Rocketman takes off and it's quite a ride!

Rating: 10/10 (1 January 2020)

I am an Elton John fan and I'm aware that he's not had an easy or saintly life. I didn't know what I was expecting from this other than I knew Taron Egerton is a hell of a singer.
This was a wonderful movie. Unlike a lot of biopics, it didn't gloss over Elton's issues, his sexuality or his flaws. There were times when I wanted him to go ahead and lie because it would have made everything so much easier but it would have just made it easier to watch.
The music. OMG The Music! Egerton sings the songs his way and his way is wonderful. The only way I can describe it is that the music sounds like the music would have sounded if Elton John knew then what he knows now. Does that make sense? There is a richness and fullness to the musical numbers.
I was probably a third of the way into the movie before I realized Bryce Dallas Howard was his mum. I'm impressed once again how the daughter of arguably the nicest man in Hollywood can play such a horrific role. (See The Help). As the mother of a gay son, I truly wanted to smack her.
It's not a movie for the faint of heart, but then again, neither is real life. It had some dark parts, and truly sad moments but it is uplifting and beautiful and I applaud the courage Elton John has shown in letting this be a "warts and all" story. It could have been so much less.