I just found out about and watched the movie, “Worried About The Boy” from the BBC. It’s the life story of Boy George from teenager up until he was addicted to heroin in 1986. I really liked George in the 80s and continued to be a fan until I saw a concert in Raleigh in 1995 and he said, “Some of you are on sort of an 80’s pilgramage, well, the 80’s are over! O-V-A-H over!
I was taken aback by someone dissing the very reason that they had any success. I was offended by his comment enough to stop following his every move. I remained somewhat of a fan, though. I loved all the old music. In the 90’s, he apparently decided it was safe to “come out” and almost every song was about gay this or straight that and way too political for my pop tastes.
Anyway, I watched this movie and was astounded on how good it was, how good the actors were, how perfect they got the make-up and hair and the “feel” of the 80’s! The director added some titles to indicate the time and place and who over certain scenes and I LOVED the effect! Really impactful. It actually took me back to Hedwig And The Angry Inch’s titles, which weren’t as prolific, but great in their own right.
The actor who played Jon Moss was someone from Catherine Tate’s show (which I adored!) and he looked JUST LIKE Jon! It was uncanny! The guy playing George was a little too…. modern, but passable. He had Angelina Jolie lips, so I didn’t like them, but they toned them down. The costumes and hair and makeup were absolutely stunning!
This got me thinking that if we had had digital cameras in the 80’s like we have today, we would have had more looks and fashion documented. The 80’s were about freedom to wear whatever and look any way you wanted. The more outrageous the better! One thing about the fashion industry is that the wildest things go down the runways, but it gets pared down to “normal” looks when it gets to ready to wear stuff. That’s why things like Lady Gaga’s meat dress won’t be on your back any time soon, but it makes an impact on the industry. (A bacon tie?)
The crap that’s put up on youtube indicates that if there had been such an outlet in the 80’s, it would have been bigger than anyone could have imagined!
Back to the movie. Sad, at times. Happy, at times. I couldn’t take my eyes off of it and wanted more after it was over…O-V-A-H, over!
I forgave George a while back, but never bought anything else he did. He’s into techno and DJ’ing now, so all of his songs sound alike.
Which leads me to formulas…. if you have a formula-take for instance, George’s sweet ballads, why not stick with it? Make non-gender-specific love songs and sell tons of them!
As a songwriter, myself, I know that harsh emotion makes for the best songs, so I know why George can’t write like he used to. The turmoil shown in the movie was based on truth and it brought back some of my painful emotions from the 80’s as well. At a certain age, I have found that things that used to affect us isn’t as important.
One more thing about the movie… the sets, the extras, everything, was so real it felt like a documentary! Sometimes, when people make 80’s flashback movies, they tend to overdo the hair or makeup, and yes, it was about excess and extreme back then, but it was a controlled extreme. It was done with purpose.
I don’t think the movie is made for U.S. DVD players, but if you have the ability to watch it on a PAL player, I would suggest it. Amazon.co.uk carries it.