What's Love Got to Do with It (1993)

A different way of telling a story

The movie really just wants to entertain people.

Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

This is a dark and sometimes deeply uncomfortable drama

I had heard bits and pieces about this film previously, I knew it was about one the most famous popstars in the world, based on the autobiography "I, Tina", so I was looking forward to whatever it had to offer. Based on the true story, Anna Mae Bullock (Golden Globe winning, and Oscar nominated Angela Bassett) was born and raised in Nutbush, a small in Tennessee, she grew up in an unhappy family, with her parents leaving and abandoning her, and taking only her sister with them. Following the death of her grandmother, Anna Mae relocates to St. Louis, she reunites there with her mother Zelma Currie Bullock (Jenifer Lewis) and sister Alline (Phyllis Yvonne Stickney). Charismatic bandleader Ike Turner (Oscar and Golden Globe nominated Laurence Fishburne) performs with his band often at clubs and bars, Anna Mae watches him with awe, along with the many more screaming female fans, he spots her and is attracted, one night she gets the chance to express her talent for singing when she is brought onstage to join the act. Anna Mae pursues being a professional singer, winning her spot singing onstage with Ike, and he mentors her, in time an unexpected romance develops between them, and she eventually moves in with Ike. Shortly after they marry, they have two sons, and they begin having musical success, Ike gives Anna Mae the new stage name "Tina", because the name rhymed with the television character Sheena, as Ike and Tina Turner they produce many hits in the charts. As time passes however, the marriage turns sour, when Ike become physically violent and dominating towards Tina, she cannot find a way for herself to escape without disturbing her career. Tina rises to fame in St. Louis, and eventually spreading, becoming a rhythm and blues superstar, Ike grows increasingly jealous of the attention given to her. Ike turns to drugs, and his abusive behaviour gets worse, Tina seeks solace from her chaotic lifestyle, so a friend introduces her to Buddhism, this helps her gain confidence against her aggressive husband. Tina and Ike have a final fight, leaving her in a bloody state, but she finally musters the courage to defend herself, the police arrest Ike for domestic abuse, and she finally leaves him. In the divorce proceedings, Tina asks for no money, only the right to retain her stage name, she wins this right, she continues singing in clubs to get by, until she gets her break after meeting music producer Roger Davies (James Reyne). Tina realises her dreams of rock stardom, Ike attempts to win her back, reminding her that he is the one who found her and made her a star, but she shuns him and prevails, finding solo success and accomplishing her dreams, without Ike, Tina Turner is now recognised as one of the greatest female singers of all time. Also starring Vanessa Bell Calloway as Jackie, Khandi Alexander as Darlene, Rae'ven Larrymore Kelly as Young Anna Mae, Virginia Capers as Choir Mistress, Cora Lee Day as Grandma Georgiana, Sherman Augustus as Reggie and Terrence Riggins as Spider. Bassett gives an applaudable performance as the to-be singing superstar, with the real Tina dubbing her singing voice, but it is Fishburne deserves all the credit, including singing himself, the real Ike may have many faults and be considered nasty, but he put Tina in the spotlight. It is a very simple rise to fame story, the abusive marriage part of the story, when you consider it is real, can be hard to watch sometimes, but you are livened up by the great soundtrack of songs from Ike and Tina's repertoire, including "Proud Mary", "River Deep - Mountain High" and "What's Love Got to Do with It" , I'm surprised "The Best" was not featured, overall it is a most watchable biographical drama. Good!

What's Love Got to Do With ItIf it weren't for females, record labels would have to rely solely on money and cocaine to entice potential male acts.However, the male singer in this biography needs a woman to complete his act.Abandoned by her family, Anna Mae (Angela Bassett) grows up with nothing but her unorthodox singing voice to keep her company.In her teens, she auditions for local bandleader/lothario Ike (Laurence Fishburne), who is impressed by her pipes.Joining him and his band under the moniker Tina, Anna Mae begins banging out the hits, while her new husband begins banging on her.Under Ike's thumb, Tina is unable to branch out and become the star she's destined to be.Based on Tina Turner's biography, WLGTDWI is a superbly acted, heartbreaking tale of overcoming domestic abuse in an era of blind eyes.Fortunately, domestic violence in today's music has been restricted to the Top 40 list. (Green Light)

WHAT'S LOVE GOT TO DO WITH IT is the dazzling 1993 musical biopic that chronicles the legendary Tina Turner, from her humble beginnings as a show off in her church choir when she was a kid named Anna Mae Bullock to her now legendary success as one of the top rock and roll performers of our generation. As expected, the majority of the film focuses on Anna Mae's relationship with Ike Turner, a musician who works steadily but stays on the cusp of stardom until meeting Anna Mae, changing her name to Tina and making her the lead singer of the group. The film shines a not-too-flattering light on Ike's abusive treatment of Tina, which ranges from severe beatings to marital rape. The screenplay, clearly based on Tina's autobiography I, TINA, is kind of one-sided...in the film, Tina is presented as just this side of Mother Theresa and that Ike single-handedly destroyed their marriage, but in later years, Turner has admitted that the movie does paint Ike in an unflattering light and that she had as much to do with the destruction of their marriage as he did. On the other hand, it is the single-sided view of the screenplay that helps to make this movie so entertaining...we have a crystal clear heroine and an equally clear villain here that arouse the expected reactions from the filmgoers. Angela Bassett and Laurence Fishbourne deliver electrifying performances as the Turners, performances that earned them both Oscar nominations and are the anchor of this film. Bassett does a more than credible job of lip-syncing to original Tina recordings. Yes, it may gloss over the facts and the actors may not look like the people they are portraying, but this film is powerhouse entertainment from start to finish.

Although based upon Tina Turner's co-authored autobiography "I, Tina", "What's Love Got To Do With It" plays like a condensed version of a star's memoir, half-fabricated and the other half taken from a supermarket tabloid. While the performances are spot-on, brave and intense, and the original tunes frequently sound incredible, the facts and details of Anna Mae Bullock's relationship with R&B shaker Ike Turner remain hazy and suspect. Certain set-pieces, like Tina's recording session with Phil Spector, look marvelous but serve no particular purpose (and the film lets us think Ike had no involvement in a group-project that resulted in a full album, not just a single release). Angela Bassett is undoubtedly just the perfect choice to portray the exciting Tina Turner, but what of Turner's own tumultuous personality? The movie's narrative gives all the fire and anger to husband Ike, despite Tina's burgeoning muscular arms (she didn't get those muscles from Buddhist chanting!). Also lost are the solo years between leaving Ike and finding success on the pop charts in 1984. The film hopes to wrap things up with a little unnecessary melodrama, but just fouls itself up trying to make a (tired) point about finding one's inner peace and independence. The look of the film is quite remarkable throughout, and the early sequences are entertainingly staged, but very little of the film's final third rings true or comes to close to matching what music-historians know to be accurate. **1/2 from ****