Better Man (Robbie Williams: The Movie)

I don't wanna Rock DJ but I'm giving this film a(n)

  • Total voters
    17
Just wait until the rest of Britain discovers the US also don't know who the Thunderbugs are :(
 
Honestly I’m more interested in America learning where Europe is on a map than learning about Robbie Williams
 
dUb said:
I noticed the absence of GAZ-written material as well :D

One thing that really bothered me was after Robbie takes the mic from Gary during a concert (never happened but whatever), he goes back to his position in the back as the next song starts - and it's notable Robbie solo Everything Changes :oi: (we only hear the intro)

Pick any other song? Or maybe it was an intentional EASTER EGG
Click to expand...
It was Could It Be Magic.
 
Anyway I’ll add to the resounding chorus of posters saying this was really good.

Honestly OF COURSE I see why a Robbie Williams biopic would be of absolutely no interest whatsoever to some of you, CGI chimp or not, but for anybody not fundamentally allergic to anything the man touches, it’s an entertaining, engaging, disturbing, emotional watch.

Oh and regarding the debate about someone else doing his singing voice, it does make sense because apart from the fact it’s literally somebody playing Robbie Williams anyway (present day Robbie is narrator), they need 25 year-old Robbie’s voice singing sometimes new lyrics and new arrangements to old songs. It’s definitely a blend of the two throughout though.
 
Oh and yes a lot of liberties were taken with the timeline throughout, which didn’t particularly bother me. Maybe it’s because I was prepared for it as it’s the kind of thing that would usually bug me but I see what they did and why. Life’s events don’t all slot together neatly like a movie plotlines so it was a way to intertwine all the various narrative threads and how what was happening in his inner world in a way that makes sense for a film plot.

They’ve sort of taken his personal journey as the starting point and then plotted major events we all know about along that journey where they best serve as illustrations.

For example I don’t think they’re actually trying to pretend that Angels came out so far into his career - it was just an obvious point in the movie to feature the song and him performing it on TOTP made for the perfect contract to what was happening in his real life.
 
I’m sure they only had one hit (Never Had A Dream Come True) but it was a bigger one than any of his. I think he had two moderately successful singles, Millennium and something else.
 
dUb said:
I’m sure they only had one hit (Never Had A Dream Come True) but it was a bigger one than any of his. I think he had two moderately successful singles, Millennium and something else.
Click to expand...
They were probably better known here for the tv shows
 
Joseph said:
Click to expand...


I might even say that B*Witched and A*Teens were BIGGER than Robbie in the US during that time (from what I remember).

If you are considering The Disney Channel and MTV's TRL influence, I recall Millennium was launched as his debut single and got quite a bit of airplay and then they followed up with Angel (even a new "Americanised" version was made) and then nothing, he was GONE.
 
Pipo said:
I might even say that B*Witched and A*Teens were BIGGER than Robbie in the US during that time (from what I remember).

If you are considering The Disney Channel and MTV's TRL influence, I recall Millennium was launched as his debut single and got quite a bit of airplay and then they followed up with Angel (even a new "Americanised" version was made) and then nothing, he was GONE.
Click to expand...
My parents picked up his American album "The Ego has Landed" on holiday that year (either 99 or 2000) which was the old trick of essentially creating a mini greatest hits from your first two albums. I had thought that had been a moderate success but underperformed expectations rather than outright flopping. Clearly enough for him to not bother afterwards though.
 
Robbie charted two singles on the Billboard Hot 100 in the 90s

#53 Angels
#72 Millenium

Albums-wise, The Ego Has Landed got to #63 and went Gold, and Sing When You're Winning topped out at #110.
 
I think his brief time here as a well known had more to do with his personality rather than his music.
 
Pipo said:
I might even say that B*Witched and A*Teens were BIGGER than Robbie in the US during that time (from what I remember).

If you are considering The Disney Channel and MTV's TRL influence, I recall Millennium was launched as his debut single and got quite a bit of airplay and then they followed up with Angel (even a new "Americanised" version was made) and then nothing, he was GONE.
Click to expand...
They just benefitted from the teen pop boom in the US at that period. Weren’t they on tour supporting all the big US boy bands?
 
Ellie said:
They just benefitted from the teen pop boom in the US at that period. Weren’t they on tour supporting all the big US boy bands?
Click to expand...

I forgot to mention that most European/UK-based groups benefitted greatly from being aimed at kids, while Robbie's music and looks were aimed at a more mature audience, which didn't translate well to the US.
Even though he was probably the SAME age as Rachel Stevens, Edele Lynch, and ABZ from 5ive, they had a great platform to reach a much more bigger market due to the nature of their music. I remember 99-00 fondly because everyone who had UK Chart hits was on the US Disney Channel quite a lot with 1-hour long concerts and interviews. You had A*Teens, Steps, B*Witched, 5ive, and everyone who popped up after the SG went awol while Robbie was nowhere to be found. I think they didn't know how to market him.

Rock DJ Was banned from MTV IIRC, and audiences never caught up with his tongue-in-cheek humour leading him to have some awkward interviews on TV; quite bizarre considering a couple of years before him the audience was treated with Mel B's and Geri's Brit jokes whilst being annoying and loud.
 
I mean we had a taste of him when Take That had their huge hit here so maybe that was enough
 
Oh I'll at least start watching it when I can do so for free. And can press a button if I change my mind.
 
I'm looking forward to seeing this given the raves. I can't really bear Robbie though, so I'll wait for streaming.

First and foremost though, I'm glad this film has brought Johnno Davies (the man behind the monkey) to my attention.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Users who are viewing this thread

Total: 1 (members: 0, guests: 1)
Back
Top Bottom