Robbie Williams doc on Netflix

[MaliciaKeys]

I've just watched it (day off work and it's raining out, don't judge me) and would be interested to hear other people's opinions.

Watched yesterday. He reminds me a lot of Philip Schofield in the way he talks and his mannerisms.
It seems like his relationship with his daughter is more like she is the parent and he is still the child.
I do want to scream open the curtains, get some clothes on, get up outside like you would at a teenage boy.
However, like he says, he's probably trapped that way because those important years where he was supposed to grow into a man were swapped out for being a celebrity. So he's forever in this perjury between boyhood and adulthood.

@TheGruffalochild Phil Schofield? In a gay way do you mean?

Jesus! I’m not surprised the poor guy was terrified to be on stage in his home country if these replies are typical!

I watched the documentary and was really surprised to see how he got nervous before performing - I just assumed that certain personality types loved this, but it seems he wasn’t one of them, even though once he was on stage he was a supreme entertainer (in a different league from the rest of TT - I don’t think anyone can deny that). I found it really disturbing when he was struggling with panic attacks so they gave a well known addict intravenous drugs. Just to keep the product selling. The poor guy had no one looking out for his best interests at any point in his career.

Yes, it was a bit odd that he was in his pants, and I hated that he dragged his daughter into it. But for a man who is clearly neurodiverse, looking back on a boy who had unprecedented fame far too young, was trashed in the media for no apparent reason, and made so many awful mistakes with drugs and drink, and him owning them all (and having a lovely wife, family and house to show he made it through) - I cannot criticise that. I am sure I’d not come out any better if I had to look at videos of my own life!

This is just mean. Robbie has never pursued underaged boys or lied to his wife while screwing other men, as far as we know. Implying they are the same is just wrong.

@JesusitsfreezingMaybe at times i did think some gestures were kind of feminine in a Philip Schofield way.

But i wouldn't say it's sexuality i am picking up on - because there are many openly gay people who do not have those mannerisms.
It's that combined with his way of speaking, narrating situations, looking kind of blankly, using overly complicated words and descriptions, unnatural posture.
Like the person is uncomfortable in their own skin and is masking, or has some kind of disassociation/trauma/depression.

I know one person in real life who also has similar traits. I've long suspected they are neurodivergent - but highly functional and successful. Once I got to know them I realized they were just uncomfortable in certain social settings but my first instincts were they were hiding something and couldn't be trusted.

@Bambooshoot i didn't imply they were the same at all. i said the mannerisms are similar. i never said anything about teenage boys. you're taking one comment and running ten miles with it.

I felt a bit unsettled by how much Teddy appeared in the doc. She’s only 10. I can’t figure out whether her appearances in the bedroom were scripted or genuine. Either way, the way Robbie offloaded his trauma and character flaws onto her (even though she seemed to take it in a very matter of fact way, as kids do) is a heavy burden for a child. Also her sobbing as he left to go on tour was a lot compared with the other kids. Was it because she understands how fragile Robbie’s mental health is, and worries about him? Or that she was aware of how sad Ayda was, because she’d voiced it in front of her? That’s too much knowledge for a child.

I agree that she was very hysterical when he was leaving, it was quite strange

Maybe she just has a flair for the dramatic! But I have a hunch there’s more to it than that.

Did we watch the same doc? I didn’t see him offloading onto his kid. In fact he made her leave the room when a dark bit was coming up. I used to cry when my mum went to work - and she was only going up the road. That’s normal.

Why was it strange?

He's either there's all the time or gone completely for weeks/months? whilst on tour.

I think that pretty normal for a child to get upset over and because she's older than the others she's more aware of how long he'll be gone.

I keep thinking about this documentary and how strange it is. I watched the George Micheal one a few months ago and unlike Robbie's that one left me feeling nostalgic and happy. I wonder why in this documentary they didn't focus on all the happy moments as much. George Micheal had moments throughout his career that probably left him feeling low and depressed at times but that's not what we watched. With Robbie it's like they decided beforehand to close the curtains get in bed and let's talk about all the sad things that have ever happened to you since 1990.
He's had an amazing career and obviously has a loving family around him. I wonder if Netflix come up with the tone of this documentary or if Robbie actually prefers to wallow in it.

I found his honesty about his experience of fame fascinating, the love affair with it and also how it nearly killed him. I don't think fame is good for many people, especially if it happens from an early age and continues throughout adulthood. He definitely seemed the happiest when he was with geri h and guy c on holiday. Just goes to show that money in and of itself is not the answer . I also wonder if he has done so many drugs over the years that his brain chemistry has been completely messed up so harder for him to be happy? I think that level of fame can be very lonely. Also agree that he had more star power and entertaining chops than TT put together (although always found JO the most attractive to look at back then!).

With checking out his instagram comments

www.instagram.com/p/CzdepogqA43/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

Wonder what all the typed out thoughts with his fingerprint and initials are about. It looks like the sort of shite stuff some folk give as 'rewards' or whatever on Patreon.

There's a bug obsession with typewriters and ageing stars at the minute. Johnny Depp, Pete Dicherty and Robbie Williams (in a field with sheep and a typewriter in this instance)

Just read they keep their children in economy when they fly, whilst they indulge in 1st class.
I know it’s not about the doc per se but do think it’s rather telling on both of their personalities

I found the whole thing strange and quite depressing too, it’s true there were barely any happy moments 🤷🏻‍♀️Even him talking about Ayda, has some sadness about it, hard to explain!

I think it's quite common, apparently Gordon Ramsey does the same.

It is completely off imo

I agree. I didn't have DC so I could pay someone else to look after them and live it up as if DH and I were a childless, loved-up couple. And the comment about them being spoiled if they were flown anything other than economy - WTAF?? These are kids growing up with parents with £90 million in the bank, they live in a huge great mansion, they almost certainly got to great private schools, they want for absolutely nothing, but they're choosing to make a point when it comes to flying? It sounds more like they just want to enjoy the peace and quiet and luxury without four DC being a PITA and ruining it!

He came across as quite narcissistic and emotionally undeveloped - quite two dimensional. He has a massive, yet very fragile ego. Very dismissive of Guy Chambers. Used TT to find his feet again later on - didn't like the 'oh I could have made millions more doing a solo tour but I wanted to perform with my old bandmates this time'. Very dismissive of Gary Barlow. No mention of his birth family or sense of happiness from his own family. Daughter simply told she would have the privilege of watching his naval gazing documetary when she's older. He clearly struggles with fame, ego, addiction and depression. Not sure a music career is suited to someone like that. Considering he had control of the documentary, it's surprising how charmless he seemed and how little sympathy I felt. The woe is me started immediately from TT and ran the whole way through with little joy or warmth.

I knew very little about Robbie Williams beyond the bare facts of his TT and then solo career, but after watching this I don’t feel I know all that much more. It raised more questions than it answered. Like precisely what had gone on with Gary Barlow, Guy Chambers and, to a lesser extent, Geri Halliwell to finish with them so decisively.

The Guardian review linked to upthread hits the nail on the head with its Beckham comparison when it says no real love for music comes across in the documentary. While it’s impossible not to feel for someone who is so clearly wounded by negative reviews and put-downs on comedy panel shows, I did want to shake him and say that if you want to put out stuff that reliably attracts 80,000-strong crowds it is most probably not going to be the type of work that also received a certain sort of critical acclaim. Few artists get one of those, and vanishingly few get both. And since he didn’t seem interested in crafting more serious music - there was little sense of his own musical taste - so much as playing to huge crowds, I feel like some more of the work he has been doing on himself could have been directed towards making peace with the choices he has made and appreciating his success.

I’m afraid I was almost hiding behind a cushion whenever he mentioned Rudebox, which was the only real time we got a hint of true musical passion from him. He still seems to be mixing the poor reception to what genuinely seems like a weak album with justified anger at paparazzi intrusion and callous comments aimed at him as an individual into one narrative of ‘the British press hate me’. I was surprised at how attached he still appears to this episode in his careeer after getting his life on track in other ways. I got the impression he couldn’t either accept that it wasn’t well-received and move on without taking it personally or have the courage of his convictions and stick with what HE wanted to create.

Also interesting to see Asif Kapadia on the credits. His Amy Winehouse and Maradona documentaries gave real insights into their complex subjects. I couldn’t say the same for this series.

Imagine having all that fame and money beyond your wildest dreams, a happy marriage, multiple gorgeous houses, four beautifful children, and still being a miserable git that spends most of his down time moping in hus pants in his bedroom! I reckon he took so many drugs he fried his serotonin receptors. He needs a lot of therapy, and also a virtual boot up the arse! The bit where he said he was so fucked up and miserable that he took three years off, were we meant to feel sorry for him? Maybe a bit of voluntary work among the less fortunate would make him wise up a bit! I have suffered from depression in the past, and wallowing in my pit was not how I got over it.

So how did you get over it? Many of us are prone to depression and suffer bouts of it our whole lives. Every boyfriend I ever had said that they couldn’t make me happy so I stayed single. My depression was caused by csa. These are facts. I do not say them to make people feel sorry for me.

I am interested to learn how having loads of money makes you immune from mental illness.