It makes sense that we’re watching Rocketman (2019). After all, we watched Bohemian Rhapsody and Blinded by the Light. We’re just trying to cover all the Dad Rock angles of 2019.
In fact, Rocketman and Rhapsody have a lot in common - gay and talented kid from a repressive home gets fame and fortune, but almost loses everything to drugs, alcohol, and sexual excess. The main diffference is that Rhapsody tells the story straight, but Rocketman gets a little crazy.
It starts with Taron Edgerton as John in a wild, horned and winged devil costume, stomping into a group therapy session and telling the story of his life. His mother was a loose woman who didn’t care for him, his father was a cold military man who seemed to hate him, but his granny was lovely. His talent on the piano got him into the Royal Conservatory. When is parents split up, his mom took up with a fun guy who got him interested in rock. He started playing in the pub - “Saturday’s All Right for Fighting”. And it took off from there, playing piano in a touring backup band.
A record company puts him in touch with Bernie Taupin (Jamie Bell) and they start making hits. Soon, they are off to LA to play the Troubador. Just as one example, when he starts playing, he levitates and time stands still - then he crashes out “Crocodile Rock”. Then booze, gay and straight sex, bad management, drugs, and more and more music. Some of it is fantastical, some heartfelt, and Edgerton sings it all. Which is pretty impressive.
We liked the whole fantasy musical thing, although there are some parts that I wish were more historically accurate. Like the backup band he worked with was headed by Long John Baldry, once much beloved by British blues fans, but pretty obscure. The movie implied that Elton chose his last name for John Lennon, but it was actually Baldry. They wrote him out of the picture completely. And Elton got a big boost on his first trip to America from Leon Russell. I had hoped he’d get into the show, but was only mentioned at the Troubador: “Neal Diamond, Leon Russell and half of The Beach Boys are out there!”
That aside, we liked what director Dexter Fletcher did with this. Parts were a little clunky - we got hit over the head in some scenes, but I guess Elton John isn’t exactly subtle. Since Fletcher also took over Bohemian Rhapsody when Bryan Singer left, it’s interesting to compare and contrast.
In conclusion, I’m not really a big Elton John fan (or Queen fan, either), but boy did this make me appreciate him. Also, I’ve always felt Bernie Taupin didn’t get enough credit, and he comes across well here, just a solid, steady, working songwriter. No complaints.
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