I Used to Be Famous

I Used to Be Famous

A former boy band star unexpectedly gets a second shot at success when he forms a bond with a gifted young drummer.

  • Released: 2022-09-09
  • Runtime: 104 minutes
  • Genre: Comedy, Drama, Music
  • Stars: Ed Skrein, Eleanor Matsuura, Lee Long, Eoin Macken, Kurt Egyiawan, Neil Stuke, Racheal Ofori, Leo Long, Lorraine Ashbourne, Stanley Morgan
  • Director: Eddie Sternberg
 Comments
  • johnlam65 - 18 December 2023
    A feel good movie
    Ed and Leo were awesome in this movie.

    A bit cheesy at times as another reviewer stated but it is a good movie. I thoroghly enjoyed it. The music was pretty good. I feel that there are parallels between Stevie and Vince's long gone brother. That's what made it so Heart warming. This movie on Netflix opened my eyes on autism. I enjoyed it so much I had to come here to review it.

    My first review on IMDB, I just want to shout it from the rooftops on how much I enjoyed this. LOL. I am hoping that you will give this show a chance and will enjoy it as much as I did. Thumbs up for whoever at Netflix picked thisEnglish movie. Thank you.
  • lunaventure - 19 January 2023
    Need a box of tissue . A charming find of a film.
    I knew nothing about the actors when I watched this film. They were totally brilliant. So natural. I lived in the North of London growing up as a kid then later as a college student . I gave it 9 stars as the script was a little predictable. It still had me crying at the end. I m curious if the lead actor did the singing. The young boy must of taken some lessons. They did such an amazing job and made the script work. I would love to find out what happened to Vince. Did he or did he not? The nice thing is that they found each other , I will not give the ending away But it could of been a little longer.
  • sanjafrk-578-136483 - 13 November 2022
    Not a comedy
    It's definitely not a comedy; more of a tragedy. It is annoyingly predictable, every piece of it. Which was frustrating during watching it. However, the cast did a good job, nothing extra, but good. Hence the four star rating from me. Watchable, but with occasional skipping as I did.

    It's definitely not a comedy; more of a tragedy. It is annoyingly predictable, every piece of it. Which was frustrating during watching it. However, the cast did a good job, nothing extra, but good. Hence the four star rating from me. Watchable, but with occasional skipping as I did.

    It's definitely not a comedy; more of a tragedy. It is annoyingly predictable, every piece of it. Which was frustrating during watching it. However, the cast did a good job, nothing extra, but good. Hence the four star rating from me. Watchable, but with occasional skipping as I did.
  • gipringle - 14 October 2022
    Cardinal sin for a movie about music
    Director Sternberg has committed the cardinal sin for a movie about music: he failed to make sure that he had quality songs to carry the film in the first place.

    The music in this movie is so bad it's almost laughable. In scenes where we have an audience listening to the awful songs, the poor quality renders the scenes unworkable because nobody would stay and listen to it; they'd be out the door.

    You can almost feel the extras in the audience fighting to keep a straight face as they endure the 'songs'.

    Young Leo Long's drumming is wonderful and it's a heart-warming tale, but it just lacks any credibility at all because it's let down by the painful music. It even relied on a bad cover of House of the Rising Sun (a great 60s song) to lend some kind of class to the soundtrack.

    Don't get me started on the singing of Ed Skrein ... if you're going to make a film about a singer make sure your leading character can actually hold a tune.

    Outside of the musical element, the film is strictly formulaic all the way. There were absolutely no surprises.
  • philstrachan - 28 September 2022
    80s FORMULA THAT STILL WORKS!
    I was pleasantly suprised by this film. It was not what i was expecting as the promo I saw shows it to be a documentary about former manufactured bands of the 1990s and 2000s but i found myself getting into it.

    It's a typical story of a washed up boy band singer trying to recreate days long gone in his life.

    He meets an autistic young man by chance one day and they hit if off and form a "band" together.

    Of course it's not plain sailing and the young man is overwhelmed with his first time on stage so, of course (like you couldn't see it coming) the mother feels she has to protect her son and asks the older guy to stay out of his life.

    All the actors are great, especially the guy who plays Stevie.

    There are too many flashbacks that don't make a lot of sense - like what did the older guys little brother die from?

    I was left a bit confused at the end, maybe I missed something, but not sure if the older guy did the right thing for friendship and loyalty by turning down the tour offer to then teach the other disabled young people and if the young guy actually got into the prestigious college or was just invited to perform as a one off.

    Overall, a great, laid back, cheesy 1980s style formula about doing the right thing by a friend.

    Definately worth a watch!