Tim joined Tom Barnard, Brittany Arneson and Rudy Pavich on the “Tom Barnard Morning Show Podcast,” Adam Carter & Jordana Green on “Adam and Jordana” show on WCCO-AM, and Kelly Cordes on “It Matters with Kelly Cordes” Friday to review the new theatrical release “Big George Foreman” and the new streaming series “Citadel” (Amazon Prime). Click to listen to below. All of Tim’s segments are brought to you by Michael Bryant, and Bradshaw and Bryant.
In addition, Tim reviews movies weekly for the “Adam and Jordana” with Adam Carter and Jordana Green on WCCO Radio, “It Matters with Kelly Cordes” on WJON-AM, KLZZ-FM, “The Tom Barnard Podcast” and “The BS Show” with Bob Sansevere, and reviews streaming programming on WCCO Radio’s “Adam and Jordana” as well. On TV, Tim has made hundreds of guest appearances on NBC affiliate KARE on the news program “KARE 11 News at 11.”
All systems are go for “Rocketman,” a creatively staged look at the wondrous life and music career of rock legend Elton John. Naturally the film comes with a lot of pressure attached because of the blistering worldwide box office success of the “Bohemian Rhapsody,” but from the very beginning “Rocketman” lets you know that it’s talking a much different trajectory than the Queen/Freddie Mercury biopic.
Instead, while “Bohemian Rhapsody” is about the creation and live performances of the Queen’s music, “Rocketman” uses the music of Elton John and lyrics of Bernie Taupin to tell the story of singer-pianist’s (Taron Egerton) tumultuous upbringing and the inner demons that nearly destroyed his life until he became sober and found the personal life and love he so desperately longed for.
AUDIO: Hear Tim’s review of “Rocketman” with Tom Barnard on “The KQ Morning Show” on KQRS-FM.
As such, “Rocketman” is far from your standard music biopic. Obviously, it covers key moments in Elton’s life and career, but it is essentially presented as movie musical (which is already screaming for a Broadway adaptation) with fantasy elements woven throughout. Perhaps the best film to compare “Rocketman” to is director Julie Taymor’s ingenious 2007 movie musical “Across the Universe,” which created characters and a immersive love story based on the classic songs of The Beatles.
Here, the characters are all based on real people, naturally, who take turns with Egerton singing such Elton standards as “Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting,” “Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word” and “Goodbye Yellowbrick Road” as the story unfolds from his early childhood as a musical prodigy throughout his career highs and personal lows, to his eventual recovery in the 1980s.
“Rocketman” continues the music/movie winning streak for director Dexter Fletcher, who rescued “Bohemian Rhapsody” from ruins after he was hired to finish the film after original helmer Bryan Singer was fired. Clearly “Bohemian Rhapsody” demonstrated that Fletcher had the goods when it comes to telling stories of classic rockers, and “Rocketman” gives him the creative freedom to play out the life of a legend on a much bigger stage. Smartly, Fletcher hired Egerton (of the “Kingsman” movies) after their work together on the under-appreciated sports biopic “Eddie the Eagle”; and the actor, whose singing voice is used throughout the film, impresses in a risky turn that could have turned out to be a disaster if the performances were at all underwhelming.
So does Egerton sound like Elton John? Yes and no. Elton’s voice is so unique that no actor could have truly matched it, but since “Rocketman” is essentially a movie musical, sounding close enough to singer suffices. Thanks to Taupin’s lyrics, Elton’s songs seem to have mini-movie plots of their own, where people like musician’s fans can play out the scenarios in their minds. As such, Egerton finds himself in the best of both worlds, being in the unique position to play the singer and act out his life in a fantastical way at the same time.
The performances in “Rocketman” are spectacular all around. Egerton, like “Bohemian Rhapsody’s Rami Malek, is Oscar nomination-bound, as could be Jamie Bell, who brings heart to the film in the pivotal role of Bernie Taupin. Just as strong in their supporting turns are Richard Madden as Elton’s sleazy business manager/lover John Reid (who appeared much more sympathetic in his portrayal by Aiden Gillen in “Bohemian Rhapsody”) and Bryce Dallas Howard as Elton’s unpredictable mother, Sheila. Tate Donovan is also terrific in a small but memorable role as Doug Weston, the owner of LA’s Troubadour nightclub, which effectively launched Elton’s career in America in August 1970.
While “Bohemian Rhapsody” earned more than $900 million worldwide, critics largely criticized the film, claiming the PG-13 film went too light on Mercury’s raucous antics and bad behavior, and glossed over his life as a gay man and his eventual struggle with AIDS. Also criticized was how the film took liberties with the band’s musical timeline and the timing of Mercury’s AIDS diagnosis in order to fit the film’s narrative.
“Rocketman,” on the flip side, truly gives an R-rated look at Elton’s life warts and all, which was a deliberate decision on behalf of the singer (his husband, David Furnish, is one of the film’s producers), who wanted his story told as truthfully as possible. While critics will be hard-pressed to find fault with the frank presentation of Elton’s life, it will be interesting to see if they take issue with how screenwriter Lee Hall, like “Bohemian Rhapsody” scribe Anthony McCarten, loosely played with Elton’s musical timeline of big events in his life to again, help craft a sensible narrative. Honestly, people should have no gripes with either the Freddie or Elton film, especially considering how difficult to cram a storied artist’s life into 2 hours.
AUDIO: Hear Tim’s review of “Rocketman” with Paul Douglas and Jordana Green on “Paul and Jordan” on WCCO-AM.
For as much as “Rocketman” has going for it, the film has its share of flaws. First, the omission of “Someone Saved My Life Tonight” from the songs in the film seems like a missed opportunity, given how it chronicled such a dark chapter in Elton’s life. In addition, die hard fans of Elton’s music will likely be upset that his longtime band members don’t even get a mention.
After all, if Kiki Dee (in a glorious scene recreating the recording of “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart”), why couldn’t guitarist Davey Johnstone, drummer Nigel Olsson and late bassist Dee Murray get a shout-out? The band members, after all, played key roles in the creation of Elton’s classic albums, so to be reduced to background players in the film is somewhat a slap in the face to their collective legacy. Thankfully, it’s a small dose of heartbreak in an otherwise glorious film.
Lammometer: 8 (out of 10)
Tim Lammers reviews movies weekly for The KQ92 Morning Show,” “KARE 11 News at 11” (NBC), WCCO Radio, WJON-AM, KLZZ-FM, “The Tom Barnard Podcast” and “The BS Show” with Bob Sansevere.
Having the good fortune to talk with actor-director Kenneth Branagh time and again over the past 15 years, the one constant I’ve noticed — and it’s a very important one at that — is his infectious passion for what he does. Whether he’s in front of or behind the camera — or both — Branagh’s enthusiasm for his work is reflected in every frame of his movies, and his latest, as director of the enchanting Disney live-action update of “Cinderella,” is no different.
“I have the luxury of being in this job that involves the allowance of my passion and enthusiasm,” Branagh said, humbly, in a recent call from Los Angeles. “I never get tired of realizing what a privilege it is — the enthusiasm and the passion come very easily because it’s a wonderful thing to be able to do.”
Opening in theaters and on IMAX screens nationwide on Friday, “Cinderella” stars Lily James (“Downton Abbey”) in the title role, who after the death of her mother (Hayley Atwell) and later, her father (Ben Chaplin), becomes trapped in a household as a humbled servant to her cruel stepmother, Lady Tremaine (Cate Blanchett), and her two daughters, Anastasia (Holliday Grainger) and Drisella (Sophie McShera). But through a chance meeting with a handsome prince (Richard Madden) and some magical help from her Fairy Godmother (Helena Bonham Carter), Cinderella’s misfortunes, if the shoe literally fits, may very well change.
Branagh especially needed passion and enthusiasm in bringing Chris Weitz’s script to life for “Cinderella,” mainly for the fact that there were so many potential downfalls associated with the project. It’s hard enough adapting a well-known piece of literature such as a hit novel, much less one of the most-beloved fairy tales of all-time. Needless to say, updating “Cinderella” and giving it a different sort of spin without compromising the integrity of the original tale was a tall order for acclaimed director — and this is filmmaker who has mastered the works of William Shakespeare several times throughout his illustrious career.
“I really like the challenge. People have expectations, but I’ve done a lot of work in the classical field with masterpieces and universally-known things,” Branagh said. “By doing them, in a sense you’re proving they’re classics because here you are doing it again. Part of the reason they live across the ages is because they can be seen again — can be reevaluated. In the case of ‘Cinderella,’ here’s a myth and character who’s been around 2,500 years across various cultures. In the modern world, it’s something that many people cherish with their memories from the 1950 Disney animated classic.”
Branagh, 54, said he was taken aback by being given the chance to take the helm of “Cinderella” — the latest in Disney’s efforts to re-imagine their animated classics in live-action form following “Alice in Wonderland” and “Maleficent,” which presented “Sleeping Beauty” from the classic villainess’ viewpoint.
“Apart from being pleased and surprised — and it was very positive surprise to be asked to direct a fairy tale — I was happy to be given the chance to discover why we continue to be drawn to this story and whether there was a new way to present it,” said Branagh who also interpreted “Thor” for the character’s film debut. “I thought that there was, in a very subtle but significant way, from the inside-out. Essentially, it had to do with sort of a recalibration of Cinderella’s character, and that’s where we started.”
Anchoring the film are five very important words that Cinderella’s dying mother tells her as a young child: “Have courage and be kind.” Branagh knows those words are simple, but couldn’t be any more powerful; and he hopes the words, which are repeated throughout the movie, aren’t lost on viewers.
“People have said to me, ‘Are those words a little simplistic?’ But it’s very hard to produce simplicity, especially in art,” Branagh observed. “All the simple things are usually packed with meaning. Shakespeare has an equivalent in ‘King Lear,’ where Kent is in the stocks and has been cruelly treated, but at the end of a speech where he tries to convince himself that he will recover he says, ‘Have patience and endure,’ which you may call a Shakespearean paraphrase for ‘Have courage and be kind’ — ‘patience’ involving compassion and love, and ‘endure’ the courage and determination to be resilient. I was determined to make an uncynical film about important things that could be inspirations.”
Filmed in mostly real settings with real props and set pieces — save the visually spectacular scene where the Fairy Godmother works her magic — Branagh is proud that he could give the heart within the classical exteriors a different sort of beat with its more modernized characters.
“We set the film in a classical framework and looks like you might expect a fairytale to look — very lavish and opulent — and have things that you’d expect Cinderella to have like mice that turn into horses and a pumpkin-turned-carriage, and a ball,” Branagh said. “Yet, it also has a girl not passively awaiting the arrival of a man who is simply choosing to be a victim of fate; but someone who deals with her challenges, and the cruelty and the ignorance that she’s subject to by being aware of other people. That in a way is a way to deal with your own problems — to think of someone else. She does that with humor, and she does so with passion.”
Also, Branagh added, Cinderella asks questions — particularly of the evil person who is trying to keep her down.
“‘Why are you so cruel?’ she asks the stepmother, and I think Cinderella’s apparently simplistic path through this story is an inspiring one and triumphant,” Branagh said. “It doesn’t make her weak and it doesn’t make her passive, nor does it make her pious and self-righteous. She stumbles and she falls, like we all do, but ultimately her self-belief and her belief in the power of love is really her all-powerful way of living.”
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