Movie Review: 'Ray'

The late Ray Charles was a much-loved musician and Taylor Hackford's biopic of him profiles his life from childhood when he became blind from glaucoma. The movie spends a good deal of time portraying his problems with drugs and women. The best part of the movie, however, is the music and Jamie Foxx's brilliant, warts-and-all portrayal of Charles. Because Foxx can actually play the piano (he once even had a jam session with Ray Charles) the musical scenes come across as authentic. The music and Foxx aside, the movie is pretty average fare. Ray has been nominated for best picture at this year's Oscars. It shouldn't get the award in my opinion. But Jamie Foxx might achieve best actor with his brilliant 'cloning' of Ray Charles. My Rating: ***1/2 (out of 5) Best Review 'A fit tribute to an entertainer who, no matter what hate or hardship threw in his way or how many mistakes he made, we can't stop loving.' - Michael Wilmington/Chicago Tribune Worst Review 'For too many minutes of its two and a half hours, Ray flips through its cinematic pages with a breathless and-then-this-happened urgency, offering up little in the way of personality (or truth) beyond Jamie Foxx's strong performance.' - Kim Morgan/LA Weekly Related Link Ray Charles Buy Ray on DVD from Amazon.com