This is just a great documentary about a band of musicians who called themselves the Funk Brothers.   This group of unbelievably talented musicians just happened to be the backup band for dozens of Motown singers and songwriters as well as play the music on almost every song which ever got recorded at the Motown studio in Detroit.  Any fan of music, no matter what genre of music is the person's favorite, will completely enjoy this movie.

      This documentary is unique in that it combines three different avenues for telling the story of the Funk Brothers.  There are interviews with all the living members of the band.  There is concert footage where the remaining band members recently united to play many of the Motown hit songs which are sung by both old and new artists such as Chaka Khan and Joan Osbourne.  The third element of the movie are some reenactments of scenes which show some funny episodes from the band's history such as when one guitar player was too drunk to stand up to play in the studio so he played the guitar laying down on the floor on his back.

      Along with some great Motown songs sung in concert footage, there is also lots of discussion on some of the unique sounds and guitar licks which originated by this band.  It was most interesting to hear about the creation of one of the most heralded guitar licks in music history for the song My Girl.  Additionally, there is a nice history lesson whereas scenes of the 60's such as the Vietnam War and the murder of Martin Luther King came to influence the creation of songs at that time.

      It's also amazing that the Funk Brothers were actually made up of both black and white musicians who remained close friends for decades, much during the times of racial unrest.

      There's not much else to write about this film except to stress again how entertaining and informative that this movie is.  I'm guessing that most people, like myself, have never heard of the Funk Brothers band nor knew that these musicians were the players on most if not all of the Motown songs.  It's sad to see that these people were not recognized for their talent and contributions to these songs during their time playing in the studio as well as backing up the singers in live concerts when they were on tour.  But at least they are getting their due now by the making of this film and hopefully many people will go see it.  I'm really pulling for this film to win the best documentary Oscar at next year's Academy Awards.

Simply put, if you like music, you will love this movie.