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| ProdID: 3103 - BillyType of Show: Dramatised Biography | Product Score: 9.5 |
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BILLY is a personal story of New Zealand's most loved entertainer, Billy T James. This feature length drama goes beyond the public facade to reveal the man behind the chuckle. Based on the biography "Billy T" written by Matt Elliott, award-winning producer Tony Holden brings a fresh vision and understanding to who Billy was. BILLY is a love story set in the changing culture of New Zealand in the seventies and eighties. It also portrays the journey of a shy, loyal and musically gifted boy who married his first love and went on to achieve extraordinary success. A Maori boy who, within a few short years, lost everything, including his life. Starring: Tainui Tukiwaho as Billy T James Morgana O'Reilly as Lynn Matthews Kelson Henderson as Peter Rowley Celia Nicholson as Elaine Hegan Jarod Rawiri as Ike Metekingi Amber Curreen as Christine Luciane Buchanan as Cherie |
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For many years I was one of the masses who adored Billy's shows, both live performances and his very popular TV show. Had I known the story of what was happening behind the scenes, I suspect I would have been horrified, and tried to do something to help. It breaks my heart to discover, these many years later, what happened to that wonderfully talented man, and how his big heart and willingness to see the best in everyone allowed scum to take advantage and cost him everything. However, this movie isn't all about how he got skinned by some good conmen, and turned away from his friends near the end... it's about how he came to be the most loved entertainer New Zealand has ever known, about how he coped with the surge to fame and the ensuing backlash from the activist sector of the Maori culture, and how he showed, even at the very end, how he was one of the best of us. Though I don't 100% agree with some of the casting choices, the story is beautiful, the acting is flawless, and the recreations of some of the more famous skits is amazing. The 'show scenes' scattered liberally throughout will be immediately recognisable to anyone who lived through that period and enjoyed the shows. Overall, Memory Lane is paved with movies like this, and with this one we get the share is some of the highs and lows that made Billy who he was. I was a little disappointed there was a large period of his life totally ignored except in tiny little flashbacks, but without adding a second disc and making this a mini-series I doubt they could have done any better. If you loved Billy in his prime, please do watch this... you need to know the back-story. It only makes the man more amazing. |
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| Printed at 03:43:13am on Wednesday 16th July 2025 |
