Keep on Keepin’ On

Composite Score: 81.5

Featuring: Clark Terry, Justin Kauflin, Quincy Jones, Herbie Hancock, Terri Lynn Carrington, Sandi McCree, and Harold O’Neal

Director: Alan Hicks

Writers: Davis Coombe and Alan Hicks

Genres: Documentary, Music, Drama

MPAA Rating: R for some language

Box Office: $164 thousand worldwide

Why should you Watch This Film?

                Keep on Keepin’ On is a documentary following the story and friendship of aspiring jazz pianist Justin Kauflin with jazz music legend Clark Terry. It invites its audience to explore ideas of mentorship, legacy, and, obviously, jazz music. On music alone, this film delivers in gold; the vibes, as they say, are immaculate. The film’s soundtrack could stand alone as its own exploration of jazz even with no film attached. The jazz legends featured in the film increase its legitimacy as a jazz staple. The friendship/mentorship at the film’s heart also provides an insightful look at how to successfully mentor and how to, as the film is titled, keep on keepin’ on.

Why shouldn’t you Watch This Film?

                The documentary’s emotional development is fairly one-note, with both musicians starting out optimistic – Justin about his music career and CT about his health situation – then experiencing hardship – loss and rejection for Justin and a negative diagnosis for CT – then ending on a hopeful note – with Justin part of Quincy Jones’s world tour and CT teaching new musicians. While the story is still compelling, its emotional tones are limited by the real people experiencing the situations. The audience can only experience as much emotion as these real people express, and because there are limited opportunities for emotive moments, the otherwise emotional nature of the film feels somewhat hollow.

So wait, why should you Watch This Film?

                Musically, as I’ve already mentioned, this film is both informative and entertaining. I learned more about the history and world of jazz in the hour and a half I spent watching this documentary than I did watching either Soul or La La Land, which makes sense because this is a documentary and those are narrative features, but still the comparison stands. If you are a jazz enthusiast, want to learn more about jazz, or just appreciate quality music and the people that make it, then Keep on Keepin’ On certainly has something that you are looking for.

                Despite the simplicity of the film’s conflict, it is still compelling even if not overly emotional. Justin’s struggles as a musician, compounded by his blindness, make him a sympathetic protagonist, and his story parallels well with that of his mentor Clark Terry. CT’s struggles are not musical but physical, as his diabetes leaves him weaker and weaker as the film progresses, eventually resulting in the amputation of both of his legs. Both men face their adversity together with CT sending constant encouragements to Justin and Justin visiting CT in the hospital at every break he gets. The two men help each other survive the difficulties that life throws at them over the course of the years covered in the film. It is an impressive testament to CT’s mentorship but also an example of how such relationships can morph into friendships when handled with tact and true care. There is never a moment when anything about the two musicians’ relationship feels fake or forced, and it is clear that there is genuine hope in both of them for the other’s success.

                Meaningful relationships and a plethora of entertaining jazz content make Keep on Keepin’ On a worthwhile documentary and a solid addition to the list of Greatest Films of All Time. Its honesty and the genuine love its characters have for music and for one another helps it overcome its somewhat simplistic plot and limited emotionality. All told, the film is definitely worth watching even with ads on Tubi right now, so go check it out if you have the time.