“Rocketman”,
which was directed by Dexter Fletcher, who is the true director of “Bohemian
Rhapsody” after Bryan Signer dropped out half way through finally gets a
musical biography picture he can put his name on. It’s “Rocketman”, a half
good, half odd biography movie about the life of Elton John. In some ways, it’s
odd to have a biography picture of Elton John, because he’s still active and
well, still alive. Elton John, played in an over the top way by Taron Egerton,
starts off the film walking in a flamboyant costume towards the audience, in
what one would think was him going to perform in a concert. However, the truth
is Elton John is in rehab, and he’s sitting with a group of other drug addicts.
I’m sure they have stories too, but this is Elton John’s bio pic film and they
have to listen to his story.
What follows is a story that
ranges from his childhood to his adulthood. Certain parts of Elton’s life the
film really goes into and other parts of his life it condenses. As a kid, he
imagines himself conducting a orchestra, even to the point with him as a nerdy
looking kid with glasses, he is floating above his bed, holding the wand over a
group of musicians. Of course, his reality is much different with a checked out
mom and a disinterested dad in the suburbs of England. As his childhood doesn’t
go well, he still can mesmerize his mom with his piano playing. He grows into a
teenager, who then decides he should change his name from Reginald Dwight, which is his
real name. He proclaims to a fellow band member that he is now Elton John. His
band member says that’s his name. He responses yeah I know.
What follows is a pretty typical
rise, fall, than rise again of a rock star. He gets older, he struggles with his
sexuality, he becomes a drug addict, he has dysfunctional relationships with
his mom, his dad, his promoters and everyone else. Awkwardly, songs from Elton
John are inserted into the film as the characters break out into them even
before they are written in reality. It’s a wink to the audience. There’s a lot
of melodrama throughout the film, and at times, it feels like a spoof of biography
pictures. Elton John was involved in the making of this film, and sometimes it
shows as for everything he does that’s terrible, there’s this sense of look at
everything he’s overcome. I’m reminded of the great “Chapelle’s Show” sketch
where Dave Chapelle talks about the movie Antwone Fisher, which was made into a
2002 film by Denzel Washington. Fisher actually wrote the screenplay to his own bio pic. Chapelle talks about how I would never be able
to write a movie about himself without himself look like the greatest
person ever even if it wasn’t true.
And there are some scenes in
“Rocketman” that kind of feel that way. It shows Elton at his best and his
worst, yet some of it is kind of laughably ego driven. The biggest example of
that is when the childhood version of Elton John shows up in rehab and the
lights go out on the other people in the support group, and asks if his childhood self asked if he still
wants to be Reginald Dwight anymore. Elton John gives his former self a hug,
but not before everyone who doubted him shows up in the room to try to tear him
down. He won’t be having any of it, because he’s a survivor. That scene felt
more like a spoof of a biography picture, because it felt self congratulatory about the subject of the film, who happens to be the guy the biography picture
is about.
The only person Elton John seems
to have a solidly good relationship with is his song writing partner, Bernie
Taupin played by Jamie Bell. That relationship was actually very refreshing
throughout the film. This wasn’t only Elton John’s songwriter, but he was his
best friend, and he was a straight guy. He was never threatened by the fact
Elton John was gay, and actually that friendship was nice to see in an era where
a lot of people wouldn’t want to work with someone with a gay orientation, and
not feel there might be something more there. He even comes to visit him in
rehab. I liked that friendship.
“Rocketman” is a bit of an odd
film. However, the movie is okay. I guess you really have to like Elton John
to like this film. You might find it inspiring. There was a gay sex scene that
was much talked about before the release of this film, but it’s pretty tame. No
big deal. This film wasn’t really made for me. I like Elton John’s music, as
does most of the world. He has some classics, and this tunes are nice sounding.
However, if you really want to get into this film, you really need to like
Elton John. Okay, then, I’m okay with that great scene in Cameron Crowe’s 2000
classic “Almost Famous” where the band and groupies sing “Tiny Dancer” on the
tour bus. That will do.
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