Hippodrome 'This Is It' premiere nets modest crowd, shows a great film

Midnight showings have never been my forte.

Apparently, this was the same for the twenty-five or so people who decided to show up to the Hippodrome for the premiere of Michael Jackson's "This Is It" pseudo-documentary. This was due in part to the fact that Cinebarre was also having a premiere extravaganza, of sorts, complete with a dance troupe and live broadcast news coverage.

DJ Kurfu was hired to keep the crowd pumped before the start of the film but many of the attendees opted to retire to the comfortable seating in the main lobby, drinks in hand, until the midnight show time. In true fashion, Josef Myers, something of a Charleston social scene staple, was in high spirits moonwalking from spot to spot asking if people were excited about the premiere.

For some reason, his energy alone inspired a few others in the crowd to a point where one, middle-age woman felt compelled to sing me an entire, booze-induced verse of "Rock With You"; no swooning involved.

Going into this film, I had mixed feelings about the end product. Was it a conglomeration of lost rehearsal footage from Mike's practice runs for the concert tour? Or perhaps it was a collection of music videos and montages al a "Moonwalker"?

Either way, there was something very exciting about the film. Subsequently, this is by no means a film review, so you'll just have to get up and see it for yourself dance troupe or not, it'll be an experience nonetheless.

Editor's note: Head over to Rotten Tomatoes for reviews, where the film has managed an impressive 81%.

Filed in