Standing in the Shadows of Motown

[CrimsonTide4]

MOVIE REVIEW: 'Shadows of Motown' puts studio artists center stage
11/14/2002 12:07 AM EDT

(AP) - You've heard of Marvin Gaye, the Supremes, Smokey Robinson and the Miracles and the Temptations.

But you probably haven't heard of the Funk Brothers.

"Standing in the Shadows of Motown" aims to change that.

The documentary tells the story of the studio musicians behind the biggest Motown hits of the '60s, including "Ain't Too Proud to Beg," "Baby Love," "Nowhere to Run," "My Girl" and "Dancing in the Street." (And that list doesn't even scratch the surface.)

According to the filmmakers, the Funk Brothers played on more No. 1 records than the
Beatles, the Beach Boys, the Rolling Stones and Elvis Presley combined. But they've never enjoyed the same fame as the Motown artists who sang those songs.

If you love this music (and who doesn't?) the movie is a must-see, even if it's hit-and-miss. Using Allan Slutsky's book of the same name as a basis, director Paul Justman combines interviews with the surviving musicians, black-and-white archive footage of those who've died, and re-enactments (which are totally unnecessary - more on that later).

Andre Braugher, who played Frank Pembleton on the TV series "Homicide: Life on the Street," is the narrator, and his rich voice matches the material perfectly.

But the most electrifying moments are from the Funk Brothers' December 2000 concert in Detroit, with new artists interpreting the hits. They sound as solid as they did nearly 40 years ago, and some of the songs - namely the ones with Joan Osborne and Gerald Levert - will give you chills.

Osborne's rendition of "What Becomes of the Brokenhearted" is the emotional high point of the movie; it's a huge, gorgeous song, and she belts it out flawlessly. From her breathy 1995 hit "One of Us," you'd never know she could sing so soulfully.

Levert's takes on "Reach Out I'll Be There" and "Shotgun" are just as powerful: he understands the Motown sound, and clearly had a blast with these veteran musicians.

Other performances are less than overwhelming. Ben Harper sounds good on "Ain't Too Proud to Beg," but he has zero stage presence - he just stands there in front of the microphone. How can you not move your body to that song?

And Meshell Ndegeocello sucks the life out of "You've Really Got a Hold on Me." It's an incredibly sassy, sexy song - you've gotta sell it - and she has the voice to do it, but she holds back at every opportunity.

Interviews with the musicians themselves bring the film back to life, though. Some of the artists prove themselves to be master storytellers, including keyboardist Joe Hunter, drummer Uriel Jones, and Jack Ashford on vibes and tambourine.

(Seeing Johnny Griffith on screen strikes a sad note; the keyboard player died at 66 on Nov. 9, the day he was supposed to attend the Detroit premiere of this movie.)

They describe how Motown founder Berry Gordy plucked them from Detroit jazz clubs to perform in his studio; they figured it was just another gig, so why not?

After 12-hour days of laying down tracks with everyone from Stevie Wonder to Martha Reeves, they'd return to those jazz clubs at night, then take the tricks they learned and apply them in the studio the next day - and the Motown sound was born.

But "Standing in the Shadows" draws to a standstill at times, and cheesy re-enactments don't help pick up the pace. We don't need to see actors playing these guys, pretending to joke around in a station wagon on a road trip between gigs. The musicians tell their own stories so evocatively, staging anecdotes feels like a waste of time.

"Nobody ever knew too much about us," Hunter says while sitting on the front steps of his home. "As the years go by, we wonder whether anyone will ever know who we are or what we did."

They will now.

"Standing in the Shadows of Motown," an Artisan Entertainment release, is rated PG for language and thematic elements. Running time: 108 minutes. Three stars out of four.