WHAT'S LOVE GOT TO DO WITH IT
A film review by James Berardinelli
Copyright 1993 James Berardinelli
Rating: 8.6 out of 10 (A-, *** out of ****)
Date Released: 6/11/93; wide release 6/18/93 Running Length: 1:58 Rated: R (Language, violence, sex, mature themes)
Starring: Angela Bassett, Laurence Fishburne Director: Brian Gibson Producers: Doug Chapin and Barry Krost Screenplay: Kate Lanier, based on I, TINA, by Tina Turner and Kurt Loder Music: Stanley Clarke Released by Touchstone Pictures
WHAT'S LOVE GOT TO DO WITH IT is a biographical sketch of the life of Tina Turner (played by Angela Bassett), concentrating on the years between the late 1950s and the early 1980s. The focus is primarily on Ms. Turner's disastrous marriage to Ike Turner (Larry Fishburne), the man who created her career while nearly destroying her life. Her struggles to escape from under his abusive thumb and make it on her own fuel this surprisingly effective film.
Going into the movie, I have to admit that I wasn't optimistic. It's all-too-easy to put together an exploitative film based on the life of a well-known musical figure or group, and foist it on an unsuspecting public. Oliver Stone proved with THE DOORS that just because someone in the music business is surrounded by controversy, that doesn't mean that his or her life will translate into an enjoyable motion picture. However, where I found the story of Jim Morrison's life to be dull and pretentious, I discovered energy and passion in WHAT'S LOVE GOT TO DO WITH IT.
The music scenes are electric. Superbly acted and choreographed, they are some of the best of their kind to be found in any recent movie. While the voice of Tina Turner covers all her own songs, it's impossible to tell that Angela Bassett's voice is being dubbed out. Laurence Fishburne does his own singing. The choice of music for the soundtrack is also noteworthy; many of the songs will be familiar to even those who have had limited exposure to Ike and Tina Turner.
Punctuating the film's energized performances are several darkly violent scenes. These are frighteningly intense and starkly graphic, not because they are especially bloody (although blood is in evidence), but because the participants do such an excellent job at bringing to the surface highly- believable emotions during the circumstances. Often, abuse scenes are over-dramatized, but WHAT'S LOVE GOT TO DO WITH IT avoids that trap. The goal of realism is attained.
Angela Bassett, who was Betty Shabazz in MALCOLM X, plays an outstanding Tina Turner. Physically, she bears only a passing resemblance to the singer (this is reinforced when Turner makes a brief appearance in the final moments of the film during a concert), but she has the mannerisms, vocal patterns, and explosive energy captured perfectly.
Larry Fishburne was already widely-known and well-respected coming into WHAT'S LOVE GOT TO DO WITH IT, but his performance as Ike Turner will enhance his reputation. He gets to play the hero and the villain--the slickly charismatic singer transformed by jealousy and drugs into a brutal beast. Any Jekyll and Hyde personae demands ability and range, both elements of which Fishburne exhibits. His Ike Turner has many facets, transcending the level of the common "bad husband" (much as his character in DEEP COVER gave that movie more substance than the script strove for).
WHAT'S LOVE GOT TO DO WITH IT is an exceptionally-paced movie. Credit director Brian Gibson for this. He avoids the tendency of biographies to get mired in irrelevancies. The film, nearly two hours long, seems much shorter than its running length. Gibson also manages to neatly transition his project through the turbulent decades of the sixties and seventies, effectively capturing the essence of those eras. It's not just the costumes and hairdos that reflect the times, but the attitudes of the participants as well.
You don't have to be a Tina Turner fan to appreciate this movie, but no matter how you feel about her music, WHAT'S LOVE GOT TO DO WITH IT cannot fail to impart an impression of her courage and inner strength. Although ultimately a triumphant story, this biography doesn't see its subject through rose-colored glasses. It takes chances, and that's why the movie works. Visually impressive and aurally dazzling, WHAT'S LOVE GOT TO DO WITH IT is a great alternative to some of the bloated, overbudgeted summer films.
- James Berardinelli (blake7@cc.bellcore.com)
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