Hahaha! No, I didn’t. But then I have yet to see Wayne’s World.
That kind of thing drives me nutso, too. If I recall correctly the trailer I saw the band was showing a quite short haired Freddie the rhythm stomp for We Will Rock You. The actual music video for that song features a shaggy Freddie. Isn’t that the kind of thing the actual band members supporting the production would notice?
They undoubtedly would have noticed this (I have every reason to believe that Brian and Roger were closely involved in decisions regarding the production); however, this, along with the other historical inaccuracies in the film, strongly suggest to me that they were trying to tell an entertaining and engaging story, and not necessarily present a strictly accurate biography of Freddie and the band.
One of the inconsistencies in the movie is the timing of the various songs that are presented in it. For example, “Fat Bottomed Girls” appears in the first third of the film, among the early concert scenes. That scene about the composition of “We Will Rock You” takes place in the second half of the film. However, the former song is from Jazz (1978), while the latter is actually from a year earlier (1977’s News of the World).
Here’s the 1978 video for Fat Bottomed Girls – by that point, Freddie’s hair was already somewhat shorter, though he hadn’t yet adopted the even-shorter hair and the mustache (which didn’t come until 1980 or so).
Edit: and for comparison, the 1977 video for We Will Rock You.
The Wayne’s World films (there were two, although this scene was in the first) were based on a recurring bit from the American sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live, so if you’re not American, I can well understand that you haven’t seen it. It’s not high art but it is amusing, particularly if you’re of a certain generation. And in case you’re curious, this is the relevant scene from the film.
As for hairstyles or clothing that were not period-appropriate, even if Brian May and Roger Taylor didn’t notice these mistakes (and it wasn’t their job to do so) the hairstyling and costume members of the crew should have certainly done so, as that is their job.
Tim Staffell, the musician that Freddie Mercury replaced in the band Smile that eventually became Queen, did an AMA on Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/9ufhn3/i_am_tim_staffell_a_musician_and_artist_i_was_the/?st=jo5r832f&sh=fa66df45
He rejoined Brian and Roger to re-record their song “Doing All Right” for the movie and soundtrack album.
“That Thing You Do!” was much, much better.
It’s a bad movie with lots of garbage time where nothing happens aside from a few Queen songs here and there.
If it weren’t about Queen there would be nothing to like. It looked like they had to edit one hour out of it because it’s disjointed. "That
Instead of “Greatest Voice in Rock ever!!!” it’s “gay guy who has lots of sex and is also in a band”
Nothing about composing, no real scene in the studio, no fights are really played out, the “I’m in love with my car” jokes were bad, not enough music.
I’d rather watch a “Behind the Music: Queen” than this movie. There was never any real action.
I play air guitar, air bass (I actually play those in their non-air versions), air keyboards, air drums, air trombone, air anything as a normal thing all the time from my hyperactivity, and I only did it for the bass riff in “another one bites the dust” and maybe one more time.
I loved the movie. It’s not supposed to be a documentary. I’m a Queen fan, and still mourn Freddie’s death. I thought Rami Malek was fantastic and he should score an Oscar nomination.
I graduated high school in 1986, at the height of AIDS hysteria. I remember vividly the moment in college when an old friend of mine (who I had just found out was gay the year before when he propositioned my boyfriend) told me that we were about to lose a ton of great artists and musicians. I was skeptical, but he pointed out, “come on, Queen? Why do you think they are called that?”
I was a huge Queen fan when I was a kid. I was fifteen in 1980 so I was right in their wheel house. I had every album up until about Hot Space. I loved the movie - I had a great time. I was singing along and stomping my feet and really enjoying it … but, all the same complaints above.
I’ll just post what I wrote over in the Movies You’ve Seen Recently thread:
Saw the movie today and loved it!
Of course, it has issues. Everything has issues.
And maybe I’ve just gotten old, but I don’t even expect biopics to get basic facts correct anymore. I don’t know why they can’t, but they won’t. I swear, if it is easier to tell the facts, even if there is no reason not to, Hollywood will still change them. It’s like some ego thing.
Saw it last night. Liked it a lot, but having read comments here and elsewhere, I’m a bit ashamed to have liked it, not having known of its inaccuracies.
Recognized Mike Myers right away; shrieked with laughter and applauded at the “headbanging in cars” line. Also loved the cutaway to him sitting sullen in his office, right at the “no time for losers” lyric. In fact, this was a lot of “Hey, it’s that guy!” “There’s Tom from Downton Abbey! That’s the chick from Sing Street! Mayor Carcetti from The Wire!”
And one other recognition. “Did he say Kenny? Is that supposed to be Kenny Everett?! It has to be: looks and sounds just like him!” And it was. But help out a clueless Yank: When did Kenny Everett get to be influential on radio? I only know him from TV.
I didn’t know who Kenny Everett was, at all, but based on his Wikipedia article, it appears that he was a popular and influential (and frequently disciplined) DJ on both the BBC and pirate radio stations from the 1960s through the 1980s; it looks like his TV shows came about after he’d already been established on the radio.
And, it sounds like he did, in fact, play a role in getting Bohemian Rhapsody released as a single.
My mom mentioned that they were planning on going to see it even thought they really didn’t know much about Queen at all. I told her, “In that case, you’ll enjoy it much more than I did - and I liked it a lot.”
I see! Thank you.
Really liked it. Made me cry, but I was expecting that. I don’t mind the songs out order, no group writes them in the order they’re released, and I don’t mind them bending some of the history to fit the ‘live aid is the big finish’ narrative, but I could’ve done without the whole break up ‘we haven’t played together for years’ bit (more like weeks). I would’ve liked a few more deep cuts and a few more creative studio scenes, but that’s on the picky side.
I just saw it and liked it. I wish it was a little shorter.
Yesterday, I listened to Terry Gross interview Rami Malek, and then watched a youtube compilation of him doing the promotional tour, with clips from all the talk shows, including radio.
They cut it so that one interviewer would ask the question, and the answer would come from one (or more!) different shows. And they were the same questions terry asked, and the same exact answers. I never realized that these interviews were scripted! I somehow had the naive notion that each interviewer asked their own questions, with spontaneous answers.
Typing that out, I see how silly that sounds, but there went another bit of my innocence.
Is it that the interviews were scripted or that the reporters all ask the exact same questions? I think it’s the latter.
Yeah, it’s much more likely that Malek’s press handlers have coached him on some answers. Or alternately - and I’ve done a lot of grip and grins where I’ve fallen into this - he’s just being asked the same questions and has developed stock answers.
On the subject of ‘I’m in Love with My Car’…
I think I detect Roger Taylor making fun of himself in the movie. The others are all fairly neutral and positive. But three times Roger is seen as being kind of a dick. Defending ‘I’m in Love with My Car’, the coffee throwing tantrum and hitting on Freddie’s school age sister.
“Hey, what are you doing later?”
“Homework.”
I don’t think it’s the sort of picture where they’d be mean. I figure with the band having so much input he thought it was fun to tell tales and make fun of himself.
Agreed; in the early part of the film, they clearly set Roger up as being the ladies’ man of the group, and then tweak him a few times over it. With Roger and Brian being closely involved in the making of the film, I have to believe that those jokes were done with his approval.
Similarly, when Freddie is walking out on the group, and is slamming them all for what they’d be if not for him, he posits that Brian would have been an astrophysicist who had written a book that no one had read. In fact, Brian has written two books on astrophysics. 