Boy George and Culture Club : deserve better than Alison Ellwood ‘s disapointing tabloid documentary

Ever since the singer/songwriter Boy George burst into the world, he has been a polarizing figure that people seem to either love or hate.  Or both.  His larger-than-life colorful persona has always made him fodder for the British tabloid press, which is central to yet another documentary.  It’s a trap that filmmaker Alison Ellwood falls into so deeply that by the time the final clip rolls, we are confused if she aimed to report on the tabloid reporting or actually add her own level of negative criticism. 

His life has been documented to the point of overkill, so Ellwood has little new to share with us, except for George’s long love affair with drummer Jon Moss. That very deep and very real relationship was kept secret for so very long, and gives us a different dimension inside George’s psyche,  especially as so often he would publicly claim to be bisexual.  Another aspect of George’s story (and yet another negative one) was in the straight-to-camera interviews of the other members of Culture Club, who, except for Jon Moss, still harbor regrets about all the times that the bright lights were shone only on George. 

The fact that George’s androgynous style as a ‘new romantic’ propelled his fame during Thatcher’s austere and kill-joy reign in the UK added a great deal to the rapid rise of his fame.  So too did his disarming personality, which is still ever present even now.  He has squeezed a great deal into his very roller-coaster life, and so much of this reflected the pop-culture of that period, but not all of it made the cut here.  That, and Ellwood’s indiscriminate use of photos out of any sequence, made this a wasted opportunity and not the definitive documentary both George and his fans deserve.  Hopeful that will happen one day.

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Review by ROGER WALKER-DACK.

Editor-in-Chief.  Miami Beach, FL / Provincetown, MA

Member of G.A.L.E.C.A. (Gay & Lesbian Entertainment Critics Association) and NLGJA The Association of LGBT Journalists. and The Online Film Critics Society. Ex Contributing Editor The Gay Uk & Contributor Edge Media Former CEO and Menswear Designer of  Roger Dack Ltd in the UK ‘