I Am Woman

A film about Australian Helen Reddy's rise to fame as a singer during the 60s and 70s. A vibrant and entertaining retro movie with familiar songs that enliven and enrich the storyline. A strong performance by Tilda Cobham-Hervey as Helen Reddy captures the difficulties and feminist setting in the entertainment business. The inclusion of both the trials of being a mother as well as husband/manager offer up a nicely balanced, rounded portrait of Reddy. Surprisingly undervalued and likely unable to receive a world-wide release like the tennis movie of Billie Jean King (2013). This decent biographical rendition was likely overshadowed when most of the public attention gravitated to John Elton's Rocketman (2019) that incorporated some amazing movie-making photography and the release of the biography about the very popular Mr. Roger in A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood (2019) as well as Judy Garland's Judy (2019).

This is an enjoyable watch, and showcases some of Helens great songs which I, as a thirty-something year old, was not already privy too. But it's very easy to see that this is very much sugar coated. I found myself far more intrigued by Lilian Roxons story...

I didn't know about Helen, and after watching this film it feels as if I do know her. I feel her passion and dedication to her empowering music. I enjoyed this film.

I had no idea this movie even existed. I was looking on Netflix for something to watch and I was delightfully surprised to find this film. Helen Reddy quite frankly is one of those icons that immediately transports me back to my '70s AM radio listening. This movie doesn't claim to be anything more than it is. It is a director's version of Helen Reddy's life. The lead, Tilda Cobham-Hervey, is actually quite good as Helen. The supporting players, Evan Peters as Jeff Wald and Danielle McDonald as Lilian Roxon, support her well and are the standouts in the piece. Some may argue that this is nothing but a lifetime movie, but all Helen's songs are there, the backstory is one that I really didn't know anything about and I thoroughly enjoyed revisiting that era. Look it's not Shakespeare, but it doesn't pretend to be. As biopics go, it held my interest and it was very entertaining. People forget about how big Helen was. This movie will remind them and hopefully introduce her to a new generation.

My wife and I watched this at home on BD from our public library. We both grew up in the 1960s, we both are familiar with Helen Reddy and her music. But we never knew the backstory, her origins and the obstacles she encountered when she traveled from Australia to the USA to make a music career.

I find myself wondering how the younger (under 40) viewers react to this movie, we found it very interesting and a very worthwhile viewing. The acting is spot on and they found a young 20-something Australian singer to sing the Reddy songs.

Overall a very worthwhile movie.