“Greatest Days” (2023)
A million love songs later?
A million love songs later?
“Dad, how big a Take That fan are you?”
“Well son I have two answers to that particular question. Why do you ask?”
From this brief text exchange came the subtle hint that my beautiful son wanted to see this musical inspired by five musicians from the north of England named Gary, Mark, Robbie, Jason and Howard, otherwise known as “Take That”, and with more than a slice of resignation, we headed today for the cinema and a rather hearty sing-song. My sigh of resignation was largely misplaced as I rather enjoyed this fan inspired romp back into the 1990’s and whisper it, I am a fan of Take That, but only a passing fan and for many and varied reasons.
The obvious reason is that individually (especially so Gary Barlow, Mark Owen and Robbie Williams) as well as collectively, they have a happy knack of writing incredibly catchy pop tunes that have seen their stars rise into the stratosphere since the mid 1990’s before Robbie Williams and Jason Orange left, the band broke up, only to re-form (with and without the wantaway renegade spirit that is Robbie Williams) and the three-piece of Gary, Mark and Howard remain in the band to this very day. Take That were arguably one of THE bands of the 1990’s who even at the height of their immense powers were undergoing a transformation from pop band to more serious fare and with many of the chart topping songs that appear in the film. Pray, Back For Good, Babe, Never Forget, Could It Be Magic, Everything Changes and It Only Takes A Minute — A lucky seven from “The Boys” (as they are known in the film) and we haven’t even escaped the clutches of the 1990’s yet.
The two answers I gave my son were bittersweet and twisted and yet, as is my way, I still only gave him half the story but it perfectly fits the theme of the film to a tee. The simple answer is that as I pen these words I’m wearing a “Yellow Submarines” t-shirt by The Beatles and I’m a Radiohead fan, hardly the demographic to be a fan of Take That! But I am, kind of, and as per the film itself my liking of the band spans a quarter of a century and the two bona-fide loves of my life and how my life (as with the characters in the film) have changed in that elongated time span. From the mid 1990’s and an in-joke with a beautiful girlfriend who teased me as I sang along with their hits of the day (and so, so much more) through to the present day and their song “Patience” which resonates with me so deeply that it breaks my stone cold heart into pieces and reminds me constantly of the beautiful lady who birthed the son who sang his head off at the cinema this afternoon! I simply can’t hear this song without thinking of his beautiful Mum and the decade we shared and I can’t help but smile at the memories of being chided for singing “A Million Love Songs” nearly a quarter of a century ago.
I’ve written hundreds upon hundreds of film reviews and as is my way, there are no spoilers here. Just a human reaction to a film seen on the big screen with the greatest of company for the greatest hits and greatest days of a band who don’t actually appear in the film. Or do they? That was/is the major disappointment akin to the otherwise very good Ben Affleck directed “Air” this year based on the life of Michael Jordan and who, despite his life story, is entirely absent from the film. Even the original Take That songs themselves are sung by others or by either a fantastic cast headed by Aisling Bea or “The Boys” who represent the boys themselves from their superstardom height of the 1990’s. The only spoiler I’ll allude to is a heart breaking twist and left turn that you may, as I did, see coming, but rather than silly spoilers that no-one needs, the human reaction is one of childhood crushes, coming of age, growing up and growing older, and never forgetting the loves of our lives and the friendships fostered along the way in this game we call life.
Heartily recommended, even for passing Take That fans such as myself!
Now that I’ve confessed my musical sins, I’ll leave you with this:
“Take me back, take me back
To where I used to be
And hide away from all my truths
Through the light I see”
Thanks for reading. There are a wealth of further spoiler free film articles within my “Film” library here but alternatively, here are my three most recently published articles within this genre:
“Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.3 (2023)
“It really is good to have friends”.medium.com
“JoJo Rabbit” (2019)
Highly recommended satirical comedy.medium.com
“The Hatchet Wielding Hitchhiker” (2023)
Truth is stranger than fiction. Again.medium.com