Bohemian Rhapsody, out now on DVD, commits all the classic sins of the musical biopic.
Elsewhere, though, are some great examples of the genreThis week’s biggest home entertainment release arrives fresh from the Oscars, where it missed the top prize but took the most awards of the night.
Bohemian Rhapsody has somehow withstood any amount of critical scorn and toxic publicity regarding its accused-rapist director to emerge as a strange object of popular adoration, uniting baby-boomer nostalgists and teenagers alike.
Quite a feat for a film that hits every stop on the Bad Musical Biopic Express, from cartoonish prosthetics to sanitised sexuality to cheesetastic “eureka” scenes of creative inspiration.
It’s a genre with far richer scope for going wrong, or at least drably formula-bound, than spectacularly right, and with biopics of Elton John, David Bowie and Aretha Franklin, among others, all heading our way, it’s been reignited big time.
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