Karma Caméléon

It's a shame there is no Theatre of Hate songs in this 80's strory which is the band that Kirk Brandon was the lead singer. This is an interesting story from Boy George's Autobiography one which Kirk Brandon denied & sued Boy George in Court & lost. I found it entertaining enough & there are lots of 80's tunes in here but no Kirk Brandon songs maybe due to copyright but it would have added some context to the story. Apart from that it was an otherwise piece of 80's nostalga with a story that many may not have previously known about.

I thought that this was well acted & both actors who played the two main characters were very good & convincing playing Boy George & Kirk Brandon (who was Rob Stark in Game of Thrones). Do you really want to hurt me is used in the film & suits it perfectly as you will find out if you warch this gem. There are many other well known 80's musicians and icons who are scattered throughout the film so see how many you can spot.

Boy George's autobiography Take It Like A Man I think is the best I have read. It offers a unique insight into fame, money, drug addiction and a cynical pop industry. I know that this movie is not based on the book and that Boy George was involved in the script. This film is decent enough, but it fails to embrace Boy George's personality, charisma and unique and fresh image that conquered the entire pop world. This is too static and slow for me, and I can't quite get involved. I hope the next biopic about Boy George manages to highlight the essence of Boy George's abilities and talent that made him a major pop star and the honest and straightforward personality he always offers in interviews and performances.

*Possible Spoilers* I watched this and it was AMAZING. Full of everything a television programme could need; angst, comedy, romance, honest truths...the list goes on! The acting is incredibly good, and always believable. Though it was all wonderful, my personal favourite parts were the cute and subtle bits of romance. In parts, it made me 'aww' audibly! Douglas Booth, who played George, looks an incredibly amount like him. A perfectly chosen actor, there in my opinion. And, as an added bonus, he's absolutely gorgeous! The only low part for me, was that the lip-syncing of the songs was rather bad. The mouths move to the right words, but it doesn't look like he's actually singing it. But this is merely a small thing, and hardly really detracts from how wonderful the whole thing was. I would highly recommend watching/buying this. A brilliant piece of drama! Douglas Booth is definitely a star in the making! Look out for him in the future!

To the mainstream, Boy George appeared from left-field, a chart-topping male pop-star who dressed like a woman. Yet George was not just a freak show; he emerged from the androgyny of the New Romantic club scene, even if few had attempted such an extreme look before; his band made records of genuine merit; and of course, in a period where homosexuality was still not as widely accepted as it is now, it was not just for its aesthetic qualities that his dress sense attracted attention. Julian Jarold's film, 'Worried About the Boy', gives a good feeling of what it was like for George prior to fame, finding his way through a world in which he always possessed a measure of star quality; although I don't recall George ever looking quite as naturally feminine as actor Douglas Booth. What the film lacks is a certain narrative purpose: George got dressed up, had relationships, formed bands and eventually made it onto 'Top of the Pops'; 'Worried About the Boy' explains how, but the problem with many real-life dramatisations is that they essentially amount to "stuff happens" and I felt something of the same here. There are hints of a bigger story in the relationship of George and Kirk Brandon; but you need to know what happened later to understand these. And the film is also guilty of some obviousness; when George visits Malcolm McLaren, the Sex Pistols appear on the soundtrack, even though the period is wrong. In spite of this, I still enjoyed the film, an interesting view of an unlikely road to fame.

Douglas Booth made an utterly stunning and very watchable Boy George, capturing his sharp witted and ultimately rather romantic character without ever resorting to campness or cliché. I enjoyed this drama for the gorgeous recreation of what must have been a fascinating time in London's cultural history and the fabulous design of the costumes and sets. But even though the dialogue at times sparkled (special mention here for Freddie Fox playing a magnificent Marilyn) it was rather a case of style over substance. The story just felt very thin and although there were some surprisingly touching moments (with Kirk as well as John Moss) there just didn't seem enough story here to sustain an hour and a half. I felt the addict section of the story really limped along and felt underdeveloped and unnecessary in particular. However they did a good job of making the characters engaging and likable and for that reason it was worth the hour and a half spent with them. I just would have liked to have seen a bit more of events, and also a bit more about George's motivations - what made him who he was.