died....
I ran out on my lunchbreak to pick up my very first HDTV (yeah, that's right -- a 22 incher!) from Target and when I got back, a coworker, who was talking to someone on a cell phone, started waving at me.

I was like, "What is it?"
And she was all, "MMMMMmmmm! MMmm! MMMMMMM!!!" while pointing at a TV in the corner.
Then I was all like, "What? What do you want from me? Put down that phone."
She just kept waving at me and pointing to the TV, and since I'm an idiot, I didn't know what she was trying to say.
I finally snapped, "WHAT???"
She shouted, "Just look at the TV!"
I looked. The news was on. "Heh?....Oh...oh....OOOHHHHHH...THAT Michael Jackson!




I was sort of...well, I wouldn't say saddened...but something similar to saddened to hear that MJ had been deposed as the King of Pop once and for all. I wasn't a fan, of course, but I guess I kinda liked some of his songs. Plus, when a celebrity dies, you can't help but feel like someone you may have distantly known is gone. Celebrities are, after all, the new friends and relatives. In that sense, Michael Jackson was the like the weird uncle no one talks about. You've heard whispered rumors about things that may or may not have happened between him and a few cousins at a Christmas party some years back, but really, he's always just struck you as shy and quiet. You don't think much of him beyond that. However, when he dies, you suddenly wanna know everything.

It was appropriate, then, that I spent my weekend reading everything about Michael that I could find (did you know that Dangerous actually sold more copies than Bad?). I also watched every MJ-related television program to air. MTV2's Jackson "tribute" was perhaps the worst piece of programming ever compiled. They literally would show ONE video, followed by five minutes of commercials. Seriously, that's no exaggeration -- ONE video, FIVE MINUTES of crummy commercials. And, yes, I watched them.

Anyway, after hours wasted both at home and at work in the last week, I've come to a few conclusions:
-- Billy Jean was a great song.
-- Weird Al's "Eat It" is actually better than Michael Jackson's "Beat It".
-- And MJ's overall story was, in fact, kinda sad.


He's the ultimate example of how money can make people insane. Not just Michael himself, but everyone around him (I mean, his dollars got a set of parents to drop a child molestation case involving their own son, and Michael's Father Joe actually plugged his record label while talking to the press about MJ's death). I also wonder what would have happened with that "comeback" tour he'd been planning. I have a feeling it would have flopped. Case in point:

I remember several years ago hearing MJ's latest single. It was around 2002. He had a song called "You Rock My World", and it was actually pretty good. Nothing fancy; just a good R&B/Pop song. I heard that on the radio, and thought, "Hey, Michael Jackson could have a genuine hit here. Maybe not a ten million seller...but at least he'll get some respectable airplay."

Then I saw the video he made for the song, and you know what it was??? A seven minute star-studded self-congratulation affair. Marlon Brando and Chris Tucker paid millions to act out some kind of mobster scenario for no reason. It was ridiculous. At that moment I knew for certain that MJ had lost all sense of what worked in the new music biz. MTV back then was barely playing videos at all. Why would they devote seven minutes to an elaborate Michael Jackson spectacle? He had no chance of ever coming back.

So, a renewed round of goodwill is the silver lining to MJ's demise. Plus, lots of new YouTube hits:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-SlWIaYkFI4
(A really cool version of Billy Jean live).

Hey, maybe I'm wrong, though. MJ was still popular in Europe, after all. And speaking of Europe, here's a movie that stars a bunch of people who come from there.

Run Fatboy Run (2007)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0425413/


Netflix description:
"Five years ago, Dennis (Simon Pegg) left his pregnant fiancée, Libby (Thandie Newton), at the altar. Now, he realizes it was the worst mistake of his life. Run down and out of shape, Dennis begins training for a marathon, hoping to win Libby away from her sleazy new boyfriend (Hank Azaria). Will losing the pounds and catching his breath be enough to get her back? Dylan Moran co-stars in David Schwimmer's feature directorial debut."

Although it does have some eye roll-inducing moments, I actually found Run Fatboy Run to be a great movie. A loser played by Simon Pegg tries to convince his ex that he's grown into a respectable adult by entering a marathon. See, he's terribly out of shape, so it would appear as though his chances of successfully completing the event are slim. His friend, played by the always hilarious Dylan Moran, promises to help Dennis train, but it ain't lookin' so good. CAN HE PULL THIS OFF???

Directed by David Schwimmer, this film is 90 minutes of easy-to-watch fun. The script -- written by Simon Pegg and Michael Ian Black (once a cast member of the 1990's funniest sketch comedy show, The State) -- is full of laughs that could appeal to just about anyone, and virtually all characters are likable. Heck, our hero actually leaves a pregnant woman standing at the altar in the first five minutes, but we end up rooting for him by the end anyway. Now, that's good acting and writing!

Of course, there's some mushy business about Dennis trying to build a better bond with his son, and all of that blah blah; but that kind of thing just goes with the territory in any feel-good movie. I watched this movie with my girlfriend, and at the very end, right when Dennis BARELY makes it over the finish line, I looked over to see her grinning just as I was struggling not to. So, in spite of its best efforts to do otherwise by cranking up the cheese factor as much as possible, Run Fatboy Run wins us over. This is a funny and pleasant, if lightweight, little movie. I recommend it to all.

4 out of 5.


b.