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Ray - The Motion Picture on DVD
Starring Jamie Foxx

Director: Taylor Hackford

Screenwriter: James L. White

6 Academy Award nominations including Best Picture. That is the start to the phenomenon that started with Jamie Foxx's portrayal of the genre breaking musical icon that was Ray Charles. Jamie Foxx is the highlight of this movie, you would almost believe that the camera had been following Ray Charles through his early years and this was the footage, except of course for the clarity of the movie. The movie is a good picture, but there are a few problems, at least in this reviewers eye, you be the judge for yourself, but my friends, did all of this really need to be seen?

The film is a bit long and drawn out in parts, which is probably one of the reasons the TV film "critics" loved the picture, the longer the better, no matter how tedious. Jamie Foxx is superb in his character portrayal of Ray Charles, an absolute beauty of a role for FOXX just hot off the heels of Collateral. The rest of the cast here shine as well, the casting department did their job superbly. The at times charming and delightful Kerry Washington is superb as the misses, and the rest of the cast also gave incredible performances (Regina King, Larenz Tate, Sharon Warren, Aunjanue Ellis, Clifton Powell, Terrence Dashon Howard). So the acting is not the fault here, not at all, as a matter of fact it is the acting that keeps this film above the norm, and makes it worth seeing.

The major problems as I see them is the extended portrayal of the heroin abuse of Ray Charles, as well as the extra-marital activities that he indulges in. I know that they are major parts of the true life of Ray Charles, however the film becomes almost a dark and negative depiction of a man that was to become loved by Millions and an inspiration to just as many. The thought of the drawn out drug abuse scenes began to get old, and the fact that this biopic spends so much time on the negative makes it a little less pleasurable as a movie, we could have done without at least 30 minutes of the more troubling scenes, and the movie may have moved on a bit faster.

As far as the DVD, well my friends this is the good part, you will get to see scenes in the bonus materials of Jamie Foxx with Ray Charles to get it "right". Also in the bonus features you can choose the original theatrical version of the film, or the extended version of film with 14 deleted scenes not shown in theaters, 2 complete and uncut musical performances, Stepping into the Part featurette, Ray Charles Remembered featurette, The Women of Ray Charles, and the Theatrical Trailer. So, if you want to know more about the early life and career of Ray Charles, this is a good pic. If you are looking for more of a family night movie, this one is a bit much for the younger generation, and not really the type of "family" movie you would want. Great performances by Jamie Foxx and the rest of the Cast make this an incredibly well acted piece of motion picture history. This is not a feel-good movie, and it never tried to say it was, so on the level of a biopic, and focusing on the early life, this is a good movie, albeit a bit drawn and weary in places.

Movie -   (4.5 Stars out of 6 )

DVD Bonus Features - ( 5 Stars out of 6 )

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