If not for the performances, this film would have lost me… and I will tell you the exact moment where Respect almost lost my respect. Aretha Franklin (Sky Dakota Turner as pre-teen Aretha, Jennifer Hudson as adult Aretha) is the daughter of Reverend C.L. Franklin (Forest Whitaker), a hard-ass in several senses of the word. He’s introduced to us by waking ten-year-old Aretha up to perform at a cocktail party. I’m not sure trotting out your pre-pubescent daughter from a sound sleep is quite the win the screenplay thinks it is. Yeah, li’l Aretha has serious pipes; she’s also ten.
This is not the moment I speak of. As a teenager, Aretha brought home Ted White (Marlon Wayans), as a surprise guest for Sunday dinner at the Franklin house. The Reverend knows Ted and detests him and pulls out a gun on the spot. You know, I’m not even bothered that a Detroit Reverend owns a gun; nor do I think this moment isn’t biographically accurate in some form. No, the question on my mind is “Who brings a gun to formal Sunday dinner in his own home, hmmmm?” It just makes no sense. Were you expecting trouble while saying grace with your family, Reverend? And how about you, Forest Whitaker, Oscar winner? Did you never question this moment in the screenplay? I don’t doubt that Reverend Franklin pulled a gun on Ted White at some point, but I guarantee this isn’t how it happened, and what is a biopic worth if it gets the key moments wrong?
In reality, this scene was fitting for a film that was all over the map. Respect wasn’t afraid to namedrop the many celebrities Aretha crossed path with including Dinah Washington, Smokey Robinson , and Martin Luther King, Jr. Oh, and boy, film, do you have any idea how much you’ve set yourself up for failure? Not content to mimic arguably the greatest singing voice of all time, Respect also felt it could do reasonable justice to greatest orator of all time when it let Gilbert Glenn Brown try on an MLK speech from the pulpit. These are talented performers, but y’all came thisclose to becoming an “SNL” sketch.
Aretha had just about the crappiest life one could have for being unGodly talented, well-to-do, loved, and never desperate. The Queen of Soul was pregnant at age eleven; her estranged mother died of a heart attack when Aretha was ten. Her father was a bit of a monster; her first husband was physically abusive. As an adult, Aretha developed a drinking problem and a diva problem. The film mysteriously chalks both alcoholism and alco-me-ism up to the death of MLK, Jr. Aretha had several children, and if you can name any of them as a result of this film, you win a prize. In fact, if you can even identify how many children she had from the clues in the film, you deserve detective certification.
Respect is a very frustrating film. It clearly downplayed or ignored several aspects of the life of Aretha Franklin while concentrating on music 
and God. Those are a fair choices given who Aretha is, but they prove frustrating as it takes forever to get Aretha to the pop star I knew her to be (I’m sure Aretha felt the same way, too) and the closest man of God she knew was her father, who abused her in several ways.
OTOH, the titular debut of Respect at Madison Square Garden gave me goosebumps. And, yeah, Jennifer Hudson may not be the Queen of Soul, but damn, she can sing … as can Skye Dakota Turner. The performances of these two make the film worth seeing, which is good because little else does. If I’m being fair, I did appreciate Respect on at least two other counts: 1) I never knew who the Muscle Shoal Horns were until now and 2) I have acquired the proper background to appreciate Amazing Grace, the Aretha documentary I panned years ago.
Overall, I’d say sure, watch Respect, but in retro-respect if you have a chance to choose between film and soundtrack, take the soundtrack, ditch the film.
♪What you want!
That cine’s got it!
What you need?
You know it’s not here
All this theater
Contains is passable (just a little bit)
Everyday (just a little bit)
Commonplace (just a little bit)
M-I-D-D-L-I-N-G
Discover mediocrity
A-V-E-R-A-G-E
That’s it
N-B-D♫
Rated PG-13, 145 Minutes
Director: Liesl Tommy
Writer: Tracey Scott Wilson
Genre: How to become a diva
Type of being most likely to enjoy this film: Fans of Aretha
Type of being least likely to enjoy this film: Fans of storytelling
♪ Parody Inspired by “Respect”
