Dave-El's Weekend Movie Post: Rocketman

Welcome to another edition of Dave-El's Weekend Movie Post where I post about movies I have seen.  

Today's post is about a movie musical.

And it is NOT about a lavish MGM musical spectacular from the 1940's and '50's. 

Nope, it's a movie musical from THIS century, a film based on the life and music of Elton John.

From 2019, it's Rocketman.  

I happened to catch this on TV a few months ago and was surprised to learn it was a musical. 

Now in a movie based on the life of one of the 20th century's greatest musical talents, you would expect there to be music.

But this is a musical in that people just break into song to advance the plot or develop characterization.  

There's a thing in the movie industry called the "stealth musical" where in a movie that is a true musical is NOT marketed as a musical.  

Last year's Wonka was not marketed as a musical but there's Timothy Chalamet breaking into song.  

I remember seeing ads for Rocketman when it was released in 2019 and I had no idea from those ads that the movie was a musical. 

Time in Rocketman is wibbly-wobbly. The movie begins at the end when a distressed and broken Elton John drags himself into rehab and then we bounce around time as we watch a child named  Reginald Dwight growing up in the repressed 1950's struggles and staggers his way to fame and fortune as Elton John.  

Poor child, Reggie, all he wants is love. (He sings a song about it, called "I Want Love".)  But his mother is distracted and totally not affectionate for her son while his dad is one of those 1950's stiff upper lip stern English father archetypes right out of central casting. 

At least grandma takes an interest in Reggie's developing musical talents and takes him to his lesson with the Royal Academy of Music. 

We see young Reggie grow in to teen Reggie and eventually into Taron Egerton as adult Reggie.  There's a great song and dance sequence that evolves the future Elton John through these stages of his life set to "Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting".   

Reggie takes on the name Elton John, gets a recording contract with a British record producer and is paired up with Bernie Taupin who becomes Elton's lyricist and lifelong partner in music.  

It's time to jump across the pond to America where Elton becomes a major success.  But sell out concerts and cart topping records are accompanied by a downward spiral of debaunchery, a near endless cycle of excess of sex, drugs and alcohol.  Elton is also an obsessive shopaholic.  

Erstwhile lover John Reid becomes Elton's new manager but does nothing to curb Elton's excesses. Physically and emotionally abusive towards Elton, Reid doesn't really give a damn that Elton John is in a downward plunge towards self destruction.  As long as the money keeps flowing in.  

During a party, Elton overdoses on pills and attempts suicide by jumping into his pool. He is rushed to the hospital, then thrust on stage to perform.   

As long as the money keeps flowing in.  

His addiction to prescription pills and alcohol results in Elton having a heart attack. In a moment of complete despair, realizing his life is out of control, Elton leaves a concert without warning and checks into a rehab center.

Which is where we came in.  

Elton renews his friendship with Bernie, who brings him new lyrics. Elton is worried that he cannot perform or compose without alcohol or drugs, but writes "I'm Still Standing" and returns to a successful career.

The epilogue notes that Elton has been sober for over 28 years. He remains good friends and song-writing partners with Bernie and is happily married to David Furnish, with whom he has two children.

His only vice is he still likes to shop a lot.  

Rocketman ticks off a lot of the boxes we expect from this sort of bio pic. 

• The struggle to escape obscurity.
• The simple joy of the first modest successes.
• The incredible pressures that come from greater success.
• A downward turn fueled by addictions and inner turmoil. 
• A desperate last chance at recovery and redemption.  

While all the tropes are there, Rocketman is still an entertaining experience and a lot of that rests with Taron Egerton who embodies an Elton John who just wants the simple joy of making music and wants nothing to do with all the other crap that fame has brought him, the addictions, the loneliness, the overwhelming despair.  

It is a note of caution not to expect Rocketman to have a documentation's adherence to the facts of Elton John's life. 

For example, Elton did leave a concert without notice and he did take himself to rehab. But the missed concert was due to illness and the rehab stint wasn't for many years later when Elton fell into a deep depression over the death of a friend from AIDS.   

There's a lot of mix and match of the details of Elton's life and some major compression of time lines and what not.  

If you're a fan of Elton John's music, Rocketman is certainly worth a look and making the film an actual music where in characters can advance the story by breaking into Elton John songs is inspired.