Wonkette Movie Night: Bohemian Rhapsody
Fearless lives forever.
STOMP, STOMP, CLAP!
STOMP, STOMP, CLAP!
We all know what to do, you're probably doing it right now. No, not that!
STOMP, STOMP, CLAP!
STOMP, STOMP, CLAP!
Brian May created this as a means of letting audiences participate in Queen’s concerts. Something so simple yet so brilliant at the same time. Queen gave many gifts to the world, this film tells us a dramatized version of how it all started.
Any quotes and the stories used here are from the movie, not necessarily exactly as it happened in real life.
Roger Taylor and Brian May were performing as the band Smile, with Tim Staffell as the lead singer, in 1970. After another show in another small bar, Tim left Smile for a band called Humpy Bongs. The dental school student Roger and the astrophysicist Brian were deciding on how to continue when they met fan Freddie Bulsara.
Freddie was a luggage handler with a passion for writing songs. He is also rather fearless. Learning that Smile's singer has walked out, Freddie volunteers for the open position.
Roger and Brian laugh off this unknown entity, insulting his teeth. But as he walks away Freddie turns around and opens his mouth, proving his incredible talent, singing in that amazing voice that we would all come to love. Freddie says he was born with extra teeth and that allowed him to make beautiful sounds.
Stunned, the two musicians agree to give him a chance. Which was a very wise decision, Smile became Queen and a legend was born.
Freddie suggested the name Queen and John Deacon joined in 1971. Queen was about to take over the world. Playing sold out shows and selling lots of records, including Night at the Opera which featured the song you would have expected to be their first U.S. number one, Bohemian Rhapsody. That wouldn't happen until nine years later on Feb. 23rd. They would have their first number one hit in America, staying at that position on the charts for four weeks with the song Crazy Little Thing Called Love.
Queen's first hit is much less well known. Written by Mercury in 1974, Seven Seas Of Rhye reached number ten in the UK. Their early music shows much of the innovativeness that would later become part of Queen's legacy.
The movie focuses on Freddie's life, all of it. From the person who was just like us in his adoration of his beloved cats, to his drug abuse and loneliness. And tells us about the love of his life, Mary and his acceptance of his own homosexuality. The world wasn't up for accepting him and most other LGBTQ people as they were. It's only changed a little bit since then. So he was portrayed as something he was not, if you watch the video for Crazy Little Thing Called Love they pair him up with a scantily clad woman.
The band tried to have a little fun in 1984 with a video for their song I Want To Break Free by dressing in drag. MTV would not play the video. The idea, an homage to British sitcoms, came from Roger Taylor's girlfriend. Instead of the drag humor found commonly in British entertainment, the assumption was it was about Freddie's sexuality. It wasn't Queen's first banning, that was in 1982 for the song Body Language. MTV claimed it showed too much skin and was just too sexy.
But the ban of the video I Want To Break Free had an obvious reason: Americans didn't get the joke and TEH GHEY!
The movie doesn't shy away from Freddie's illness. While preparing for Live Aid, Freddie tells his band mates,
"I have it."
As they express their shock and grief, he tells them,
"I don't have time to be their victim, their AIDS poster boy, their cautionary tale. No, I decide who I am... Freddie fucking Mercury!"
At first Freddie wasn’t going to participate, holding a grudge against Live Aid organizer Bob Geldof for not inviting Queen to perform on Do They Know It’s Christmas? Freddie was convinced to join Live Aid by Jim Beach. Bob Geldof had called Beach and supposedly said, "Look, what's up with the old queen? It's the perfect stage for him. It's the entire world."
Freddie’s health was failing, but he worked hard at strengthening himself to sing in front of Queen's largest audience ever.
Freddie repeats a phrase his father would often say,
“Good thoughts, good words, good deeds.”
Queen took the stage at Live Aid in Wembley Stadium on July 13, 1985 in front of 72,000 fans in person and gave what would be considered by many to be the greatest live performance in rock & roll history. Live Aid was seen via live broadcast in 150 nations by an approximated audience of 1.9 billion.
Bohemian Rhapsody stars Rami Malek, Ben Hardy, Gwilym Lee, Joseph Mazzello and Lucy Boynton. Directed by Bryan Singer and Dexter Fletcher.
It is available for free with ads on Tubi and with cable TV on FX Now.
With subscription on Hulu, Sling TV and Fubo TV. For $3.99 on YouTube, Vudu, Apple TV and Google Play.
To make requests and see the movie lists and schedules, go to WonkMovie.
Grab the popcorn, a beverage and enjoy!
In place of our cartoon I give you the full 21 minute Live Aid performance by Queen.
We have a bonus, courtesy of Chicken Ate My Ballot, sing along to this tribute to the Wonkette Movie Night Mascot, Axl. (More lyrics found here.)
I am a famous Cat everybody loves me
[Axl is a famous Cat from 2Cat’s famous family]
Gotta bail him out from this Kitty tragedy!
Pi and Mama
[Pi and Mama]
Pi and Mama will you let me in?
Let me in!
[will not let you in]
Let me in!
[will not let you in, will not let you in]
never never neverr no no NO
Next week's movie is 𝐃𝐨𝐠𝐦𝐚.
https://open.substack.com/pub/ziggywiggy/p/wonkette-movie-night-march-2-dogma?r=2knfuc&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
This is going to sound like a brag, and maybe it is? But it's not that I really want to or intend to brag, I'm just kind of amazed that I'm Not Your Devil Anymore has 290+ likes and 20 restocks and seems to be still climbing. I'm relieved that I seem to have been a part of something meaningful for so many people 'cuz I would hate to think that Evan and I did all that work for nothing more than an average story.