Respect (2021)

I’d think that a biopic about Aretha Franklin starring Jennifer Hudson would have been a slam dunk. Unfortunately I was wrong. While Hudson truly gives her all in portraying the Queen of Soul, the film fails her in almost every way. Glossing over so many details of the diva’s life, both the harrowing and the joyful, it’s impossible to even get a sense of what made the singer a queen. The film makes no attempt to even portray Franklin’s entire life, ending at the filming of her Amazing Grace album. There is some great more recent footage of Aretha performing as the credits roll, but I would recommend just watching the Amazing Grace documentary that was finally released a couple of years ago if you want to see some of the best of what she had to offer.