Rocketman

This jukebox musical/quasi-biopic offers little insight into the cryptic character of flamboyant singer/pianist Elton John, but as a campy musical that is probably destined for Broadway, Rocketman is ambitious, featuring 20 familiar songs that are cleverly interwoven to depict significant sequences in the life of Reginald Kenneth Dwight, a musical protégé from Middlesex, England. Mixing fantasy with reality, the film begins in 1990 in rehab, where Elton (Taron Egerton) struggles to come to grips with his self-absorbed mother, militaristic father, love-deprived childhood, and repressed sexual orientation. “My name is Elton Hercules John. And I’m an alcoholic. And a cocaine addict. And a sex addict. And a bulimic. Also a shopaholic…”, he confesses. And the rest of the film serves to illustrate all of that in an unsanitized if also somewhat romanticized fashion. Actor-turned-director Dexter Fletcher stages splashy musical numbers, using John’s songwriting partner Bernie Taupin’s (Jamie Bell) lyrics to illustrate Elton’s emotional journey. Egerton delivers a convincing, powerhouse performance, singing every song, and Bell is intense and poignant as Elton’s true brother/collaborator. Completing the ensemble, Bryce Dallas Howard, Gemma Jones, Steven Mackintosh, and Richard Madden are also impressive, and kudos should go to costume designer Julian Day. Extravagant and excessive, Rocketman is sparkly fun. Recommended. [Note: Blu-ray extras include deleted and extended scenes (20 min.) and extended musical numbers (15 min.) with intros by director Dexter Fletcher, the behind-the-scenes featurettes “Music Reimagined: The Studio Sessions” (12 min.), “Full Tilt: Staging the Musical Numbers” (10 min.), “Larger Than Life: Production Design & Costuming” (9 min.), “It’s Going to Be a Wild Ride: Creative Vision” (7 min.), and “Becoming Elton John: Taron’s Transformation” (7 min.), as well as a “Rocketman Jukebox” and a sing-along option, a booklet with a message from Elton John, and bonus DVD and digital copies of the film. Bottom line: a solid extras package for a splashy bio-pic.] (S. Granger)