It's no secret that while pop star Robbie Williams is well-known in many parts of the world, he's pretty obscure as far as celebrities go in the United States. As a result, a decision was made to portray him as an anthropomorphic chimpanzee in his biopic Better Man, and while that sounds like a goofy gimmick, I'll defend it as a great idea for a fantastic movie.
After watching Better Man with my Paramount+ subscription, I'm on board with our review skewing positively on Robbie Williams' story and his journey to stardom. While it's easy to write off this movie as someone who heard the monkey stunt and didn't know anything about Williams, I'm here to say anyone who overlooks it is missing out on a great movie that is one of the more exciting biopics I've seen.
Better Man's Use Of A Chimp Helps Soften Some Of The Horrifically Sad Moments Of The Film
Robbie Williams is a tongue-in-cheek performer, with much of his music hitting on some of the struggles highlighted in more depth in Better Man. I think a difference would be that while singing about cocaine addiction in a song can be sad, the feeling is fleeting because of its length. When faced with it in a biopic, chimp or not, there are some dark moments highlighted at length with some brutal honesty that is hard to watch.
Even before Better Man gets into the throws of drug addiction or the very uncomfortable chimp orgasm scene, we see the heartbreaking origin of where Robbie Williams' quest for superstardom begins. At the heart of the story is a child ultimately seeking his father's approval and only getting it when he reaches the highest peaks of his success.
To be quite blunt, it's a brutally honest and horrifically sad movie that I would say is a little too dark for Robbie Williams' brand. Making the leading character a CGI chimp helps soften the blow of some of the terribly sad moments, and I'll be honest, there are times when it's needed. I think it's worthy of inclusion on our best biopics list, mainly because it does little to defend its subject in some of his worst moments. I think that with a regular actor in the role, some may feel the movie is too dark for Williams in a way that his performances aren't, and having a chimp certainly helps.
The Story Gets So Good You'll Stop Caring He's A Monkey
The unflinching picture of Robbie Williams in Better Man is not pleasant. As an outsider looking in and largely unaware of the real-life events being portrayed, I was shocked that the film doesn't shy away from portraying him as the villain or problem in some of its bigger events. At the same time, we get Williams' perspective on the matter, and we know why he makes the decisions that he does based on his upbringing and the mantra of becoming famous that he carried on throughout his life.
It's nuanced, it's traumatic, and it's so good you honestly begin to stop caring that Williams is being portrayed by a CGI chimp throughout the movie. That's not to say you'll ever forget it, especially when he switches to having bleach blonde hair, but there gets to a point very early in the movie where it just stops being something to get hung up on. I'll be so bold to say that if you get fifteen minutes into this movie and you're still bugged by the fact he's a monkey, you're not paying enough attention.
I think it's because I stopped caring that Robbie Williams was portrayed as a monkey that I began to appreciate Better Man even more. To take such bold subject matter ranging from Boyband exploitation (which is also highlighted in the docuseries Boybands Forever) to drug abuse and have the stone even to consider not playing it straight down the line and potentially win an Oscar for it. That's the kind of move that I've realized only someone like Williams would make.
Better Man Might've Flopped In Theaters, But The Ape Gimmick Was Enough For Me To Check It Out On Streaming
Better Man was a box office flop, but let's get one thing straight: financial success is not always indicative of quality. Plenty of movies with atrociously low scores on Rotten Tomatoes have topped box office charts this year, so don't always follow the money when it comes to movie recommendations.
I think Robbie Williams' biopic has the potential to be one of those movies that gets a lot more buzz now that it's on streaming, or at least that's my hope now that anyone who has Paramount+ has the ability to check it out. After watching, the best compliment I can give is that upcoming biopics have a lot to live up to and will be much harder to tune into without this kind of unflinching honesty front and center of the narrative.
All this to say, maybe you think it's stupid that Better Man decided to portray Robbie Williams as an ape. That's an opinion I would reckon is held by many people who have no interest in watching and won't be checking it out. I assure you, it's the biggest hurdle to overcome in checking out this movie, but once you get over it, you're going to realize like it did that it's not a big deal in the slightest.
Truth be told, I watched it thinking of an angle in mind of whether the chimp decision ended up hurting a movie that would've been solid otherwise. As I've shown extensively through many points above, I don't think this movie is great unless it was done exactly the way it was made. Everyone involved in this movie has something to be proud of with what they accomplished, and I daresay this movie has inspired me to learn a little bit more about Robbie Williams and check out some more of his music. Can't say I felt the same way after watching many other biopics!
Better Man is available to stream on Paramount+. Check it out along with all the other quality movies on the platform, especially if you bundle the streamer with Showtime.
