R.I.P. Helen Reddy

[Precious Doll]

Great review from Peter Bradshaw in The Guardian of I Am Woman. Great as in he nails a lot of what is wrong with this film in just four paragraphs:

https://www.theguardian.com/film/2020/o ... elen-reddy

[Franz Ferdinand]

There was a really great bit on the Late Show in the mid-90's during the audience talent show where she "happened" to be in the crowd and hijacked the show with "I Am Woman". Great sense of humor and a pleasant voice, "Angie Baby" is an underrated gem.

[Precious Doll]

Just to be contrarian, I'll say I thought she had as bland a voice as any 70s pop star. Just compare Yvonne Elliman's rendition of I Don't Know How to Love Him to hers -- Elliman is full of emotion; Reddy sounds like she's phoning it in. Ditto with Delta Dawn vis a vis Bette Midler. I truly never understood her fame.

Wasn't her fame mostly based on the war cry "I Am Woman", coming at a time when your country was newly swept up by the Women's Liberation Movement?

The Women's Movement was well underway before "I Am Woman" but I suppose the song was something of a theme for the Women's Movement all over the world and to a degree still is.

[Reza]

Just to be contrarian, I'll say I thought she had as bland a voice as any 70s pop star. Just compare Yvonne Elliman's rendition of I Don't Know How to Love Him to hers -- Elliman is full of emotion; Reddy sounds like she's phoning it in. Ditto with Delta Dawn vis a vis Bette Midler. I truly never understood her fame.

Wasn't her fame mostly based on the war cry "I Am Woman", coming at a time when your country was newly swept up by the Women's Liberation Movement?

[Mister Tee]

Just to be contrarian, I'll say I thought she had as bland a voice as any 70s pop star. Just compare Yvonne Elliman's rendition of I Don't Know How to Love Him to hers -- Elliman is full of emotion; Reddy sounds like she's phoning it in. Ditto with Delta Dawn vis a vis Bette Midler. I truly never understood her fame.

[Precious Doll]

Evan Peters is a Ryan Murphy regular. He's been in nearly every season of American Horror Story. He shifts between good and bad there.

I had a look at imdb and didn't notice American Horror Story listed in his credits. When looking again I see it now towards the top (hate the way imdb does that). I've only seen season one of American Horror Story and he played Jessica Lange's son and was good in that. I still haven't gotten around to watching the following seasons

Maybe when we have our next lockdown I'll dip into Season 2.

[Greg]

My favorite song of hers is "You And Me Against The World."

[OscarGuy]

Evan Peters is a Ryan Murphy regular. He's been in nearly every season of American Horror Story. He shifts between good and bad there.

[Precious Doll]

I Am Woman, seems to be rather bland.

Mediocre TV movie is an apt description. Its cinema release was scrapped in Australia and it went straight to streaming and it is just as well because it is more suited to that format. I cannot begin to imagine what it would have been like to see it on the big screen as it lacks any visual or directional vision. Tilda Cobham-Harvey is serviceable in the lead role which is woefully underwritten and any bio-pic is in trouble when the leading lady is overshadowed in this case by Danielle Macdonald who steals the film as Lilian Roxan - takes real talent to rise above this material.

Evan Peters who I have never heard of before plays Reddy's husband Jeff Wald is beyond awful.

The film is roundly disliked in Australia. I might be wrong but I get the impression there was never any passion for Helen Reddy in Australia - her death is making the news but beyond I Am Woman I doubt most people have even heard of her.

[Big Magilla]

This terrible year spirals down even more.

Helen Reddy was always a pleasure to see on movie and TV screens even if she wasn't much of an actress, but when when she sang, few of her generation were as powerful. Too bad the recent biopic about her life, I Am Woman, seems to be rather bland.

[Precious Doll]

Singer who dabbled in acting (Pete's Dragon comes to mind):

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2020/ ... es-aged-78