20th Century Fox
23 October 2018
Historical Drama, Musical
DVD
C+
I rarely go to the movie theater these days, but I did for this movie, and came home feeling let down. Not since Julie & Julia (2009) have I seen a movie made of two unequal halves. In this case, we have the fun, interesting saga of how Queen made their music, and on the other we have a dreary cautionary tale about Freddie Mercury's love life, complete with a dishonest, manipulative boyfriend who could give Jude Law as Bosie a run for his money in Wilde (1997), although at least Bosie was handsome and charming. As in Wilde, the poor loyal, cheated-on girlfriend/wife gets more sympathy and screentime than any of the men Mercury is involved with, professionally or romantically. I would still marginally recommend this biopic for the music and for the band interacting, but I would've fast-forwarded today if I didn't want to give an honest grade. (Just like I watched J & J on DVD by skipping scenes but will sit through the "Julie" parts if I end up reviewing it.)
Although Rami Malek got all the accolades and the Oscar, my favorite was actually Gwilym Lee as Brian May, funny and yet sincere. And of course Tom Hollander was good, as he almost always is, here as Jim "Miami" Beach, their soft-spoken manager. Mike Myers, who of course gave us a memorable rendition of "Bohemian Rhapsody" in Wayne's World, plays the producer who doesn't get what's great about the song. Bryan Singer directed.
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