(Editor’s note: the site went down yesterday and recently came back up today. It’s a day late, and I’m posting by proxy for Talicia. This is all hers!)

Mama-Mia, Indeed!

I feel remiss writing this particular review. I could have gone with something easy, like I had originally planned for the Fahrenheit 451 film. But after reading a review of that HBO production, I just couldn’t get fired up about it (pun completely intended). Furthermore, thanks to the diversionary nature of Facebook, my attention was duly reverted to the upcoming Queen biopic, Bohemian Rhapsody. I don’t feel well-equipped to address what that band has meant for people who are die-hard fans, as I am one who just grew up with the music ever present in my cultural consciousness. Much like the Beatles and The Rolling Stones, Queen’s ubiquity meant that I was going to have it shape my exposure of pop culture…whether I wanted it to or not. From enduring the introductory stomp from “We Will Rock You” at high school pep rallies, to singing along to “Another One Bites the Dust” while terminating a water quality test as part of my environmental lab job (which I had for about 5 minutes and completely hated), I came to appreciate Queen slowly and sometimes grudgingly. Their music had just always BEEN THERE, and so I never knew a time before they exploded onto the music scene. Then I listened to the Highlander soundtrack. Then I read their story. Safe to say that today I am a fan.

This iteration of the movie had been in the works since 2010, when Sacha Baron Cohen considered doing the honors of portraying Freddy Mercury. That is, until polymath and guitarist, Brian May, told him to take a hike and called Cohen “an arse” (Brian May, I love you). The role then went to Rami Malek, who nails Mercury’s look so closely to the point of being unsettling. The titular Bohemian Rhapsody has inspired a number of references and parodies, from the silly Wayne’s World car scene to the inspired Muppets cover. It’s just one of those songs that you’re going to crank up and sing in the car whenever it comes on the radio. You have to; it’s the law. So naturally, it not only serves as the movie’s title, but its origin story provides a large chunk of time in the trailer. Still, there is one cover I anticipate will make a bigger impression, should they portray it: Mercury’s heartrending wail in The Show Must Go On. If they do it right, I’ll likely walk out of the theater with a tear-stained face. Take a seat, Kanye!