Justin Timberlake + The Tennessee Kids

Justin Timberlake + The Tennessee Kids
Film poster
Directed byJonathan Demme
Produced byGary Goetzman
StarringJustin Timberlake
CinematographyDeclan Quinn
Edited byPaul Snyder
Production
company
Distributed byNetflix
Release date
  • October 12, 2016 (2016-10-12)
Running time
90 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Justin Timberlake + The Tennessee Kids is a 2016 American concert film directed by Jonathan Demme about singer Justin Timberlake. Produced by Gary Goetzman, it documents the final performances of Timberlake's The 20/20 Experience World Tour at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. Justin Timberlake + The Tennessee Kids premiered at the 2016 Toronto International Film Festival on September 13, 2016, and was released globally on Netflix on October 12. The film received widespread critical acclaim, with praise for Demme's filmmaking and Timberlake's performance. It was Demme's final directorial work before his death in April 2017.

Background and production

On May 5, 2013, Timberlake announced that he would embark on The 20/20 Experience World Tour, his fifth concert tour and second on a global scale. Promoted primarily by Live Nation, the tour would debut on October 31 in Montreal, just two months after the Legends of the Summer tour concluded. Twenty-two additional dates were also announced across Canada and the United States, ending on February 10, 2014, in Omaha, Nebraska. Several dates were made available for pre-sale for members of The Tennessee Kids, Timberlake's official fan club. Timberlake's official website noted that, while unannounced, additional dates in Europe, South America, and Australia would follow.[1] In his autobiography Hindsight (2018), Timberlake wrote that he ended the tour early after learning that his wife, Jessica Biel, was pregnant. The tour concluded with a performance at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on January 2, 2015.[2]

Demme initially contacted Timberlake after seeing his performance in The Social Network (2010); in the meeting they discussed Talking Heads concert film Stop Making Sense (1984), directed by Demme and an influence for the singer in his live performances.[3] The performance captured in Justin Timberlake + The Tennessee Kids was filmed over two nights, January 1–2, 2015. Demme used 14 operated cameras that Declan Quinn, the director of photography, and he deployed over many pre-filming engagements, including two other free-floating cameras in the audience and one cameraman onstage with Timberlake.[4] Timberlake dedicated the film to Prince, who died during post-production. "His influence is all over everyone's music and there's so much that I feel like I've maybe consciously and unconsciously borrowed from him that it felt right", he told E! "It just feels right to dedicate the film to him."[5]

Release and reception

Netflix announced its acquisition of Justin Timberlake + The Tennessee Kids shortly before it premiered at the 2016 Toronto International Film Festival on September 13, 2016. The film premiered worldwide on Netflix on October 12, 2016.[6] On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 100% of 14 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 8.2/10.[7] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 81 out of 100, based on 6 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[8]

Noel Murray of The A.V. Club gave Justin Timberlake + The Tennessee Kids an "A-" grade, and said that "Timberlake himself is a stunner, whether he's smoothly pirouetting his way through 'Suit & Tie' or he's choking back tears during his stirring set closer 'Mirrors.' But his team is well-matched by Demme's."[9] Ethan Vestby of The Film Stage gave it a "B-" grade, and said it's "hard not to detect the film as a for-hire work from Demme, perhaps just because its subject seems so in-control — not so much in the terms of him as author, but the whole project as a form of brand management for one of the world's biggest pop stars."[10] Nigel M. Smith from The Guardian gave it four out of five stars, and noted: "As Jonathan Demme's concert documentary Justin Timberlake + the Tennessee Kids indisputably shows, Timberlake is only truly in his element when on stage being a showman."[11] Manuela Lazic of Little White Lies called it a "joyous experience and proof, if any was needed, that Demme and Timberlake are still at the top of their game".[12] Calum Marsh of the National Post said: "Certainly it's possible that a live JT concert would entertain. But can this special achieve anything more? Oh, yes."[13]

David Ehrlich of IndieWire gave Justin Timberlake + The Tennessee Kids a "B" grade, and said, "If nothing else, this loving — borderline fetishistic — concert movie makes a compelling case for the musicianship, artistry, and sheer athleticism of pop music. Well, good pop music, anyway."[14] Brian Tallerico of RogerEbert.com gave the film three-and-a-half out of four stars, and wrote: "Demme's concert films aren't just recordings of events—they're cinematic embodiments of their musicians, capturing in a moment an energy that transcends time."[15] Andrew Barker of Variety said that "Demme proves he's still a wily master of the craft, and the director's work here makes this more than just a fans-only proposition."[16] Adam Chitwood of Collider gave it an "A-" grade, and said: "In less talented hands this could have been one long promo for Justin Timberlake: The Brand. In the hands of Demme, it's pure art."[17] Renee Longstreet of Common Sense Media gave it four out of five stars, and called it "a nonstop musical extravaganza, with none of the star banter or guest performers that so often pepper concerts like this one".[18]

Cast

  • Justin Timberlake
  • Adam Blackstone
  • Justin Gilbert
  • Aaron Anderson
  • Lance Jefferson
  • Terry Santiel
  • Elliott Ives
  • Mike Scott
  • Dontae Winslow
  • Sean Erick
  • Kevin Williams
  • Leon Silva
  • Zenya Bashford
  • Aaron Camper
  • Nicole Hurst
  • Jack E. King
  • Dana Wilson
  • Ivan Koumaev
  • Lyle Beniga
  • Natalie Gilmore
  • Matthew Aylward
  • Lindsay Richardson

Set list

Set list adapted from What's on Netflix.[19]

  1. "Pusher Love Girl"
  2. "Gimme What I Don't Know (I Want)" / "Rock Your Body"
  3. "Don't Hold the Wall" / "FutureSex/LoveSound"
  4. "Like I Love You"
  5. "My Love"
  6. "LoveStoned"
  7. "Until the End of Time"
  8. "Holy Grail" / "Cry Me a River"
  9. "Only When I Walk Away"
  10. "Drink You Away"
  11. "Let the Groove Get In"
  12. "Human Nature"
  13. "What Goes Around... Comes Around"
  14. "Take Back the Night"
  15. "Poison"
  16. "Suit & Tie"
  17. "SexyBack"
  18. "Mirrors"

References

  1. ↑ "The 20/20 Experience World Tour Details!". Justin Timberlake. Archived from the original on May 10, 2013. Retrieved June 6, 2013.
  2. ↑ Cohen, Jess (October 30, 2018). "Justin Timberlake Recalls the Emotional Moment Jessica Biel Told Him She's Pregnant". E! News. Archived from the original on October 31, 2018. Retrieved July 31, 2026.
  3. ↑ Sullivan, Kevin P. (October 12, 2016). "How Justin Timberlake and Jonathan Demme kept the concert film fresh". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on October 15, 2016. Retrieved July 31, 2026.
  4. ↑ Bliss, Karen (October 12, 2016). "Jonathan Demme Shares Stories Behind Justin Timberlake, Talking Heads & Neil Young Concert Documentaries". Billboard. Archived from the original on December 9, 2021. Retrieved July 31, 2026.
  5. ↑ Havens, Lyndsey (October 11, 2016). "Justin Timberlake Says 'Tennessee Kids' Concert Film Debut Made Him As Nervous As He's Ever Been". Billboard. Archived from the original on March 1, 2022. Retrieved July 31, 2026.
  6. ↑ "Netflix Acquires Global Rights to Jonathan Demme's Justin Timberlake + The Tennessee Kids". Netflix. September 9, 2016. Archived from the original on September 24, 2016. Retrieved July 29, 2026.
  7. ↑ "Justin Timberlake + The Tennessee Kids". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Archived from the original on November 8, 2016. Retrieved July 29, 2026.
  8. ↑ "Justin Timberlake + the Tennessee Kids". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Archived from the original on September 18, 2016. Retrieved July 29, 2026.
  9. ↑ Murray, Noel (October 17, 2016). "Justin Timberlake gets the thrilling Stop Making Sense treatment". The A.V. Club. Archived from the original on October 19, 2016. Retrieved July 29, 2026.
  10. ↑ Vestby, Ethan (September 16, 2016). "[TIFF Review] Justin Timberlake + The Tennessee Kids". The Film Stage. Archived from the original on September 17, 2016. Retrieved July 29, 2026.
  11. ↑ Smith, Nigel M. (September 15, 2016). "Justin Timberlake + the Tennessee Kids review – Jonathan Demme's no-frills doc". The Guardian. Archived from the original on September 15, 2016. Retrieved October 11, 2016.
  12. ↑ Lazic, Manuela (October 19, 2016). "Justin Timberlake + the Tennessee Kids". Little White Lies. Archived from the original on May 13, 2017. Retrieved August 23, 2026.
  13. ↑ Marsh, Calum (October 14, 2016). "Why Netflix's Justin Timberlake concert special is, incredibly, one of the best films of the year". National Post. Archived from the original on August 23, 2026. Retrieved August 23, 2026.
  14. ↑ Ehrlich, David (September 18, 2016). "'Justin Timberlake + The Tennessee Kids' Puts The Musicianship Back In Pop Music — TIFF Review". IndieWire. Archived from the original on September 19, 2016. Retrieved July 29, 2026.
  15. ↑ Tallerico, Brian (October 11, 2016). "Justin Timberlake + The Tennessee Kids". RogerEbert.com. Archived from the original on October 12, 2016. Retrieved October 12, 2016.
  16. ↑ Barker, Andrew (September 14, 2016). "Film Review: 'Justin Timberlake and the Tennessee Kids'". Variety. Archived from the original on September 15, 2016. Retrieved July 30, 2026.
  17. ↑ Chitwood, Adam (October 12, 2016). "Justin Timberlake and the Tennessee Kids Movie Review". Collider. Archived from the original on September 16, 2016. Retrieved July 30, 2026.
  18. ↑ Longstreet, Renee. "Justin Timberlake + The Tennessee Kids – Parents' Guide & Movie Review". Common Sense Media. Archived from the original on October 29, 2016. Retrieved August 23, 2026.
  19. ↑ Moore, Kasey (October 18, 2016). "'Justin Timberlake + The Tennessee Kids' Track Listing". What's on Netflix. Archived from the original on August 18, 2019. Retrieved June 29, 2026.
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