Bohemian Rhapsody

Publicity about the fired director and the historical inaccuracy could have sunk this project before it ever hit theaters. But Rami Malek, Dexter Fletcher, the rest of the cast, as well as the guardianship of the members of Queen, bring a “fake-it-til-you-make-it” rock-and-roll enthusiasm to this, which makes it fine and watchable. It strikes all of the necessary notes of the music bio-pic subgenre and features a rousing finale. But I can see how the gay community and the AIDS awareness advocates might be put off by this. It’s clearly trying to rush through that stuff quickly so that they can arrive at the next musical number. This movie will help sell a lot of records for years to come, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. I just wish they had said SOME-thing about Flash Gordon.