THE HARDEST WORKING MAN IN SHOW BUSINESS
Movie Review – Quincy
Review by Paul Preston
The new documentary about Quincy Jones plays like a drinking game. Any time the movie reveals something amazing that Quincy Jones that you either never knew for forgot about – DRINK. You’ll be hammered ¾ of the way through the film.
Quincy, now streaming on Netflix, excels best at giving the legendary musician and music producer, a deep career once-over. Jones didn’t just produce records, he produced the biggest record of all time, Michael Jackson’s Thriller. He didn’t just produce songs, he produced one of the biggest-selling songs of all time, We Are The World. He didn’t just produce a movie, he produced one of the most popular films of the ‘80s, The Color Purple, and has been nominated for seven Oscars. Quincy is a two hour and four minute mega-success story jam-packed with heavy hitters. In the first fifteen seconds of the trailer, there’s footage of Jones hobnobbing with The Pope, Nelson Mandela, Paul McCartney, Tony Bennett, Frank Sinatra, Willie Nelson and Lady Gaga. Oprah and Obama haven’t even shown up yet!
Jones’ daughter, actress Rashida Jones, directs the film (with doc filmmaker Alan Hicks) so there’s no issue with access to Quincy as he tells stories of his life. Then, the story almost provides its own ending for the filmmakers as Quincy suffers a huge health scare that nearly does him in. To her credit, Rashida keeps the camera running when no doubt she had to have been in emotional turmoil.
Quincy Jones is still with us, and the actual ending the film is shooting for is the grand opening of the Smithsonian’s African American Experience Museum in Sept. 2016. Jones is picked to organize the opening festivities and, as ever, it’s another who’s-who with Tom Hanks, Mary J. Blige, Gladys Knight and more. The overall arc of the film is the organization of this event as further proof that Jones is a joyful workaholic. “I’m a survivor”, he says, as you get the idea he has no time to let illness defeat him. The film jumps from the present to the stories of Jones’ past, told chronologically from his poor upbringing in the south side of Chicago up through his many marriages and children. Along the way, there’s some pretty fascinating stuff.
It’s testament to Jones’ talent that he achieved as much as he did without nepotism or wealthy privilege. When he was very young, his mother was declared mentally ill and taken out of his childhood home in a straitjacket. And there’s the ever-present American racism that he had to overcome, with help from the likes of Sinatra, who wouldn’t play without Jones running the band and playing trumpet. As Jones reflects on these moments, he does it well (he’s as smooth as the jazz that kicked off his career), although for an over-two hour film, there could be a deeper dive into how those moments affected his later career. For example, Jones’ bouts with racism most likely urged him to uplift the race by helping quell the violence between rappers in the ‘90s, but his mother’s situation is never linked to his numerous marriages and kids. Now’d be the time if he wanted to take a deeper dive into his relationships with women. He relates the moments, but never seems devastated or eager to go in depth as to what upended the relationships. This may be where the familial bond between director and subject was detrimental. Hicks taking the reins here might’ve yielded Jones’ work ethic is the most interesting part of the film. He says, “You only live 26,000 days. I’m going to wear them all out.” I suppose you don’t get to be an EGOT by puttering around the house playing video games (an EGOT winner joins the exclusive company of those who’ve won an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar & Tony, although Jones’ Oscar was the Humanitarian Award).
And, again, you’ll find yourself drinking with every new or long-lost fact you come across – Jones composed the score for In Cold Blood, he was married to Peggy Lipton and on and on. Supposedly, there was around 800 hours of footage for this film, THEN they scoured the archives. THEN they hit the vault. It’s tough to get everything in one motion picture, something’s bound to be left out or under-explored. But you can’t deny the impact of Jones on the entertainment landscape, and this examination of it is worth preserving.
Directed by: Rashida Jones & Alan Hicks
Release Date: September 21, 2018
Run Time: 124 Minutes
Country: USA
Distributor: Netflix
