By George...

...he's made a movie!! Yes, dear reader, last night Rhino75 went to the Paris preview of the new George Michael movie "A Different Story". Before you get excited, I should point out that unfortunately (as they say) George was not able to be with us himself at the UGC Cinécité Bercy multiplex (check out what else is playing here). However, he did send along a British man in an anorak (no, not me) to deliver a badly translated speech. But the capacity crowd wasn't going to let a little "no-show" spoil their fun - we were there for one reason and one reason only - *nostalgia*. I had a tear in my eye as I recalled how desperately babyRhino wanted George's Careless Whisper-era hair and a "best friend" (ahem!) who looked like Andrew Ridgeley - what am I saying, I still do!! And all those old Wham! videos - "Wham! Rap", "Bad Boys", "Club Tropicana" etc. were so CAMP, how could anyone not have guessed?? There are some moving moments, notably when he talks about the deaths of his lover and his mother, and some of the live concert footage (notably the Freddy Mercury tribute gig) reminds us just how outstanding a vocalist George is. OK, it's hard to shake the impression that GM takes himself just a teensy little bit too seriously as an artist. I mean, don't get me wrong, some of his more recent material is excellent but some of it is just...well, he's just trying a little bit too hard, it's all "emoting" and wandering melody (far too often the hallmark of the aspiring "mature" artist). To his credit, though, he didn't edit out the cringey bits, not even when some of his fans admit he might be "politically naive" or when Liam Gallagher points out a certain contradiction (Rhino75's euphemism) in someone who hid his sexuality from his fans for many years (presumably to sell more records) criticizing politicians for being hypocritical to further their careers. I thought it was a cut above the usual celebrity bio fodder - and let's face it, how many other chances are you going to get to see Pepsi and Shirley again?