Jump to content


Please note: You can easily log in to MPN using your Facebook account!

Rocket Man: the movie


Recommended Posts

Game of Thrones fans: do you also find it hilarious that in this movie, John Reid is portrayed by the guy who played Rob Stark, while in the Queen biopic, he was played by the guy who played Littlefinger?

Yes! Made that exact observation to my wife when we watched a while back.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites



  • Replies 63
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

Top Posters In This Topic

That settles it. No "biopics" for me. If it's some historical figure that I'm not personally familiar with, I can handle it. I had Bohemian Rhapsody recorded on my tivo just in case I changed my mind about watching it, but deleted it a few days ago.

 

I'll stick with the Prince bio.

 

o-dave-chappelle-prince-facebook.jpg

Moe

---

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Samuel, some really good points, and I agree with all of them, except GOT as I don't have a TV so have never seen the show.

 

The more I think about this film, the more it disturbs me. Especially after doing research on the parts that bothered me the most.

 

For instance, the relationship with the parents and other family members wasn't nearly as extreme or dysfunctional as portrayed here.

 

What I don't get about both these films, is that they are exactly what the artists themselves wanted. Why do they not like the truth?

 

And yes, I thought it was highly irresponsible to not even hint that the drugs might have affected the relationships even "just a bit".

Eugenio Upright, 60th Anniversary P-Bass, USA Geddy Lee J-Bass, Yamaha BBP35, D'angelico SS Bari, EXL1,

Select Strat, 70th Anniversary Esquire, LP 57, Eastman T486, T64, Ibanez PM2, Hammond XK4, Moog Voyager

Link to comment
Share on other sites

For instance, the relationship with the parents and other family members wasn't nearly as extreme or dysfunctional as portrayed here.
Yeah, it was almost as if they didn't trust the audience to understand a nuanced parent/child relationship and all the baggage that goes with it. His dad is sort of legendarily a jerk, but I'm sure he had SOME feelings. The mother was presented as a Disney villain.

 

And yes, I thought it was highly irresponsible to not even hint that the drugs might have affected the relationships even "just a bit".
To be fair, I was being sarcastic -- I thought the drug abuse, along with everything else in the film, was dealt with in an extremely heavyhanded manner. Sure, it's important to know he was an addict; it's a big part of his personal story. But addiction is as complex as a parent/child relationship, and I felt it was dealt with in a very two-dimensional way, as if the creators didn't trust the audience to understand real people's complicated motives and feelings. "I'm shy and my parents didn't express affection so I handle the pressures of fame with drugs and it makes me mean and selfish." We've seen that story in 90% of these movies about musicians, and if there's not some interesting insight or characterization to support it, it feels like the Hollywood trope it is, even if, on the surface, it's the "truth" about Elton John.

 

What I don't get about both these films, is that they are exactly what the artists themselves wanted. Why do they not like the truth?
Image, perhaps? Also, we're never the most objective critics of ourselves -- though as unflattering a portrait as this film painted of almost everyone in Elton's life, I thought it was equally unflattering a portrait of him the majority of the time. The movie felt a little bit like the public therapy/apology of someone who realized they were selfish during their prime and wants to make up for it (I mean, talk about heavyhanded -- therapy is literally the framing device of the movie). That's been Elton John's MO since he got clean in the 90s, to be fair, but that's not the story I'm most interested in. Eric Clapton's autobiography, though less fictionalized/dramatized, disappointed me in a similar way: two pages about making Layla with Duane Allman, entire chapters about heroin addiction and using his money to build a rehab facility after getting clean. That's important to these artists, and I applaud them for it, and maybe that's more interesting to most moviegoers or readers than hearing about songwriting or recording or performing. But Keith Richards took plenty of time in his book to talk about craft, and he's one of the most legendary drug abusers in rock and roll. So I don't buy that people can't handle a more nuanced portrait of these artists.

 

Samuel B. Lupowitz

Musician. Songwriter. Food Enthusiast. Bad Pun Aficionado.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Unfortunately, your content contains terms that we do not allow. Please edit your content to remove the highlighted words below.
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...