Love that you are advocating this. It's easily my favourite of 2024 and I dare say it may well be that for 2025. I personally love Robbie. But you don't have to be a fan to understand the human experience and honestly, is music is friggin great.
I appreciate your advocacy for original cinema. This is an example of that, to be sure. It’s unfortunate how often audiences dismiss a movie based on a surface-level scan - whether it’s ‘I don’t know who that is’ or ‘I don’t like Robbie Williams.’ They’re missing the strength of universal lessons and the relatable story elements that make great (or even good) movies resonate. These stories deserve more thoughtful consideration. I appreciate Film Threat’s effort to expand its audience's movie-viewing experience. If more critics took this approach instead of shilling or hating, we would have better movie-going experiences as a whole.
A great movie. Was hoping it would be a sleeper like Greatest Showman, but it doesn't have that Glee/High School Musical crowd behind it. Too bad. And the CGI monkey was amazing - Oscar worthy.
Just wanted to say thank you for this video. Went to see it with kids at theater and was so blown away. I wish it success and wish more people could see it.
I just wanted to say thanks to Chris and Alan for recommending Better Man. We saw it on the weekend and loved it! It was so well made, I don't think you need to know or care about who Robbie Williams actually is - you can just enjoy a (somewhat) familiar story that's really well told with some excellent music and amazing spectacles. The monkey thing works well because it shows the gulf Robbie feels between himself and everyone else and provides an easy visual shortcut as his insecurities catch up with him - and then it gets really surreal! Our favourite scene was the one where Robbie finds a producer who'll take him on for a solo career, that one really stayed with us. Thanks again!
THAT'S where I heard of him from! I wasn't very familiar with him and didn't recognize the name, but he seemed like someone whose voice I had heard before a really long time ago at some point. Turns out I must have heard him in A Knight's Tale when I saw it as a kid. Thanks for the refresh!
I lived in Europe for 20 years and was there around all of this . He is a great artist and had a lot of personal struggles . It’s a great batttle with fame story whether you know him or not
the lack of box office is due to the public losing faith in film makers generally; it is expensive to go to the cinema, and at £10 a ticket you don't feel like going on an off-chance that the film might be ok; it is too expensive to go out of curiosity. this is a film that needs the faith or curiosity of customer.
I 100% agree with this. I get that Paramount distributed it, and they'll probably want it on Paramount+, but if they can get this on Netflix, I'd bet that this easily lands in their top 10 most watched movies. The concept is just too strange to market properly, so I don't blame people for dismissing it. The only reason I saw it was because it was the theater's seelection for a $5 pre-release mystery movie. Streaming really is the perfect place for it to succeed, unfortunately, so I hope it gets the attention it deserves there.
Ignoring the fact that Robbie Williams is playing a terrible looking CGI monkey, yeah it's a decent film. But the CGI monkey is off putting. And everyone spends the entire movie ignoring the fact that he's a freaking monkey.
Robbie and Jimmy Page were next door neighbours in a London upperclass neighbourhood. Apparently there were some disputes about renovations that were being done.
Robbie was HUGE in the UK! I think at the height of his powers, he'd signed a multi album deal worth something like 75,000,000. Back in the day, that was a crazy (and still is) deal to score..Sounds like a really interesting movie to check out, thanks guys 👌
It still baffles me that RW is so unknown over there. He once was on a Harry Styles - heck - Taylor Swift level of stardom. In Europe. This is movie is an absolute gem. Everything that shouldn’t work about it, works! In the years to come it will claim cult status. IMHO.
So funny hearing Alan talk about Robbie Williams as not very well known!😅, in parts of the world especially uk he is massive and the whole boy bands era of the 90’s , 2000’s was a big time and some of them are touring again. The film was more about his struggles rather than ‘ this is how this song was created etc, or a story based on the songs. It was fast paced, funny, sad, very entertaining, no pun intended. The knebworth scene went a different direction, I thought it might have been a normal, queen type of live set piece, instead turned into facing his monkey demons. A movie with heart and substance. High recommend.🎬👍🐵
THANK YOU CHRIS AND ALAN FOR ADVERTISING A GOOD MOVIE! No matter if you are interested in the movie's topic, in these times we all should highlight movies that are simply GOOD. Just to help people sort the crap from the diamonds. It's a shame that even for good movies it is hard to be successfull at the box office nowadays. I guess there are so many shitty films nowadays that people lost trust. (And during the pandemic they learned that they don't need the cinema to be entertained.) "For some reason it works" - That's the magic of cinema, if done right. I, too, know people who are not interested in Robbie Williams but still enjoyed the movie a lot. (Some of them were "forced" to watch it by their partners, you guessed it. 😅) What a pity that the movie still will not even break even.
Saw the movie. Loved it. The monkey thing was weird at first, but i think it makes the movie better. I think the story echo a lot of other cases of young pop stars that rise to fame at a young age.
Agreed. It would've felt trite if it wasn't so self critical. The fact that it's Robbie Williams himself portraying himself this way and kind of putting his heart on the table the way he does adds a whole different dimension to the experience.
Better Man might be a perfect example of a movie so obviously destimed to fail that deserves to be so much bigger than it is. I technically didn't even choose to see it, and I probably wouldn't have cared to see it by choice. One musical biopic, A Complete Unknown, was enough of that genre for one month in my book. One of the theaters in my area are doing $5 (before tax ugh) mystery movies every few weeks where they will show a new movie for one night before it officially releases, but they don't tell you what you're seeing until it actually starts. I love the concept of going into a movie completely blind, so I decided to take the risk. It wasn't any of the movies I was hoping it would be, and I admittedly groaned a bit when I figured out what it was, but I was very pleasantly surprised at how good it turned out to be. The concept is just too weird and hard to market on the face of it, and it isn't helped by the fact that Robbie Williams actually is almost "a complete unknown" in the United States, so I don't blame anyone for dusmissing it and thinking it was trying too hard to be noticed. Not knowing or caring who Robbie Williams was didn't detract from the experience, though, because it was just a good movie. The fact that it's a surreal experience where not everything that's hapoening is literally happening is what makes it unique and interesting, and the chimp decision does make poignant sense by the end of the movie. It was surprisingly introspective and scathingly self critical, not the self congratulatory puff piece that you'd expect from a movie like this. I've never cared too much about most musical biopics, and I'm not sure I'd recommend it to anyone who simply doesn't like these kinds of movies because I don't think this is going to change those people's minds, but anyone who just wants to see a heartfelt, thoughtful, visually stunning, and overall well-made film could do a whole lot worse. It's well worth seeing, and it's a shame that far more mediocre films are going to he given more of a chance by audiences. This is probably one of those films that aren't going to be quite as effective and impactful unless its on a big screen, but if it isn't going to succeed at the box office, I hope it becomes a sleeper hit on streaming and VOD.
I’ve seen this movie twice. It’s my second favorite movie of the year, and I will probably see it one more time during this coming weekend. Its failure stuns me because the audiences who loved The Greatest Showman should have come out of the woodwork to see it (For the record, I found The Greatest Showman overrated). This movie eclipses The Greatest Showman in every way, shape, and form. And those same people claiming they don’t know who Robbie Williams is. Well, how many of them knew who P.T. Barnhem was before they saw The Greatest Showman?
That's a valid question, but I think the average person's general ignorance of P.T. Barnhem is compensated by the fact that the movie starred recognizable names like Hugh Jackman, Zac Efron, and Zendaya. Better Man didn't have any big-name talent attached to draw people to see it apart from Robbie Williams himself.
I loved this movie. It’s of my time, finding my way in the 90’s in the UK, finding love, listening to Robbie, All Saints and Oasis. Amazing movie. The undercurrent of imposter syndrome plays well also. Really struck a nerve 🥺. A must see. Thanks Alan 👍
I really love Robbie Williams’ music. Americans would be shocked to know how many people fill the arenas and stadiums in the UK. He’s massive across the pond! I am going to take my wife to see this over the MLK holiday. She likes bio pics and I don’t think she cares who the film is based on, if it’s a good story.
There’s one showing a day this weekend. At 10am. No one wants to go see a film at 10am unless it’s a kiddy film at matinee prices. Guess I’ll have to wait until February when it drops on digital to see if you were right.
Speak for yourself. Most of the movies I see in a given year are at a matinee on the weekends (or on discount days on Tuesday evenings). Honestly, seeing movies when most people aren't is the best time to see most movies nowadays lol. A lot of people's theater ettiquate went out the window in recent years.
@ K. Well for the married adults with children, the last matinee we went to was SpongeBob the movie. I highly doubt my 8 and 11 year old would enjoy this film.
The monkey thing is what made a lot of the themes and emotions of the movie work for me.. otherwise it's mostly just a pretty looking, conventional biopic.
Thank you for putting your "American privilege" to one side and advocating this film. He's not Elton John, Bob Dylan, Ray Charles, Johnny Cash or Freddie Mercury so I can understand why make a biog about this fella? I'm 44 from the North or England and I've known of Take That and Robbie over 30 years now. They were bigger and became bigger and then split and Robbie had his ups and downs and then late 90s and thru out the 2000s dominated the charts. he was everywhere, like it or not. fan of not he was there. Paper, TV screens and the radio. My wife saw him play Knebworth Park in '03 to a packed 350k crowd. It was the biggest music event in British history at the time. He fave song of his is 'Me and my Monkey' (I think it's sh1t) and the whole Monkey thing has been a theme of his all this time. So when we saw the trailer and he's portrade as a Chimp, it didnt come as a surprise to us. But to anyone who doesnt know him, won't get the in-joke of it all. Like Angry Badger said, he thought it was a film about an intelligent chimp who becomes a pop star (Which sounds great TBF). But I'm loving the fact, you've both seen the film, enjoyed it and gone back again and again.
Excellent Vlog, Take that and Robbie Williams are massive here in UK and Europe. Am from UK been the states loads and apart from “back for good” that got to number 1 Take that hardly got in to the top 20 in the USA. As for Robbie Williams again the same hardly had a hit and never had a number 1 in the USA. Also he was considered a cabaret/ Comedic act over there. Also if you have never been the states apart from the massive major news networks that show Sometimes UK or European news people watch there local networks they don’t report on anything related to Uk or Europe they stick to USA news believe me I’ll bet 90% of the states don’t know who our PM is in the UK. So don’t be surprised by all this. Don’t forget the USA is made up of 50 states on an individual basis the UK can fit inside a least 47 of them the USA is vast. Keep up the great work
It is in a weird spot where the marketing failed it, yet the word of mouth is astounding and may be too late. I watched it twice and still enjoy it, it may end up being a cult classic if its seen more. Only time will tell.
Enjoyed it more than I thought, going in to it. Not really aware of who Robbie Williams is, nor do I care. If this wasn't an AMC Screen unseen, I would have passed on it. The Monkey thing was odd. Probably never watch it again.
I mean as a 90s kid Williams was huge, most ppl in USA where not online suring 14.4k modems and saw u.k./Euro stuff alot. So if u where connectly EARLY on u knew who he was, but if u didnt seek other cultures u'd of missed his worldwide superstardom
I'm not a Robbie Williams fan but I had no issue with the trailer or the concept. It's not my cup of tea and I'm not the target audience but I don't understand the confusion about this and it looks like a good film for those that like that sort of thing.
Its sad, this movie deserves to be seen. One of the best musicals i have seen in decades. Also, will probably emotionally break most tough guys. It needs a re release.
I went to see this film after seeing the Rock DJ trailer and your initial review. I did not know who Robbie Williams was and quite frankly I tend to Slayer and Black Flag to be my life's soundtrack. I loved this movie, the music and I found Robbie's portrayal by a CGI chimp to be incredibly moving. I recommend this movie to anyone I talk to. It would be a shame to see this one fall into obscurity.
Alan, where in the world you live in?? Unknown band and unknown singer? lol they were f*** huge and he is huge too! I loved the movie and happy you are recommending. The problem is people had been thrown away because of the monkey.
Most music biopics follow the same formula and most of them are awful movies. They went for something different with Betterman and it works really well. Much better and way more interesting than Pharrell’s Lego Circle Jerk or whatever it was called.
its so weird how im just not hearing about new films anymore. the first i heard about this film it was already out and i saw an advert at a bus stop. it should have been a huge hit this one. marketing just isnt working anymore in the age of tailored ads etc
Robbie Williams has had a big deal music career. He is on the soundtrack of "Delovely" about Cole Porter singing "Its De-lovely" and he is excellent. "Better Man"'s too contrived and confusing for the target audience.
It's like saying "Ya gotta trust me. Ya gotta read the new Brittany Spears biography. It's the best written book it years" Well, maybe... but I have a life and Charles Dickens books to get to and I'm just not interested in anything about Brittany Spears.
The movie is excellent, but it released at an absolutely rotten time of the year for the UK. Family Films do well over Christmas - I need a movie suitable to take the kids to whilst they're off school. The weather doesn't help either - its far too wet, cold, windy and dreary for me to be in any sort of mood to go for a jolly to the cinema. It's Streaming Season as far as I'm concerned!
You need to see the original music video of Robbie Williams Rock DJ. He is in a roller disco filled with vampires. The video got an R rating when released.
Even though filmed in Melbourne, and Robbie performed at the afl grand final a few years ago, the local press reported it as a box office bomb! Idiots.
I remember Robbie Williams back in the day for that song Millennium. I know he's more famous in the UK and other parts of the world but a 100 million dollar movie about his life and a monkey singing as him equates to a flop
Did we watch the same movie, because I fucking loved it: it was life affirming, optimistic and escapist, everything I miss in modern movies. That they portrayed him as a monkey wasn't confusing to me at all: because in the movie he said that he saw himself "as a little less evolved". I thought it was refreshing.
As an American who lived in Europe in the early 2000’s I loved and still love Robbie William’s work. When I saw this movie was coming out I immediately bought a ticket for a Friday show. There were three other people in the theater besides me, which I was sort of expecting as RW isn’t known in the States. I loved the movie and was saddened to see it hasn’t done well even internationally.
One thing about this movie is that it has a faint trace of conservatism. There are themes of fatherhood, family, friendship, and even an element that pro-lifers would appreciate. Williams is also not depicted as constantly screwing around, though this is likely due to the uncomfortable visual reality that would create in the film. Very little of the Fabian socialism the Brit's love so well.
Chris, Alan, do you realize you spent seven minutes telling us to trust you without saying why the movie is good? How it affected you? Because it sounds like a pedestrian rock star redemption story in an ape mask. Frankly, I'm sick of these types of stories.
Technically an ape rather than a monkey but almost everyone says monkey. There’s a fictional character who’s a human turned permanently into an orangutan who gets enraged if he’s called a monkey (the Librarian from Sir Terry Pratchett’s Discworld books).
I think one of the things that damaged this film is the whole ape thing. I really dislike chimpanzees and I know a lot of pother people who do too. They give off creepy violent energy and I have no interest in watching a movie starring one.
The movie was actually really good. Once you understand why he's presented as a monkey in the movie, you'll get it. I thought the cgi effort was really good at portraying him as a monkey - and the song / dance routines were really stellar.
Speak for yourselves when saying "no one has ever heard of", thenUS are the only place he did not make it. He was MASSIVE in Europe in tje 90ies and 2000s. Also it might be a bit late for the movie right now, because he has gotten quieter. But the movie itself is famtastic!
Can we trust you to buy Alan a fuggin mic and get him on a path of proper audio? JFC alan, I forget your a monkey for this channel sometimes. And it's catching up with you for sure.
I still don’t understand why they called it “Better Man” when that’s a Pearl Jam song, that Americans are familiar with. When I 1st heard about it being a biopic, I assumed it was about Eddie Vedder. After I learned it was about Robbie Williams, I had literally no interest in seeing it
Yeah idk who thought that would be profitable I love trying new ideas but if you cant land them then movies like this will get tossed aside, trailer looked like shit you cannot have a trailer look that grainy and Thor 3 like idk not hard to see why this failed
Seriously. Where does this guy get off telling us the basics of a film's conceit and evaluating its quality, telling viewers about the experience one will have if they see the film?
Better Man is excellent. There's no way to sell it, but it's really entertaining and moving.
Rest in peace David Lynch
I saw Better Man three times and loved every minute. I saw Wicked once and fell asleep 30 minutes in.
He’s huge in Aus too
This film was brilliant. I live in the UK and I’m well aware of him- I wish more people could see this.
Love that you are advocating this. It's easily my favourite of 2024 and I dare say it may well be that for 2025. I personally love Robbie. But you don't have to be a fan to understand the human experience and honestly, is music is friggin great.
I appreciate your advocacy for original cinema. This is an example of that, to be sure. It’s unfortunate how often audiences dismiss a movie based on a surface-level scan - whether it’s ‘I don’t know who that is’ or ‘I don’t like Robbie Williams.’ They’re missing the strength of universal lessons and the relatable story elements that make great (or even good) movies resonate. These stories deserve more thoughtful consideration. I appreciate Film Threat’s effort to expand its audience's movie-viewing experience. If more critics took this approach instead of shilling or hating, we would have better movie-going experiences as a whole.
A great movie. Was hoping it would be a sleeper like Greatest Showman, but it doesn't have that Glee/High School Musical crowd behind it. Too bad. And the CGI monkey was amazing - Oscar worthy.
Just wanted to say thank you for this video. Went to see it with kids at theater and was so blown away. I wish it success and wish more people could see it.
After watching this I went today with sky high expectations and it was even better. Best time I’ve had in a theater in 10 years.
I just wanted to say thanks to Chris and Alan for recommending Better Man. We saw it on the weekend and loved it! It was so well made, I don't think you need to know or care about who Robbie Williams actually is - you can just enjoy a (somewhat) familiar story that's really well told with some excellent music and amazing spectacles. The monkey thing works well because it shows the gulf Robbie feels between himself and everyone else and provides an easy visual shortcut as his insecurities catch up with him - and then it gets really surreal! Our favourite scene was the one where Robbie finds a producer who'll take him on for a solo career, that one really stayed with us. Thanks again!
Robbie Williams may not be that large in the States but he's a considerably larger phenomenon outside Nortn America.
not by much
The box office says otherwise
apparently not
Then why did it bomb worldwide?
His level of popularity is downright Hasselhoffian!
I keep forgetting that Robbie also did a cover of Queen's We Are the Champions for the movie A Knight's Tale.
THAT'S where I heard of him from! I wasn't very familiar with him and didn't recognize the name, but he seemed like someone whose voice I had heard before a really long time ago at some point. Turns out I must have heard him in A Knight's Tale when I saw it as a kid. Thanks for the refresh!
I lived in Europe for 20 years and was there around all of this . He is a great artist and had a lot of personal struggles . It’s a great batttle with fame story whether you know him or not
Im a professional dancer. I'm overly critical with song and dance scenes in movies. The music video moment in this movie is incredible
I saw this movie based on your recommendation and I am very glad I did.
Can’t get why it’s not been well received in the US?
the lack of box office is due to the public losing faith in film makers generally; it is expensive to go to the cinema, and at £10 a ticket you don't feel like going on an off-chance that the film might be ok; it is too expensive to go out of curiosity. this is a film that needs the faith or curiosity of customer.
I think this movie will do well on streaming, due to a mix of people's curiosity and low expectations. It's a pretty good film, I enjoyed it.
I 100% agree with this. I get that Paramount distributed it, and they'll probably want it on Paramount+, but if they can get this on Netflix, I'd bet that this easily lands in their top 10 most watched movies. The concept is just too strange to market properly, so I don't blame people for dismissing it. The only reason I saw it was because it was the theater's seelection for a $5 pre-release mystery movie. Streaming really is the perfect place for it to succeed, unfortunately, so I hope it gets the attention it deserves there.
Ignoring the fact that Robbie Williams is playing a terrible looking CGI monkey, yeah it's a decent film. But the CGI monkey is off putting. And everyone spends the entire movie ignoring the fact that he's a freaking monkey.
@@metpach Correct, because that's how he sees himself. Not the people looking at him, they just see a regular guy.
Saw it last night. Absolutely loved it. A must see on the big screen!
😂
Robbie and Jimmy Page were next door neighbours in a London upperclass neighbourhood. Apparently there were some disputes about renovations that were being done.
Film Threat championing a new movie I hadn’t heard of? That’s the Film Threat I fell in love with in the early 90’s!
Probably my favorite movie of the year, and I thought the trailer was horrendous, but trusted yours and Gary’s advice
This movie was absolutely freaking incredible! It’s a shame that no one is seeing it!
Yes! ‘You need to see it before it leaves the cinema’ 💯 🙌
It’s soooooooo good!!
Robbie was HUGE in the UK! I think at the height of his powers, he'd signed a multi album deal worth something like 75,000,000. Back in the day, that was a crazy (and still is) deal to score..Sounds like a really interesting movie to check out, thanks guys 👌
It still baffles me that RW is so unknown over there. He once was on a Harry Styles - heck - Taylor Swift level of stardom. In Europe. This is movie is an absolute gem. Everything that shouldn’t work about it, works! In the years to come it will claim cult status. IMHO.
Watch the Netflix doc. He came off as a dick on his attempt to break into America.
I'm seeing it on Monday because of your recommendation, Alan. 🙂
So funny hearing Alan talk about Robbie Williams as not very well known!😅, in parts of the world especially uk he is massive and the whole boy bands era of the 90’s , 2000’s was a big time and some of them are touring again. The film was more about his struggles rather than ‘ this is how this song was created etc, or a story based on the songs. It was fast paced, funny, sad, very entertaining, no pun intended. The knebworth scene went a different direction, I thought it might have been a normal, queen type of live set piece, instead turned into facing his monkey demons. A movie with heart and substance. High recommend.🎬👍🐵
My two movies everyone needs to see in theatre before they are gone:
1. The Last Showgirl
2. Better Man
Makes me laugh when you say 'Not many have heard of him'. 🤣 It's like saying no one's heard of The Queen over here in the UK 🤣
I never heard of him . I thought they met Robbin Willam’s lol
@@JERSEYBOYPLAY2HARD American right? He's huge overseas
@@christianfypand yet the movie bombed at the worldwide box office.
@@jeffn4836 and yet he is still a celebrity overseas...
@ whose movie flopped epically overseas.
THANK YOU CHRIS AND ALAN FOR ADVERTISING A GOOD MOVIE!
No matter if you are interested in the movie's topic, in these times we all should highlight movies that are simply GOOD. Just to help people sort the crap from the diamonds. It's a shame that even for good movies it is hard to be successfull at the box office nowadays. I guess there are so many shitty films nowadays that people lost trust. (And during the pandemic they learned that they don't need the cinema to be entertained.)
"For some reason it works" - That's the magic of cinema, if done right.
I, too, know people who are not interested in Robbie Williams but still enjoyed the movie a lot. (Some of them were "forced" to watch it by their partners, you guessed it. 😅)
What a pity that the movie still will not even break even.
I was always sad he isnt bigger over here in the states. I always liked the songs i heard when i lived outside of the US
As an Englishman I love seeing North Americans trying to figure out British pop culture almost like studying chimps in the wild!🤣
You rock! You gave us Benny Hill!
Don't do that '....a man most of us has never heard of. In a band no one has ever heard of', the world doesn't end outside of the US, buddy.
Saw the movie. Loved it. The monkey thing was weird at first, but i think it makes the movie better.
I think the story echo a lot of other cases of young pop stars that rise to fame at a young age.
Agreed. It would've felt trite if it wasn't so self critical. The fact that it's Robbie Williams himself portraying himself this way and kind of putting his heart on the table the way he does adds a whole different dimension to the experience.
Better Man might be a perfect example of a movie so obviously destimed to fail that deserves to be so much bigger than it is. I technically didn't even choose to see it, and I probably wouldn't have cared to see it by choice. One musical biopic, A Complete Unknown, was enough of that genre for one month in my book. One of the theaters in my area are doing $5 (before tax ugh) mystery movies every few weeks where they will show a new movie for one night before it officially releases, but they don't tell you what you're seeing until it actually starts. I love the concept of going into a movie completely blind, so I decided to take the risk. It wasn't any of the movies I was hoping it would be, and I admittedly groaned a bit when I figured out what it was, but I was very pleasantly surprised at how good it turned out to be. The concept is just too weird and hard to market on the face of it, and it isn't helped by the fact that Robbie Williams actually is almost "a complete unknown" in the United States, so I don't blame anyone for dusmissing it and thinking it was trying too hard to be noticed. Not knowing or caring who Robbie Williams was didn't detract from the experience, though, because it was just a good movie. The fact that it's a surreal experience where not everything that's hapoening is literally happening is what makes it unique and interesting, and the chimp decision does make poignant sense by the end of the movie. It was surprisingly introspective and scathingly self critical, not the self congratulatory puff piece that you'd expect from a movie like this. I've never cared too much about most musical biopics, and I'm not sure I'd recommend it to anyone who simply doesn't like these kinds of movies because I don't think this is going to change those people's minds, but anyone who just wants to see a heartfelt, thoughtful, visually stunning, and overall well-made film could do a whole lot worse. It's well worth seeing, and it's a shame that far more mediocre films are going to he given more of a chance by audiences. This is probably one of those films that aren't going to be quite as effective and impactful unless its on a big screen, but if it isn't going to succeed at the box office, I hope it becomes a sleeper hit on streaming and VOD.
I’ve seen this movie twice. It’s my second favorite movie of the year, and I will probably see it one more time during this coming weekend. Its failure stuns me because the audiences who loved The Greatest Showman should have come out of the woodwork to see it (For the record, I found The Greatest Showman overrated). This movie eclipses The Greatest Showman in every way, shape, and form. And those same people claiming they don’t know who Robbie Williams is. Well, how many of them knew who P.T. Barnhem was before they saw The Greatest Showman?
That's a valid question, but I think the average person's general ignorance of P.T. Barnhem is compensated by the fact that the movie starred recognizable names like Hugh Jackman, Zac Efron, and Zendaya. Better Man didn't have any big-name talent attached to draw people to see it apart from Robbie Williams himself.
I’m pretty sure PT Barnham is much more famous than Robbie Williams. And I’m from the UK and I’ve never seen The Greatest Showman
"How can you not know who you are when there are a million people shouting your name?"
I loved this movie. It’s of my time, finding my way in the 90’s in the UK, finding love, listening to Robbie, All Saints and Oasis. Amazing movie. The undercurrent of imposter syndrome plays well also. Really struck a nerve 🥺. A must see. Thanks Alan 👍
Same here!
Robbie Williams is huge in the UK
Was
@@Elusive9T2RETRO
70m+ album sales globally
£330m Net Worth
Biggest selling solo artists after Elvis outside the USA.
One would agree ‘Is’
I really love Robbie Williams’ music. Americans would be shocked to know how many people fill the arenas and stadiums in the UK. He’s massive across the pond!
I am going to take my wife to see this over the MLK holiday. She likes bio pics and I don’t think she cares who the film is based on, if it’s a good story.
Funny. Nobody knows Robbie Williams and Take That. In Europe they were bigger than the Beatles.
I'd watch BETTER MAN again just for the music video and the great lines of dialogue
There’s one showing a day this weekend. At 10am. No one wants to go see a film at 10am unless it’s a kiddy film at matinee prices.
Guess I’ll have to wait until February when it drops on digital to see if you were right.
Speak for yourself. Most of the movies I see in a given year are at a matinee on the weekends (or on discount days on Tuesday evenings). Honestly, seeing movies when most people aren't is the best time to see most movies nowadays lol. A lot of people's theater ettiquate went out the window in recent years.
@ K. Well for the married adults with children, the last matinee we went to was SpongeBob the movie. I highly doubt my 8 and 11 year old would enjoy this film.
I think us underestimate how big take that was and Robbie leaving take that etc
The monkey thing is what made a lot of the themes and emotions of the movie work for me.. otherwise it's mostly just a pretty looking, conventional biopic.
Everywhere except the US he was huge for years and years.
Thank you for putting your "American privilege" to one side and advocating this film.
He's not Elton John, Bob Dylan, Ray Charles, Johnny Cash or Freddie Mercury so I can understand why make a biog about this fella?
I'm 44 from the North or England and I've known of Take That and Robbie over 30 years now. They were bigger and became bigger and then split and Robbie had his ups and downs and then late 90s and thru out the 2000s dominated the charts. he was everywhere, like it or not. fan of not he was there. Paper, TV screens and the radio. My wife saw him play Knebworth Park in '03 to a packed 350k crowd. It was the biggest music event in British history at the time. He fave song of his is 'Me and my Monkey' (I think it's sh1t) and the whole Monkey thing has been a theme of his all this time. So when we saw the trailer and he's portrade as a Chimp, it didnt come as a surprise to us.
But to anyone who doesnt know him, won't get the in-joke of it all. Like Angry Badger said, he thought it was a film about an intelligent chimp who becomes a pop star (Which sounds great TBF). But I'm loving the fact, you've both seen the film, enjoyed it and gone back again and again.
Excellent Vlog, Take that and Robbie Williams are massive here in UK and Europe.
Am from UK been the states loads and apart from “back for good” that got to number 1 Take that hardly got in to the top 20 in the USA.
As for Robbie Williams again the same hardly had a hit and never had a number 1 in the USA. Also he was considered a cabaret/ Comedic act over there.
Also if you have never been the states apart from the massive major news networks that show Sometimes UK or European news people watch there local networks they don’t report on anything related to Uk or Europe they stick to USA news believe me I’ll bet 90% of the states don’t know who our PM is in the UK. So don’t be surprised by all this. Don’t forget the USA is made up of 50 states on an individual basis the UK can fit inside a least 47 of them the USA is vast.
Keep up the great work
It is in a weird spot where the marketing failed it, yet the word of mouth is astounding and may be too late. I watched it twice and still enjoy it, it may end up being a cult classic if its seen more. Only time will tell.
I want to see this, but not many theaters are playing it where I am.
Enjoyed it more than I thought, going in to it. Not really aware of who Robbie Williams is, nor do I care. If this wasn't an AMC Screen unseen, I would have passed on it. The Monkey thing was odd. Probably never watch it again.
It’s hard to take a chance on a movie when you factor in the overall cost of taking a date to a movie with soda popcorn and tix topping $60
I mean as a 90s kid Williams was huge, most ppl in USA where not online suring 14.4k modems and saw u.k./Euro stuff alot. So if u where connectly EARLY on u knew who he was, but if u didnt seek other cultures u'd of missed his worldwide superstardom
Please go back to school and correct your GOD AWFUL Grammer. Ffs cawn..
I saw it and it’s just a super long music video.
I'm not a Robbie Williams fan but I had no issue with the trailer or the concept. It's not my cup of tea and I'm not the target audience but I don't understand the confusion about this and it looks like a good film for those that like that sort of thing.
Its sad, this movie deserves to be seen. One of the best musicals i have seen in decades. Also, will probably emotionally break most tough guys. It needs a re release.
The movie's version of "Feel" was impressively good for a little kid singing it.
I want to see this bad. It's just hard for me to find the time
I went to see this film after seeing the Rock DJ trailer and your initial review. I did not know who Robbie Williams was and quite frankly I tend to Slayer and Black Flag to be my life's soundtrack. I loved this movie, the music and I found Robbie's portrayal by a CGI chimp to be incredibly moving. I recommend this movie to anyone I talk to. It would be a shame to see this one fall into obscurity.
Alan, where in the world you live in?? Unknown band and unknown singer? lol they were f*** huge and he is huge too! I loved the movie and happy you are recommending. The problem is people had been thrown away because of the monkey.
Most music biopics follow the same formula and most of them are awful movies. They went for something different with Betterman and it works really well. Much better and way more interesting than Pharrell’s Lego Circle Jerk or whatever it was called.
its so weird how im just not hearing about new films anymore. the first i heard about this film it was already out and i saw an advert at a bus stop. it should have been a huge hit this one. marketing just isnt working anymore in the age of tailored ads etc
Robbie Williams is massive in europe!
Robbie Williams has had a big deal music career. He is on the soundtrack of "Delovely" about Cole Porter singing "Its De-lovely" and he is excellent. "Better Man"'s too contrived and confusing for the target audience.
That’s a fantastic film.
forget the movie, those pictures of Chris and Alan on that screen behind him are disturbing 😧
It's like saying "Ya gotta trust me. Ya gotta read the new Brittany Spears biography. It's the best written book it years" Well, maybe... but I have a life and Charles Dickens books to get to and I'm just not interested in anything about Brittany Spears.
Never even heard of this Film
The movie is excellent, but it released at an absolutely rotten time of the year for the UK. Family Films do well over Christmas - I need a movie suitable to take the kids to whilst they're off school. The weather doesn't help either - its far too wet, cold, windy and dreary for me to be in any sort of mood to go for a jolly to the cinema. It's Streaming Season as far as I'm concerned!
'Here's some guy you never heard of. And it's a musical. And he's a monkey...'
Wonder why it did poorly
The best concert I've been to in South Africa, second only to U2, was a Robbie Williams consert.
You need to see the original music video of Robbie Williams Rock DJ. He is in a roller disco filled with vampires. The video got an R rating when released.
Last year had so many terrible movies … it’s a very low bar.
no-one ever heard of! wow, just wow! robbie broke my heart when he left take-that, tch!
"Robbie Williams?"
I had no plans on watching it no matter what anyone had to say about the movie.
Even though filmed in Melbourne, and Robbie performed at the afl grand final a few years ago, the local press reported it as a box office bomb! Idiots.
I'm excited for this movie.
How is it 2 life long film critics can't pronounce Biopic correctly?
I remember Robbie Williams back in the day for that song Millennium. I know he's more famous in the UK and other parts of the world but a 100 million dollar movie about his life and a monkey singing as him equates to a flop
Did we watch the same movie, because I fucking loved it: it was life affirming, optimistic and escapist, everything I miss in modern movies. That they portrayed him as a monkey wasn't confusing to me at all: because in the movie he said that he saw himself "as a little less evolved". I thought it was refreshing.
As an American who lived in Europe in the early 2000’s I loved and still love Robbie William’s work. When I saw this movie was coming out I immediately bought a ticket for a Friday show. There were three other people in the theater besides me, which I was sort of expecting as RW isn’t known in the States. I loved the movie and was saddened to see it hasn’t done well even internationally.
One thing about this movie is that it has a faint trace of conservatism. There are themes of fatherhood, family, friendship, and even an element that pro-lifers would appreciate. Williams is also not depicted as constantly screwing around, though this is likely due to the uncomfortable visual reality that would create in the film. Very little of the Fabian socialism the Brit's love so well.
Chris, Alan, do you realize you spent seven minutes telling us to trust you without saying why the movie is good? How it affected you? Because it sounds like a pedestrian rock star redemption story in an ape mask. Frankly, I'm sick of these types of stories.
I couldn't get anyone to watch it with me, so I just saw it alone. Totally worth the ticket!
I lost interest at the monkey thing. Too much uncanny valley.
If they do a version without the Cats treatment, I might watch that.
Technically an ape rather than a monkey but almost everyone says monkey.
There’s a fictional character who’s a human turned permanently into an orangutan who gets enraged if he’s called a monkey (the Librarian from Sir Terry Pratchett’s Discworld books).
I think one of the things that damaged this film is the whole ape thing. I really dislike chimpanzees and I know a lot of pother people who do too. They give off creepy violent energy and I have no interest in watching a movie starring one.
The movie was actually really good. Once you understand why he's presented as a monkey in the movie, you'll get it. I thought the cgi effort was really good at portraying him as a monkey - and the song / dance routines were really stellar.
I thought it would have been about Eddie Vedder. Can’t find a better man.
Another Bio-pick about an artist that very few know inside of America. How could it possible not fail?
Weirdly enough other countries have the technology to view moving pictures.
And weirdly enough nobody saw the shit in the us or outside of it. It did horrendous numbers. So your point? @justthetip5393
Robbie Williams as a chimp may be cool but he ain't no Caesar. 🐵
2:20 You mean one of the biggest artists in the world. Just that you strange people across the pond took no interest in 😂
Making him a monkey was exactly why no one would see it, including me. That choice guaranteed it would be a financial flop. Stupid decision.
It's not many, not no one. Many people saw it and enjoyed it. Saying no one saw it is a misnomer and hyperbole.
Speak for yourselves when saying "no one has ever heard of", thenUS are the only place he did not make it. He was MASSIVE in Europe in tje 90ies and 2000s. Also it might be a bit late for the movie right now, because he has gotten quieter. But the movie itself is famtastic!
Can we trust you to buy Alan a fuggin mic and get him on a path of proper audio? JFC alan, I forget your a monkey for this channel sometimes. And it's catching up with you for sure.
I still don’t understand why they called it “Better Man” when that’s a Pearl Jam song, that Americans are familiar with.
When I 1st heard about it being a biopic, I assumed it was about Eddie Vedder. After I learned it was about Robbie Williams, I had literally no interest in seeing it
Yeah idk who thought that would be profitable I love trying new ideas but if you cant land them then movies like this will get tossed aside, trailer looked like shit you cannot have a trailer look that grainy and Thor 3 like idk not hard to see why this failed
Most of us don't have the free time to be able to take a chance seeing a movie we have no interest in.
Seriously. Where does this guy get off telling us the basics of a film's conceit and evaluating its quality, telling viewers about the experience one will have if they see the film?
Watch it on video. It will be available before you know it.
Green eggs and ham.
y