Matthew Vaughn, one of the producers on Rocketman, rejects the controversy surrounding the film's sex scene. The musical biopic stars Taron Egerton as the leading man himself, Elton John. It chronicles the musician's life set to some of his greatest hits, and unlike last year's Queen biopic Bohemian Rhapsody, it wasn't afraid to dive into his full, R-rated story. It was directed by Dexter Fletcher, who coincidentally also directed Bohemian Rhapsody last year after Bryan Singer was fired from the project, and has proven to be a critical success.
The film covers a vast range of topics that include John's sexuality and relationship with his manager at the time, John Reid (Richard Madden). The film features a sex scene between the two men that became a major point of discussion with the film community before the movie was released. Back in March, rumors swirled that Paramount Studios wanted the scene cut from the film, which thankfully turned out to not be true. The scene was of major importance to John's story, and most audiences were glad that it remained in the film. Unfortunately not everyone thought as openly, as Russian censors took to cutting the scene from Rocketman, causing outrage from the cast, crew, and John himself.
During an interview with Screen Rant, Matthew Vaughn, who helped produce the film, spoke up about the ridiculous controversy surrounding the sex scene, stating, "What you see is what you get. The press just blew it [out of proportion]." He went on to add that everyone who worked on the film has a, "really healthy relationship with Paramount," and in the end, "the best idea won, and the movie is what it is." He added in that the sex scene itself was, "like a minute and a half," and that audiences, "don’t even see anything. If it was a girl and a guy, it probably would have been PG."
Vaughn's remarks make complete sense, as this conversation is one that Hollywood has unfortunately been having for awhile now. Last year, Bohemian Rhapsody received a large amount of criticism for its portrayal of Freddie Mercury and his sexuality, along with abuse allegations that surrounded the film's original director, Singer. But the biggest criticism toward the film was in regard to Mercury's sexuality, which was such an important piece of his life. Thankfully, John has made it clear that Rocketman isn't afraid to be transparent with its audience, and if it's going to tell his story, it's going to tell it like it is.
Rocketman is a film that's beautifully told, empowering, and a movie-musical thrill ride. The uproar surrounding the sex scene in the film brings up an interesting question for viewers as to why it's such a big deal. Love is love, and this film carries that message proudly throughout its runtime. Especially during Pride month, a film like Rocketman is an important and powerful step forward for an industry that still desperately needs to change and evolve, and hearing the cast and crew vocalize their support is a major step forward.
