If either answer is yes, then it's never too late to check it out with the Disney Plus documentary Elton John Live: Farewell from Dodger Stadium. Those who want more Elton John will get it with another Disney Plus documentary, the recent Elton John: Never Too Late. That's what I'm reviewing today.
Much like Super/Man, RJ Cutler & David Furnish (Elton's husband) chronicle Elton's life on two different tracks. On one track, we get to see his early career up until his first performance at Dodgers Stadium. On the other, we see him touring until the final performance at the aforementioned venue. Along the way, Elton reflects on his life and career.
A lot of Elton's anecdotes are familiar to those who have seen Rocketman. To name a few, there's how he changed his name from Reggie Dwight; his abusive personal relationship with John Reid; his much better professional relationship with Bernie Taupin; and his drug-fueled suicide attempt at a pool. These points may be familiar, but they were anything but boring. His suicide attempt, for example, has a bit more elaboration than I remember in Rocketman. Listening to the older Elton talk about his mortality, especially when contrasted with the vibrancy of his younger self, gives this film some gravitas.
It barely narrates anything between those two Dodgers Stadium concerts. A few prominent bits include him coming out - as bisexual - in 1980, as well as his substance abuse problems and his successful stay at AA. His deepest anecdotes, however, come from an aspect Rocketman never covered: his friendship with John Lennon. It's quite enjoyable watching them together, especially how they met while filming a weird commercial. Elton crediting himself for getting John and Yoko back together with one of his concerts is particularly amusing. It's a pity that it doesn't get into Elton's reaction to John's murder in 1980; that might have added quite a lot.
The contemporary Elton gives us plenty of compelling bits. We see him host a podcast, Rocket Hour, where he introduces young talent and spotlights a few old albums. Already, we can see how much of a cool old guy he is. We also see him as a family man with his aforementioned husband and their two young sons. We see them visit the Troubadour Night Club where he got his big break. He realizes that the break may be big, but the venue is actually small, which is amusing as it is enlightening. His family time is quite nice, especially when he introduces them during the climactic concert to a warm reception.
Overall, this film is another good reason to listen to Elton's greatest hits. Yes, the contrast between his older and younger selves is noticeable, but he still proves himself a compelling showman in his old age. The concert footage of his stops up until Dodgers Stadium prove that point. Of course, there's plenty of great archive footage, as assembled by editors Greg Finton & Poppy Das, to showcase his prime. His songs in both timeframes are pristine. The Oscar-nominated title song, which Elton co-wrote and performed with Brandi Carlile, caps off the film rather well.
It's been a while since I've seen Rocketman, but Never Too Late's reiteration of that biopic's bullet points brought back memories. There's a huge difference between seeing someone live their life in a biopic and hearing that same someone reflect on past events. Both films are a great test case for that point. If you learn something new from Elton in this documentary, then it's not redundant next to that biopic or even his memoirs. You can see what I mean on Disney Plus now.
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