Elton John: Me, Myself & I (2007) (TV)

User Rating:

6.0/10   

Director:

James Strong

Release Date:

22 September 2007 (UK)

Genre:

Documentary

Cast

Elton John	...	Himself
Sian Reeves	...	Narration (voice)

Runtime:

UK:90 min (TV)

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (HDCAM)

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Filming Locations:

Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

Company:

Monkey Kingdom Productions

The plain-spoken, sober Elton vs. the wild ghost of his past...

Elton John ceased being relevant to rock music fans right around the time he won an Oscar for "The Lion King"'s "Can You Feel the Love Tonight". As wise--and as soberly raffish--as he seems to be, Elton doesn't seem to grasp this fact, nor does his comment about being unfulfilled playing the same old hits night after night hold much water upon seeing the footage of him performing in Las Vegas. Vegas has become the proverbial graveyard for 1970s talents interested only in mining gold from past glories; no matter how spruced the stage, the whole concept is a creative dead-end. Elton wants us to believe he still has a lot of great music left in him, but there's nothing in this brief documentary which gives hint that Elton was anything more than a passing fancy. Equating he and lyricist Bernie Taupin with John Lennon and Paul McCartney seems almost ludicrous with what is sampled here. The (rather scant) footage assembled from John's past shows a reckless narcissist who was like a vacuum cleaner for fame, not an artist striving to give his audience the best of his abilities. How sad to see an entire career whittled down to a few fey remarks and smirks. The only telling moment in the hour is when John, viewing footage of himself performing at Princess Diana's funeral, ask that the film be turned off. I wouldn't be surprised in ten years to find him revisiting this precise footage and tossing off another one-liner.