Bohemian Rhapsody

2018 Best Picture nominee

Rating: 12/20

Plot: The story of Queen, a band.

A meta gag, a little too cheap for my tastes, featuring a reference to Wayne's World didn't help me realize that it was an unrecognizable Mike Myers in the scene. I believe that means I'm some sort of moron, and any movie responsible for convincing me that I'm a moron can't be worthy of a Best Picture nomination.

This covers too much territory, a shallow look at the Queen story. It nudges up against a lot, sweats on all of it a little bit, and barely pauses to let the viewer catch his breath. It's a Queen's greatest hits musical biopic. The high points make it worth watching--the recording studio stuff where the group is experimenting in the early days or recording "Bohemian Rhapsody," the performances (including the climactic Live Aid concert), the part where Mercury compares his throat to a vulture's crotch. The music stuff is fantastic even when the editing isn't, but when there's not music going on, the movie's a little generic and a little poorly written. Narrative liberties were taken, but that didn't bother me as much as the cheap Wayne's World gag, something that should have been a part of a deleted scene.

Is Rami Malek good? Like the rest of the movie, his performance is good when there's music involved and not so good when it isn't. The teeth are distracting, and I'm not sure I was supposed to laugh when he told a character that he was born with four more incisors than a normal human being. Malek has the moves and mannerisms and mustache down, and whatever movie magic is responsible to blend his voice with Mercury's and some Canadian's voice worked really well.