“bohemian rhapsody” movie review

Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy?

After watching the delightful Bohemian Rhapsody, the real question is does it really matter?

The movie, which chronicles the meteoric rise of Queen and its charismatic lead singer, Freddie Mercury, is just a joy. For baby boomers, it will bring back so many memories, making you nostalgic for a time when rock and roll was — or, at least, felt like it was — more about the music than the business. And, as your muscle memory kicks into gear, enabling you to miraculously sing all the hits along with the group more than three decades later, you’ll wish everything important was written in song lyrics.

Maybe it actually is.

Rami Malek is absolutely brilliant as the convention-defying Mercury. He channels his confidence — and self-doubt — as he prances across the stage, refusing to be anyone other than himself.

This is an Oscar-worthy performance, with Malek making it easy to understand why Mercury was so beloved — and so doomed.

Although I liked a lot of their songs, I was never a huge Queen fan so I learned a lot from Bohemian Rhapsody. I had no idea that Mercury had four extra teeth in his mouth, that he was born in Tanzania, that his real name was Farrokh Bulsara, and that he was engaged to Mary Austin before coming to terms with his sexuality. There’s been some controversy about the accuracy of the movie but these, according to well-researched sources, are all facts.

Watching Queen perform at Live Aid made me want to go back and relive that amazing event and take another listen to some of the band’s songs. It was fun seeing how their iconic anthems were born and how the guys made fun of drummer Roger Taylor’s contribution to A Night at the Opera, “I’m In Love With My Car.”

Bohemian Rhapsody is a totally enjoyable surprise, as unpredictable as Queen itself.