Jackson sendoff ‘This Is It’ fails to thrill

Maybe it says something about the un-hip circles I travel in. Perhaps it’s a sign I’m hopelessly out of the here-and-now of American pop culture.

But I haven’t heard one person express an interest in seeing the Michael Jackson farewell documentary “This Is It.” I like to think I travel throughout much of the Las Vegas strata. I listen to folks, or like to think I do.

And no one, I mean no one, has paused to say, “Hey, I wonder if that Michael Jackson documentary is any good?”

All this to say that I think this is an example of the paparazzi tale wagging the pop culture dog. Tune in to the nightly celebrity shows and you’d think Jackson’s ghost was going to return to haunt the present. (He was ghostly white, wasn’t he? Coincidence? I don't think so.)

Who knows, maybe we’ll find out later this week that the documentary set all kinds of records, and that the musical tie-in is shooting to the top of the charts again.

All the same, I think I’ll keep my money and keep listening to Tony Bennett.