“This Is Us” provides a comical story about the British boy band One Direction and a look inside the show of the five boys’ trip around the world on tour.
One Direction gets hated on for its perceived image of the typical boy band, but the boys, in fact, are far from typical. I’m not saying I love their music, but it is catchy. And more than that, the movie really unveils the true character of each of the lads from One Direction.
The members of the band: Harry, Louis, Zayn, Liam and Niall are all normal and funny guys that really shine throughout the movie. Harry is the leader of practical joking on the other four guys and crew members for the concert series, which is worth the price of admission.
The movie follows the boys from their feeble beginnings on “The X-Factor” in 2010 through their present-day worldwide tour. Each boy started as a solo act when they all auditioned for the TV show. The boys were each eliminated in the 24-person cut, but Simon Cowell called them together to form one group.
“This Is Us” looks into the concerts all over the world, showing One Direction performing each song on the album, including “What Makes You Beautiful,” “Gotta Be You,” “Up All Night” and “One Thing.”
The movie was not directed to only “Directioners;” although I’m sure big fans of One Direction would love the movie, I believe that lots of guys would appreciate the humor and be able to deal with the music, even if they don’t enjoy it.
The movie was in 3D, which to me was completely unnecessary, one of my biggest complaints of my movie-going experience. Seeing the band’s concerts in 3D added no benefits, and the glasses are uncomfortable – especially when there isn’t a purpose in wearing them for hours.
When I went to see the movie in the afternoon on Rosh Hashanah, there were seven people in the theater and, surprisingly, six of the seven of us were guys.
I thought that was ironic considering most of the movie was about girls obsessed with One Direction – maybe they all saw it on opening weekend.
The movie earned $18.5 million on opening weekend alone and grossed $28.5 million total. These huge numbers show the support that One Direction has worldwide, which was easily seen from the concert footage in the movie.
All in all, I did enjoy the time I spent watching the movie. I, fortunately, never have to see it again, but as a one-time thing, I was pleased.
