Быть лучше: История Робби Уильямса

Movie Review Mom GRADE: A-SPONSOR of Today’s movie review:IN A NUTSHELL:The music-filled biopic is about British pop-star Robbie Williams, focusing on his childhood and struggles with fame and vice. So, how is this biopic different from all of the others out there? Replace the star with a monkey, of **** movie was directed by Michael Gracey, who also wrote the screenplay with Simon Gleeson and Oliver Cole.Already, the movie has been nominated for 35 awards, including Outstanding Achievement for Character Animation, Best Original Song, and Best Motion Capture Performance. Kudos to the team.TIPS FOR PARENTS:This is not appropriate for kidsWe see Robbie do drugsSome violenceProfanity, crude language, and a million F-bombs, sometimes spoken by childrenBullying is portrayedSome girls lift up their shirts to show their bare chests. Later, we see three naked women in bed with RobbieWe see the facial reaction and movements during an intimate momentTHEMES:MusicDeterminationDreaming bigNegative self-talkConfidenceThe power of therapyMental healthFeeling like you’re never enoughFather/son relationshipsLove and lossFickle fameForgivenessHealing relationshipsTHINGS I LIKED:I love the unique way this music biopic of Robbie Williams is presented! It’s genius on several levels and was extremely risky. The use of a monkey is never outright explained in the movie, although the metaphor is very clear about how celebrities are often treated like performing monkeys. That’s definitely how Robbie Williams felt. It also reveals that he felt he was never good enough or “evolved” as others. The honesty he reveals in the film is raw, vulnerable, and powerful. Very few celebrities would be willing to bare all like this in a movie about their life. Luckily, audiences are really relating to the metaphor. Without the gimmick, this would have just been another basic biopic.British singer Robbie Williams earned his initial fame as a member of the pop group “Take That”, and later launched his solo career, all the while, struggling with drugs and alcohol. The majority of Robbie Williams’ voiceover in the movie is from recordings the director casually made in a studio before the movie was ever thought of. I’m American and had never really heard of Robbie Williams before. He’s a huge hit in the UK, but a bit of an unknown in the USA. I don’t know why he never had the crossover success that others have had, but Americans will definitely know all about him now because of this film! When he spoke at a premiere in Amsterdam recently, he said, “I’m showing everything in this movie except my hemorrhoids.”The visual effects are amazing, impressively detailed, and so creative. Jonno Davies does an excellent job providing the body-capture work as Robbie **** cast includes Steve Pemberton, Damon Herriman, Kate Mulvany, Frazer Hadfield, Alison Steadman, and Raechelle **** film illustrates points in very creative ways, such as the underwater scene. The scene transitions were really clever **** get to enjoy some good music and great dance scenes. The first one is at the 33-minute mark. There’s a fun dance scene that was filmed on Regent Street in London. It took a year and a half to get permission since the British royal family owns it. Then, just two nights before they were going to finally film the scene, Queen Elizabeth II passed away, so the shooting was cancelled. Five months later, the producers raised more money and they were able to shoot the **** movie poster replaces the monkey’s image with the real Robbie Williams’ face that was used on his 1997 debut solo album “Life Thru A Lens.”I loved the energy of the movie, especially because the film is over 2 hours **** movie will give you all the feels. The ending is very sweet and earned.THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE:It’s hard to feel too bad for people who earn fame and fortune and cause many of their own problems due to bad behavior and choices. Robbie Williams appears to be a classic narcissist in the film.Some viewers are calling this movie just another marketing project, describing it as a mix between Planet of the Apes and **** length of the movie feels self-indulgent, yet I do appreciate how Robbie Williams wanted to share his story and personal growth as a cautionary tale.FUNNY LINES:“Fame is a powerful aphrodisiac. It means even ugly people can get laid.” – Robbie Williams“You’re not as crap as I thought.” – Nigel (Damon Herriman)INTERESTING LINES:“There’s no such thing as a nobody.” – Betty (Alison Steadman)“You make me feel so small.” – Nicole Appleton (Raechelle Banno)“You’ve always been there for Robbie Williams, Dad. Why can’t you just be there for Robert?” – Robbie Williams (self)“Sometimes, it’s a curse to get everything we want.” – group therapy leader

It probably helps to have some knowledge of the real life events, but either way, Better Man is one of the most open and unique movies in the ever crowded biopic genre.

A massive box-office flop (a $110 million budget for only $22 million worldwide), the film still has plenty of qualities. The problem lay in its trailer—it’s hard to sell a movie featuring a monkey as the main character without any explanation—and in its star, Robbie Williams, who’s famous in the UK, France, and Australia but virtually unknown in the U.S. I hesitated for a long time before watching it, but once I did, it was incredible: Robbie as a monkey actually makes sense—it’s hard to explain, but it works—and the visual effects are stunning, more convincing than anything even in Planet of the Apes. Despite Robbie’s involvement, the movie doesn’t spare him, showing his journey through Take That, alcohol, drugs, and his painful downfall; even Nicole Appleton, his partner at the time, isn’t spared, as we learn she was pressured by her All Saints manager to end her pregnancy. The film entertains, amazes, moves, and makes you cry—a lot. It’s rare for a biopic to touch me so deeply, and perhaps it wouldn’t have if the lead had been human; this “primate Robbie” manages to convey genuine emotion and carry the story, a true blend of technical mastery and artistic courage.

(Mauro Lanari) The new Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr., Dean Martin, an operetta crooner choreographed in stadiums for world tours, a maudit playboy résumé, a Beverly Hills underdog: the kitsch musical suits him. He anticipates criticism to neutralise it, but that doesn't make it any less true. He started with "Life thru a Lens" ('97), a heterogeneous melting pot of tracks not due to eclecticism but rather because, after Take That and as a debut album, he hadn't defined his own musical style and was still searching for a solo identity, trying to intercept disparate trends without a clear vision; now he has ended up duetting with Laura Pausini. Of Britpop, he only recorded "Lazy Days," a track composed for him by Guy Chambers and Beatlesque to the core with the distorted, gritty tones of a Wurlitzer 200A electric piano almost similar to the Hammond with a Leslie rotor that was all the rage in the Madchester sound (and indeed, no one from that scene had as much success, nor is the song included in the biopic). Also excellent is the minimalism of the piano played by Jon Douglas in "Feel," ruined by the swaggering, histrionic video with Daryl Hannah. The mainstream popstar, beyond Elton John's glam and with demons he's monetizing heavily, feels he is a monkey, a mask over a mask all made of plastic (or CGI), far removed from Abrahamson's "Frank" (2014). A reference to DEVO or to Burroughs and drug addiction? A well-deserved box-office flop, were it not for the fact that the soundtrack had already reached its 15th UK number-one album, tying the Fab Four's record.

Redundant, indulgent, shallow, dragging, predictable, and annoying. Maybe don't make a biopic when you are only like 40? The choice of the chimp was the ONLY interesting idea in this. Some of the interactions between father and son were almost provacative, but also too cut and paste. Biopics struggle with being a predictable genre, we all know, and this one is all that along with a massive dose of self aggrandization.