A psychiatrist might have any number of reasons why a pop star would want to depict himself in a musical biopic as a performing chimpanzee.
The charismatic British entertainer Robbie Williams has just one, as he tells viewers of “Better Man” right off the top: “I want to show you how I really see myself.”
Fair enough: If Pharrell Williams (no relation) can get away with telling his life history via Lego bricks in the recent “Piece by Piece,” why stop Robbie Williams from going in for simian storytelling?
Which he does, with British actor Jonno Davies standing in for the tall and tattooed star while CGI and motion-capture tech provide the monkey face, jagged teeth and all. Williams narrates his life story, candidly admitting he’s frequently been a “f—king tw-t” even while striving to charm the masses. It’s an insane idea for a biopic that shouldn’t work, yet somehow it does.
To hear Williams tell it, he’s always considered himself “ugly, stupid and untalented,” even during his time in the early 1990s as a member of the phenomenally popular and photogenic boy band Take That.
His solo career has been a similar knot of commercial success and self-loathing, a situation exacerbated by his fondness for booze, cocaine and reckless sex.
All this monkeying around takes some getting used to, especially for North American viewers of “Better Man,” who might well wonder what all the fuss is about. Take That and Robbie Williams as a solo act have never been as big a deal on these shores as they’ve been in the U.K.
Hits like “Let Me Entertain You” and “Rock DJ” probably won’t have the immediate impact on audiences here that they would on British fans, although the lavish musical numbers laid on by director Michael Gracey (“The Greatest Showman”) certainly sell the sizzle — especially the “Rock DJ” extravaganza on London’s Regent Street, which required the permission of the Royal Family to stage.
Getting used to Williams’s ape face might be the biggest impediment to appreciating “Better Man,” which often seems like a TV show you might see playing within a “Planet of the Apes” movie, after the apes have discovered electricity.
The facial disorientation begins early, as Williams, who recently turned 50, recounts his early years growing up in Stoke-on-Trent, the “arse-end of the North of England.” He was bullied in the streets by neighbourhood kids and constantly challenged at home to prove his worth by his showboating dad, Peter (Steve Pemberton), who loved Frank Sinatra and would duet on “My Way” with his young son.
Peter split from the family to pursue his own showbiz dreams, leaving young Robbie to find solace in the encouragement of his devoted grandmother, Betty (Alison Steadman). Despite everything, Robbie wanted nothing less than to become rich and famous.
Much of “Better Man” follows the standard musical biopic template of early talent followed by sudden fame and wealth. Bad habits (booze, drugs, food binging, philandering, raging ego), persistent self-doubts (a huge Knebworth show causes jitters) and a rock-bottom reckoning after a failed suicide attempt combine to make it seem miraculous Williams made it to 30, let alone 50. He aspires to ultimately live up to the film’s title.
There’s another significant woman involved: Nicole Appleton (Raechelle Banno), a member of the pop group All Saints, who was Williams’s long-suffering girlfriend in the late 1990s. The attraction is magnetic, but it’s not meant to last. When she calls Robbie “a f—king animal,” she’s not kidding.
Give the man points for honesty, but maybe deduct a couple for his soft spot for schmaltz. Do we really need an entire tearful rendition of “My Way” as he reaches another life epiphany?
Ultimately, though, the primate-powered premise of “Better Man” injects a welcome dose of banana barminess into the well-worn celebrity saga, transforming what could have been a tiresome trudge through fame and misfortune into a more palatable — dare I say, more a-peeling? — cinematic excursion.
When a big star is so determined to make a monkey out of himself, how could we not watch?
