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BITCHIN’: THE SOUND AND FURY OF RICK JAMES
SHOWTIME
Candid depiction of a funk freak’s tragic arc
7/10
While it’s not easy to feel sympathy toward a man as problematic as Rick James, Sacha Jenkins’ film generates some understanding by portraying him as a person rather than a monster or a punchline. Much is made of James’s long road to stardom only for him to be eclipsed by Prince, a former opening act who borrowed freely from James’s synthesis of funk, rock and pop and sexually provocative image. Jenkins is similarly frank about how the abuse in James’s childhood led to his own brutal ways. Of course, the cocaine didn’t help.