Better Man Has a 90% Rating On Rotten Tomatoes, but Is It Really Worth Watching?

A satirical musical about the rise of the British pop star was recently released – a life biography of Robbie Williams. In Better Man, the starring role is played not by a guest star, but by a computer-generated monkey.

What Is The Better Man About?

Robbie Williams was born in the north of England in the city of Stoke-on-Trent. The boy was raised mainly by his mother Janet and his grandmother Betty. His father Peter was rarely at home, dreamt of a singing career and strongly advised his son to enter the stage.

Robbie was not distinguished by his diligence in school, but from an early age he wanted to sing. As a teenager, the high school student was noticed at an audition by a producer who wanted to put together a boy band.

The four boys, including Robbie, formed the group Take That. Fame, drug problems and a desire to step out of the shadow of the other members of the group awaited Williams.

The CGI Monkey Is Actually a Unique and Successful Decision

The decision to make a movie starring a CGI monkey seems risky, but it turned out to be a winning one.

If Williams had been played by an ordinary actor, viewers would have gotten a standard musical biopic, similar to dozens of others – the singer does not have the most original creative path.

Thanks to the fast pacing and the CGI chimpanzee in the spotlight, the authors manage to overcome the audience's fatigue with musical biopics. All the major hits are played in full, which is important.

Better Man Is a Sincere and Entertaining Biopic

And the sincerity with which Williams is not afraid to talk about his own problems is also captivating. The authors actively resort to sentimentality, but in fact the man's transformations are far from always understandable.

Addictions and inner demons have to be conquered, but cause-and-effect relationships are sometimes neglected. It is possible that the singer simply became famous too early and only managed to grow up much later. Only then was he able to find inner harmony.

Is all this well-executed mischief worth the time spent? Perhaps, yes. It is a cozy and worthy tale told from an unusual perspective.