BETTER MAN 🤩

BETTER MAN is a f*cking bananas musical biopic of everyone’s favorite bad boy musician – Robbie Williams. However, one twist is spoiled in the posters, trailers, and all the marketing. If you don’t want to know it, please stop reading now. If you don’t mind, please keep reading below…

ROBBIE WILLIAMS is a monkey! Yes, it’s true. Similarly to how Pharrell sees the world in LEGO in PIECE BY PIECE, Williams sees himself as a monkey. And the director of THE GREATEST SHOWMAN takes that idea and delivers a lavish musical biopic. It all strangely works and becomes the most compelling movie of competing styles and ideas I’ve seen since BABYLON, with one key difference – it’s so freaking good.

I have to get this off my chest – I am biased towards loving BETTER MAN for three reasons.

1. THE GREATEST SHOWMAN – I’ve seen this movie 20 plus times and 15 in theaters (thanks MoviePass). BETTER MAN owes its musical and visual effect style to writer/director Michael Gracey. He takes his passion for that combo and turns it into pure gold.
2. Robbie Williams – Strangely, his music was played on repeat when I was by myself in high school and when I moved to Los Angeles in 2000. Millenium, No Regrets, She’s the One, Angels, and so many more were played on those restless nights. I’m thankful his music was there for me – especially “Angels,” which helped me process grief for the first time.
3. It’s a Musical! – If you are following SFR, you know by now that I have a soft spot for all musicals. BETTER MAN is a fantastic addition to the genre. SHE’S THE ONE, and ROCK DJ are surprisingly the best musical moments of 2024 (#SorryNotSorry WICKED).

Alright, that’s enough “monkeying” around discussing my obsession with the artists and genre on display in BETTER MAN. The biggest compliment I can give the film is that, at some point, I forgot I was looking at a CGI monkey and just let Robbie Williams “entertain me.” And yes, I even was in tears by the end.

Every ounce of me wants BETTER MAN to be a smash hit. It turns the standard musical biopic genre upside down by sticking a monkey in the middle. Audiences should let Michael Gracey be their “Rock DJ,” and in return, they will see “Something Beautiful” in my favorite film of 2024.

BETTER MAN opens on January 17th, 2025 in theaters.