Hills I Die On: Rocketman Was Snubbed
It doesn’t take long when you meet me to learn that I have a lot of very passionate views about many an aspect of pop culture. If allowed, I could probably rant for roughly 2.7 hours about things like my problems with Avatar, that Alan Rickman deserved an Oscar for his work in the last Harry Potter films, that Pride and Prejudice the movie is far better than the miniseries of the same name and today’s obsession: that Taron Egerton deserved far more praise for his portrayal of Elton John than he got.
As a refresher, Rocketman was a 2019 biopic about the legend that is Elton John. It’s his superhero origin story, in a way. And while the star himself helped produce the film, which would normally indicate it’ll be sanitized to make him look better, Rocketman didn’t shy away from the good, bad or ugly aspects of the singer’s life. There are fantastical moments that incorporate some of John’s iconic songs into key scenes from his history, and Egerton goes all in.
While I normally hate putting down another piece of media while trying to elevate another, Rocketman’s trajectory is inextricably linked to one that came (barely) before: Bohemian Rhapsody. And here is my disclaimer so I don’t keep apologizing or qualifying all upcoming thoughts: while I am a bigger Elton fan than a Queen fan, I’m very much of the popular opinion that Freddy Mercury - both as a person and a singer - is otherworldly and deserves as many biopics that could be feasibly be created about him and his life. I also was not previously opposed to any aspect of Rami Malek (and one of my favorite random bits of trivia is that he had a hilarious minor role in an episode of Gilmore Girls) and didn’t really know much about Egerton going in to Rocketman. Okay. Let’s get into it.
Egerton managed to step into a role of a man who is not only living, but has hours of filmed footage - music videos, interviews and performances. Like in any biopic, there are going to be questions of how well the lead fills the lead, and Egerton legitimately seemed to embrace it wholeheartedly. Not only did he mimic the mannerisms, imitate speech patterns and dress in the utterly incredible, iconic outfits John was known for, but he even shaved his hairline back to mirror the singer’s own. All of that is, of course, impressive, but the thing that truly spoke to me was his singing.
This is where we get into the most bitter parts of my argument. Egerton sang every song on his own and managed to find a balance that I would have thought impossible before seeing this film: he matched the energy and quality of each song, often sounding like Elton himself, but still made it his own. I loved every number, and even liked one or two almost as much (if not more) as the original. And with how much I love Elton John’s music, I was bracing myself for what I worried would come off as bad karaoke. Instead, my jaw dropped multiple times as he sang.
Herein lies my issue: Rami Malek provided some vocals for the songs in Bohemian Rhapsody, but it was mixed in with Freddy Mercury’s own voice, and another singer’s. Everyone was in awe of his portrayal, but in this poorly shot and edited movie, it was hard to focus on any merit Malek brought to the role. So much of it was choppy and disjointed, and the script was forced and awkward. Maybe Malek was lauded because he was the best thing about the film, and he was - by a long shot, but that doesn’t make it particularly better than other biopic musician portrayals.
The fact that Malek won an Oscar for best actor and Egerton didn’t even get a nomination is the crux of my frustration. If they had been given similar treatment, I probably wouldn’t have this argument living in my mind rent free, ready to be spouted off at a moment’s notice. Most people, including critics, I’ve heard or read discuss this seem to be of a similar mindset. Offhand, I’m not sure I can remember anyone wishing Rocketman was as good as Rhapsody. So the question lingers: how does something like this even happen? Is it due to the idolization and tragic end to Mercury’s life that adds a shine to a movie about him? I hate to diminish anything such as that, but I will probably be on my soapbox, shouting about justice for Rocketman for quite some time.