Respect (2021)

The story of the legendary Queen Of Soul, Aretha Franklin (Jennifer Hudson) from the age of 10 when she sang in her father's (Forest Whitaker) church to her rise to international stardom. Directed by Liesl Tommy in her feature film directorial debut. What can one say about yet another musical movie biography? Probably the same thing you've said about the last musical movie bio, just change the names. At 2 1/2 hours this is a slog of a movie to sit through as you think "Haven't I been through this before?" and you have. When acting Aretha Franklin, Hudson is just fine. Nothing wrong with her performance. Not great but decent enough. But when she sings ..... well, Hudson is a wonderful singer but the fact is her feet don't fit the shoes ..... she's no Aretha Franklin. As a singer, Diana Ross was no Billie Holliday but that didn't stop her from giving a killer performance as she roared past the cliches. Hudson doesn't/can't because the script does her in. Her performance of Franklin's songs are a pale imitation of the real thing. When the film is over and we see the real Aretha performing You Make Me Feel Like A Natural Woman during the end credits, you get goosepimples! With Audra McDonald, Marlon Wayans, Marc Maron and Mary J. Blige as Dinah Washington.