I saw Respect last week. I love a good biopic, I expected a lot but there just wasn’t much to it. The acting was excellent, the costumes were divine and the whole film had a lovely aesthetic. Jennifer Hudson and Marlon Wayans are both amazingly beautiful to look at. But there just wasn’t much substance. I was a little kid in the 70’s, my familiarity with Aretha Franklin came from seeing her on the variety shows like Carol Burnett or Sonny and Cher and this movie didn’t really tell me much else about her. The only reveal for me was that she came from a privileged background. Even a very casual follower knows that Aretha was the ultimate diva—something that makes her more fascinating imho—but they really didn’t dwell too far into her later career, the whole film just felt like an early highlight reel. Here was a musical biopic that had a great singer NOT lip syncing and it never gave us a great musical number. I expected a rendition of Respect to honor the ages but got nothing. Watch it at home 6.5/10