37 Movies That Share Their Name With A Michael Jackson Song
You wouldn't know it from the film's lack of marketing, but a new movie called Black or White debuted in theaters today. Despite the presence of stars Kevin Costner and Octavia Spencer, I've never seen a trailer or TV spot for the movie, which BoxOfficeMojo says is in over 1,000 theaters right now. (Apparently the film played at last year's Toronto International Film Festival and didn't receive very favorable reviews.) I don't ever plan on watching this film, but that doesn't mean that I can't come up with a tangentially-related article about it. Black or White got me thinking: what other movies share a title with a Michael Jackson song?
As far as ground rules go, there's really only one major one: the title of the movie and the song have to match exactly - if a word is possessive, I'm not making an exception. Exact matches or GTFO. I'll embed relevant music videos when they're available. So cross-referencing this Wikipedia page that lists all of Jackson's songs with IMDb, let's get started!
Bad
Album: Bad, 1987
The Film: Andy Warhol produced this 1977 movie about a hairdresser who provides hit men with their next victim. It includes this disturbing scene in which a woman throws a crying baby out of a window, and it splatters on the sidewalk below. Man, this list started off in a dark place, huh? Let's try to lighten things up a little bit.
Beautiful Girl
Album: The Ultimate Collection, 2004
The Film(s): Someone named Laurice Guillen directed a film with this title in 1990 that was released in the Philippines (although little information exists about it). More prominently (but not by much), Beautiful Girl is also a 2014 UK drama starring Diora Baird, Will Sasso, and Matthew Gray Gubler about a lonely guy who falls in love with a porn star.
Behind The Mask
Album: Michael, 2010
The Film(s): There are actually three movies with this title. The first, from 1932, follows an undercover agent tracking a mysterious drug smuggler named Mr. X. The second, from 1946, is a serial featuring the pulp hero The Shadow. And the third, from 1958, is about a surgeon who takes the blame for a death caused by his drug-addicted colleague.
Ben
Album: Ben, 1972
The Film: A sequel to Willard, this 1972 movie is about the rat leader of a violent gang of rodents. This is one of the few film theme songs Jackson recorded during his career.
Black or White
Album: Dangerous, 1991
The Film: The aforementioned 2015 Kevin Costner/Octavia Spencer movie, which is a race relations drama about the custody battle over a young girl.
Break of Dawn
Album: Invincible, 2001
The Film: A 2002 French drama about two ex-legionnaires and an assassination in Romania.
Breaking News
Album: Michael, 2010
The Film: A 2002 film from action director Johnnie To about the media's impact on the reputation of a police department after a bungled bank robbery and the ensuing attempt to regain the public's trust.
Butterflies
Album: Invincible, 2001
The Film(s): A 1973 Polish coming-of-age movie, and a 2009 documentary about YouTube stars.
Carousel
Album: Thriller (Special Edition), 2001
The Film: A 1956 musical drama about an angel who revisits his lost love on Earth in an effort to explain the circumstances that caused his death.
Chicago
Album: Xscape, 2014
The Film: A 2002 Oscar winner from director Rob Marshall starring Renee Zellwegger, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Richard Gere about two women on Murderess Row in Jazz Age Chicago.
Childhood
Album: HIStory, Past, Present and Future, Book I, 1995
The Film(s): Not much info out there on either one of these, but apparently there are two films called Childhood: one's a 2009 UK relationship drama, and the other is a 2001 Australian drama about an angel watching over someone.
Dangerous
Album: Dangerous, 1991
The Film: A 1935 movie starring Bette Davis as an alcoholic actress who proves she's still dangerous after going through rehab.
Eaten Alive
Album: Eaten Alive, 1985
The Film: A 1977 Tobe Hooper flick about a crazy Texas redneck who kills people he doesn't like and feeds them to his pet crocodile.
Euphoria
Album: Music & Me, 1973
The Film: A 2005 documentary about happiness.
Fly Away
Album: Bad (Special Edition), 2001
The Film: A 2011 drama about a single mother whose daughter has autism.
Free
Album: Bad 25, 2012
The Film: I can't find any information on this 2001 comedy, other than that it exists. No plot details, nothin'. It's a mystery.
Gone Too Soon
Album: Dangerous, 1991
The Film: A 2010 documentary about the life and death of - guess who? - Michael Jackson.
Happy
Album: Music & Me, 1973
The Film: A 2006 Indian romantic comedy.
Heartbreaker
Album: Invincible, 2001
The Film: A 2010 French romantic comedy.
Heaven Can Wait
Album: Invincible, 2001
The Film(s): A 1943 fantasy about a man who heads to Hades and has Satan rule on whether or not he stays in the underworld, and a 1978 Warren Beatty romance about a quarterback who's taken from his body by an overanxious angel and then put in the body of a recently-murdered millionaire.
Human Nature
Album: Thriller, 1982
The Film: A Tim Robbins/Patricia Arquette 2001 comedy written by Charlie Kaufman about lovers who are also interested in a man raised by apes. What the hell? I've never heard of this in my life...and I feel like this would be the kind of movie that cinephiles would talk about because of how bizarre it sounds.
Invincible
Album: Invincible, 2001
The Film(s): A 2001 Disney underdog sports movie starring Mark Wahlberg as a real guy who became a walk-on for the Philadelphia Eagles, and a 2001 Werner Herzog war drama starring Tim Roth.
Loving You
Album: Xscape, 2014
The Film: A 1957 Elvis Presley musical.
Man in the Mirror
Album: Bad, 1987
The Film: Martin Sheen stars in this 2008 action film about people living in the shadow of the World Trade Center in the 1970s.
Monkey Business
Album: The Ultimate Collection, 2004
The Film(s): A 1931 Marx Brothers comedy, and a 1952 Howard Hawks comedy starring Cary Grant, Ginger Rogers, and Marilyn Monroe.
Monster
Album: Michael, 2010
The Film: The 2003 true story that featured an Oscar-winning performance from Charlize Theron.
On The Line
Album: The Ultimate Collection, 2004
The Film: The Lance Bass romantic comedy that came at the height of 'Nsync mania in 2001.
One More Chance
Album: Number Ones, 2003
The Film: A 1983 film about an ex-convict who tries to reconnect with his son after not seeing him during the six years he was in prison.
Privacy
Album: Invincible, 2001
The Film: A 2012 thriller about a college student who creates an app that allows him to spy on any phone in New York City.
Scream
Album: HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I, 1995
The Film: The seminal 1996 meta-horror film that redefined the genre.
Shout
Album: B-side of Cry, 2001
The Film: John Travolta stars as an inspirational figure to a group of wayward boys in 1955 West Texas in this 1991 drama.
Smile
Album: HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I, 1995
The Film: Bruce Dern appears in this 1975 comedy about beauty pageants.
Speechless
Album: Invincible, 2001
The Film: A 1994 romantic comedy in which Michael Keaton and Geena Davis play political speechwriters who fall in love before realizing they're working on opposing campaigns.
Speed Demon
Album: Bad, 1987
The Film: A 2003 action/horror movie about a muscle car driver who takes on a gang that's overrun a small town.
This Is It
Album: This Is It, 2009
The Film: Another documentary, this one about Jackson's planned tour that he never got to participate in due to his death.
Unbreakable
Album: Invincible, 2001
The Film: M. Night Shyamalan's follow-up to his wildly successful The Sixth Sense, this superhero film stars Bruce Willis and Samuel L. Jackson.
You Are Not Alone
Album: HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I, 1995
The Film: A 1978 Danish film about two boys exploring their sexuality at a boarding school.
Holy crap, that was WAY more films than I thought there'd be on this list. I listed 37 in the headline, but with a few of those doubles mixed in, it's actually a few more than that. If you stuck it out all the way to the end, thanks for reading. If not, I don't blame you. This list was insane.