03-08-2019, 21:22
Felt like seeing a movie so went to watch Rocketman which I didn’t think I’d bother with on the big screen. It’s got quite a bit of the typical ‘musical’ framework – dancing in the streets – that sort of thing, but mostly in the first half, and then when it’s done later, it melds in with the whole story and is more modern, so that in fact, it only teeters on the verge of tedium (in that respect). Of course, Elton John is a brilliant subject in terms of his flamboyance, his costumes and his outrageous persona (or the one he shows people) and Taron Egerton, the actor who portrays him, does him great justice, not to mention actually singing the songs on the soundtrack – I predict an Oscar.
The film is not a documentary, but it does focus on little Reggie Dwight’s difficult, unloved childhood and his subsequent struggles with every substance known to humankind, apropos the movie, in an attempt to plaster over the cracks, a scenario that plays itself out in so very many lives. It looks at his meteoric rise to fame and his career up to the point where he gets sober which was 28 years ago, and it also celebrates his and Bernie Taupin’s unusual and incredibly fruitful songwriting partnership. What a lucky convergence that was – totally serendipitous. Had a different envelope of lyrics been handed to Elton John, who knows what might have been, or not! Gives me the shivers. That thread really carries the whole thing, and it’s true – they have an incredibly strong bond.
Anyway – I enjoyed it and I also found it quite sad. The music is great and there are fascinating glimpses behind the façade, however, if I was forced to compare, I’d say Bohemian Rhapsody was by far the more impactful of the two – the whole Bluesology bit was there in this one, but glossed over, and it would have been nice if Long John Baldry had at least had a mention, since it’s he and Elton Dean who loaned their names to EJ, and Baldry who pretty much rescued him from a deep dark depression and who helped him face up to coming out, not that it’s anyone’s business, but that’s part of the price of fame – no privacy – you’re public property. Not for the faint of heart!
There was a snippet of this one, which I haven’t thought about for some time … and I like this version …
The film is not a documentary, but it does focus on little Reggie Dwight’s difficult, unloved childhood and his subsequent struggles with every substance known to humankind, apropos the movie, in an attempt to plaster over the cracks, a scenario that plays itself out in so very many lives. It looks at his meteoric rise to fame and his career up to the point where he gets sober which was 28 years ago, and it also celebrates his and Bernie Taupin’s unusual and incredibly fruitful songwriting partnership. What a lucky convergence that was – totally serendipitous. Had a different envelope of lyrics been handed to Elton John, who knows what might have been, or not! Gives me the shivers. That thread really carries the whole thing, and it’s true – they have an incredibly strong bond.
Anyway – I enjoyed it and I also found it quite sad. The music is great and there are fascinating glimpses behind the façade, however, if I was forced to compare, I’d say Bohemian Rhapsody was by far the more impactful of the two – the whole Bluesology bit was there in this one, but glossed over, and it would have been nice if Long John Baldry had at least had a mention, since it’s he and Elton Dean who loaned their names to EJ, and Baldry who pretty much rescued him from a deep dark depression and who helped him face up to coming out, not that it’s anyone’s business, but that’s part of the price of fame – no privacy – you’re public property. Not for the faint of heart!
There was a snippet of this one, which I haven’t thought about for some time … and I like this version …
"The surest sign that intelligent life exists elsewhere in the universe is that it has never tried to contact us." ~ Bill Watterson