Sunday, February 9, 2020

Rocket Man


From our “better late than never” department.

I had heard a lot of buzz about this movie back when it first came out. There were many who liked it, but a whole lot of people who said it sucked. One thing I learned long ago, I don’t listen to the critics. I have to see the film and formulate my own opinion. There have been many movies that I absolutely loved, but that got panned by the film critics and the public as a whole. By the same token, there have been Oscar winning movies that I thought were simply awful.  Another thing that kind of gets my goat is the “political correctness” issue. Never in my life would I imagine that a movie would be judge by (a) how many females are in the movie or directing (b) how many minorities are in the movie. Extra points if the movie has a gay story, men on men action, woman on woman action, transgender love. . . those are just the tip of the iceberg. Don’t be mad at me, you know it’s true.

Rocket Man is a film about the famously gay rock star, Elton John. So was Bohemian Rhapsody, but that one was slammed by many for “toning down” Freddie Mercury’s gayness. Huh? I loved the movie for the music, and the guy playing Freddie was uncannily Mercury like.

Rocket Man is a good movie, but very different from Rhapsody. This one is done as a rock musical. Remember Tommy? My description to anyone who asks me is, “it’s a cross between Bohemian Rhapsody and La La Land.

It goes without saying that the music is incredible. For those of us who grew up with Elton’s music blaring out of our transistor radio, the movie is a welcome tribute to songwriters Elton John and Bernie Taupin. The actor who plays Elton nails it in all of his gap-toothed glory. And the guy who plays Bernie is equally perfect casting.

Using the songs to illustrate moments from Reginald Dwight’s life brings to mind not only the movie version of the Who’s Tommy, but also the sub-standard seventies film Sgt Pepper’s Lonley Hearts Club Band, an all-star flop starring the Bee Gees and Peter Frampton. Rocket Man is not bad like Peppers, but for anyone looking for a straight (no pun intended) telling of Elton’s life, may I recommend his biography. A good read. But if you love the Broadway-esque, over the top production of La La Land, you will love this one. By the way, it’s a very positive look at kicking drug and alcohol addiction.

Four Stars

-Michael Buffalo Smith



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