Britons have been forced to defend Robbie Williams after a debate broke out on social media, with Americans criticizing his new biopic about the musical monkey and claiming they “have no idea who he is”.
The 50-year-old star’s film Better Man has received rave reviews from critics, who praised it as “riveting”, “great” and “absolutely inspired”.
The semi-biographical film follows the singer’s meteoric rise to fame as a member of Take That and his subsequent dramatic fall, as he struggled with his personal demons and the challenges that success can bring.
But in a twist on the genre, the pop star is portrayed as a chimpanzee in the film, while everyone else is human, with Jonno Davies performing the movements using motion capture technology and Robbie doing most of the voice work. .
However, as clips from the film began to circulate on social media, bewildered Americans admit they’ve “never heard of it,” and Brits can’t believe it.
Moving on to No one in America has a CLUE who he is…. And I probably got excited about Robin Williams and then I was like oh…. Why do they advertise like this?
Britons were forced to defend Robbie Williams after a debate broke out on social media, with Americans lashing out, claiming they “have no idea who he is.”
The 50-year-old star’s film Better Man has received rave reviews from critics, who praised it as “riveting”, “great” and “absolutely inspired”.
‘Who is Robbie Williams and why does he have a biopic in which he is a cartoon monkey?’
‘Who is Robbie Williams? Why are people angry that Americans aren’t interested in whatever movie it’s associated with?
‘I had to research who Robbie Williams is. Apparently he’s a British guy who sings.
‘In the trailer, Robbie claims that he is one of the biggest pop stars in the world. I literally never heard of it. I also don’t want to see a biopic about him.
But British fans were quick to furiously explain and defend the pop star, writing: “That’s crazy.” I don’t know how you haven’t heard of it or taken it.
“I recently found out that Americans have no idea who Robbie Williams is and that absolutely blew my mind because how.”
‘375,000 people over 3 nights went to Knebworth just to see Robbie Williams, who exploded in Europe, Asia and South America, his tours have grossed over $600 million. But Americans make fun of him and question his popularity because he wasn’t that big in North America? Control yourself.
‘Americans: “who is robbie williams” robbie williams: best-selling solo artist in the UK, more British awards than any artist, every album went to number 1, numerous Guinness World Records, one of the best-selling music artists of all the times. …’
“Americans smear Robbie Williams for being a rock DJ as if it’s not one of the greatest songs ever made.”
The semi-biographical film follows the singer’s meteoric rise to fame as a member of Take That and his subsequent dramatic fall.
However, as clips from the film began to circulate on social media, bewildered Americans admit they’ve “never heard of it,” and Brits can’t believe it.
‘I don’t understand why Robbie Williams’ movie is getting so much hate from Americans lol, they just don’t watch it?’
“I need ass-hating Americans to keep Robbie Williams’ name out of their mouths, honestly if you don’t get it then it’s your fault, the man is a superstar.”
And on TikTok, another Brit posted a TikTok defending the star, which racked up a whopping two million views in just a few days.
The user, who posts under the identifier. @sophiegotlengthwrote: ‘Americans bully Robbie Williams, but what they don’t understand is that he signed the biggest record deal in the history of British music (£80 million), making him one of the highest-paid singers in the world.
‘Do you remember how Taylor Swift broke the record for most tickets sold in one day at the end of 2022 for the Eras Tour? Guess who held the record before her? For seventeen years.
‘He also performed three nights at Knebworth to a crowd of 300,000 EVERY night. Put some respect in his name.
But the debate continued as Brits and Americans alike flooded the comments section: “I’ve literally never heard of this guy until the huge amount of videos about him this week.”
“Okay, cool, but why is he a monkey?”
‘Is it crazy that literally no American knows who he is? I was literally on Take That and I KNOW they were all over the world, so?’
But British fans were quick to furiously explain and defend the pop star, writing: “That’s crazy.” I don’t know how you haven’t heard of him or taken that.’
And on TikTok, another Brit posted a TikTok defending the star, which racked up a whopping two million views in just a few days.
‘Now I wonder if Americans know the Beatles or the Queen. I’m Italian and Robbie Williams had incredible success here in the 90s/2000s.
‘I’m surprised Americans don’t know who he is, what?! Don’t you know, Take That?! They were huge here.’
“I’m happy he’s had a great career, he’s just virtually unknown in America.”
‘It baffles me that as someone who loves music old and new, as an American I have NEVER heard of Robbie Williams until now. Not even my parents know who he is. “I’ll give the movie a chance.”
While critics have called the monkey decision a “huge risk” and a “potentially stupid tactic,” they stated that it ended up being a genius choice and “one of the most inspired pieces of casting of the year.”
While they also praised director Michael Gracey for creating the right balance of fun-filled choreographed musical numbers with deeply emotional scenes and said the film works best when it delves into Robbie’s vulnerability.
In his four-star review for Roger Egbert.comClint Worthington said the chimpanzee trick was a “smart move” that allowed Robbie to “vulnerably share his low points while downplaying the pomp and circumstance of his high points.”
He added: ‘You won’t see another musical biopic like ‘Better Man,’ regardless of your level of familiarity with the subject. There’s an excess of charm here that helps sell the nonsensical gimmick.
But the debate continued as Brits and Americans flooded the comments section.
While critics have called the monkey’s decision a “big risk” and a “potentially stupid tactic,” they stated that it ended up being a genius choice.
While The telegraph Robbie Collin agreed, also giving the film four stars and stating: “The Take That singer’s decision to tell his life story through a CGI chimpanzee may seem stupid, but it is completely inspired.”
He called it “pure monkey magic” and praised Jonno for delivering “the best performance of this type since Andy Serkis’ Gollum in The Lord of the Rings”, writing: “The physical integration is perfect; the fine emotional details are fascinatingly subtle and present.’
And in another four star review, of the empire Alex Godfrey said the risk was worth it because it “elevates everything we see on screen, making everything heightened and, in some ways, more relatable.”
Alex wrote that the idea of the monkey makes us even more sympathetic to Robbie’s story, saying: “The conceit works wonders: the little physical animal touches make him feel like a real animal and we care for him much more than we would if he out”. a human resemblance.