As a self-described movie nerd, I’m always looking forward to the next good film to watch. Hollywood is constantly churning out ideas, whether it’s a new Marvel film or some other long-awaited sequel.
Production companies typically produce movies in a formulaic manner for the general public, and in turn, net studios billions (or at least cool several hundred millions) of dollars. It’s a solid arrangement for most of the people involved.
Over the last several winter breaks, I have looked forward to seeing a lot of these new movies. The film I might be most anxious to see, though, is the biographical drama “Bohemian Rhapsody,” depicting the iconic English rock band, Queen, and its lead singer, Freddie Mercury. The film is currently under production and isn’t scheduled for release until Christmas of 2018, so why discuss it now?
A couple of weeks ago, photos were released of actor and “Mr. Robot”star, Rami Malek, as the Queen frontman. While I contend the studio did an excellent job making Malek resemble Mercury (although Sacha Baron Cohen would’ve been my first choice), I’m worried this film won’t realize its full potential.
In an interview on the “Howard Stern Show,” Cohen recounted how he was involved in the early days of the film’s development, but eventually parted ways with the project due to creative differences. Cohen explained that he wanted the film to explore the darker, more adult themes of Mercury’s life, including the parties, drugs and sex.
Members of the band have stated they would prefer to create a more family-friendly film in which the story ends before Mercury even contracts HIV, which I’m sure the studios love because it’s safer and will earn more at the box office. However, I would rather see the adult-oriented film, with drugs, rock music and sex everywhere. Not because I’m perverted, but because that film would be honest and simply more entertaining.
I’m not crazy about films following the same blueprint, but I wish more musical biopics would follow the “Straight Outta Compton” method: identify and focus on the more talented members of the band early on (as they did with Eazy-E, Cube and Dre), show the appropriate amount of nudity, violence and drugs to accurately convey the story and tell the story in its entirety. That means depicting the death of a band member and all the discomfort and vulnerability that comes with it.
The remaining members of N.W.A. were willing to depict Eazy-E’s HIV-related death. Eazy-E and N.W.A.’s whole approach was to be tough and show no vulnerability. “Straight Outta Compton”went there, and now we expect Queen to omit a huge section of its own story for the sake of the box office?
I love the band Queen, and I especially love the talents of Freddie Mercury. The guy is arguably the greatest singer of 20th century, and I’m not sure that second place is close. Go to YouTube and find the video of him improvising at Wembley Stadium in front of roughly 72,000 people, then tell me the name of a better singer.
The point being, I’m like any other movie nerd or Queen fan. I just want to see the best possible film that is both honest and entertaining. I think Queen owes it to us to tell the whole story, and while we probably won’t get it, we can at least hope for one that is entertaining. I, and many others, would like to get our money’s worth in theaters Dec. 25, 2018.
