Helen Reddy was very far from a one-hit-wonder. Indeed, she had more chart hits than practically any other solo female act of the 1970s. Yet in a way, the song most associated with her feels like i…
as the expat Aussie singer, often dubbed by fair soundalike Chelsea Cullen. They do competent work, as do the design team tasked with recreating a roughly quarter-century span on modest means. But this pedestrian biopic doesn’t really convey the distinctiveness of Reddy’s appeal, let alone package it in a way likely to trigger a significant revival of interest in a major star largely forgotten now.
“I Am Woman” begins with the singer arriving in 1966 New York, having been raised by showbiz parents and determined that any serious music career requires conquering America. But the recording contract she’s won turns out to be worthless, and crooning in cocktail lounges barely pays the rent. She’s considering returning home with her young daughter from an already-kaput first marriage when she meets talent agent Jeff Wald .
A similar feeling of personal protest led her to write “I Am Woman,” which appears to have dropped whole from the sky as presented here. Had Reddy written songs before? Why didn’t she do it later? A rote montage uses that track to take her from obscurity to stardom, with an eyeblink nod to her extensive TV career.
Peters works hard in a showy role, but there’s a bit of “Cocaine Madness” to the substance-abusive histrionics here. Cobham-Hervey’s Helen seems more shrinking violet than the Reddy whose memoir burns bridges with her three ex-husbands so thoroughly that they’re referred to by number, not name. In the book she’s justifiably bitter to an extent, but also has a typically Aussie refusal to indulge in self-pity.
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