Line #154 Film/BohemianRhapsody


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bohemianrhapsody_3.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:''[[{{Tagline}} Fearless lives forever.]]'']]
3
4	-> '''Roger Taylor:''' You're a legend, Fred.\
5	'''Freddie Mercury:''' We're all legends, Roger. All of us.
6
7	''Bohemian Rhapsody'' is a 2018 {{biopic}} concerning the life of singer Music/FreddieMercury, focusing primarily on the 15-year period from the formation of the band Music/{{Queen\|Band}} in 1970 up to their performance at UsefulNotes/LiveAid in 1985, six years before Mercury's death. It was initially directed by Creator/BryanSinger, who was fired late into production. The remaining work was handled by Creator/DexterFletcher. However, only Singer is credited in accordance with Directors Guild of America rules. [[note]]Fletcher is credited as an executive producer. [[/note]]
8
9	The film stars Creator/RamiMalek as Freddie, Ben Hardy as Roger Taylor, Gwilym Lee as Music/BrianMay, Creator/JosephMazzello as John Deacon, Allen Leech as Paul Prenter, Creator/LucyBoynton as Mary Austin, Creator/AidanGillen as John Reid, Dermot Murphy as Bob Geldof and Creator/TomHollander as Jim Beach. Creator/MikeMyers also appears as "Ray Foster," a CompositeCharacter, representing the general opinions of EMI Records, who first signed the band.
10
11	This film holds the distinction of being the final home media release by [[Creator/TwentiethCenturyStudios 20th Century Fox]] prior to its purchase by {{Creator/Disney}}.
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13	Previews: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6S9c5nnDd_s Teaser Trailer]], [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cN10tfVW0UY Official Trailer]], [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=27zlBpzdOZg Final Trailer]].
14
15	----
16	!!"It's ''my'' party, and I demand you trope!"
17	* The70s: The first half of the film takes place from the very beginning of the decade up until 1977.
18	* The80s: The last half of the film jumps to 1980 and continues from there, concluding with Queen's legendary performance at Live Aid in 1985.
19	* ActorAllusion: Creator/MikeMyers plays a fictional EMI executive who doesn't think "Bohemian Rhapsody" will sell-- specifically that teenagers won't crank it up in their cars and bang their heads to it. In ''Film/WaynesWorld'' there's a famous scene where he and Creator/DanaCarvey lip-sync to the song in a car and start headbanging.
20	* AdaptationDyeJob: The real Music/FreddieMercury had dark eyes, but the film retains Creator/RamiMalek's natural light colored eyes. Gwilym Lee also kept his blue eyes as Music/BrianMay (the real deal has hazel eyes).
21	* AdaptedOut:
22	** No mention is made of the soundtrack for ''Film/FlashGordon1980'' and its eponymous album released in 1980. Because the film cuts off at Live Aid, it also excludes their later repertoire such as doing music for ''Film/{{Highlander}}'' (though "Who Wants To Live Forever," written for that film, plays at a dramatically appropriate moment).
23	** As mentioned below under ArtisticLicenseHistory, several albums are skipped out. In particular, ''Music/QueenII'' and ''Music/SheerHeartAttack'' are omitted, making it seem like ''Music/ANightAtTheOpera'' was their second album.
24	** The film doesn't cover their collaboration with Creator/DavidBowie and the writing of "Under Pressure"[[note]]Bowie makes a cameo during Live Aid with his face obscured, but that's about it[[/note]]. Relatedly, ''Music/HotSpace'' is only briefly alluded to (its cover appearing on a standee during a press conference), and the band's Sun City performance in South Africa is completely omitted. Consequently, the only reference to their decline in Stateside popularity during the 80's is Freddie lamenting the backlash towards the [[Music/TheWorks "I Want to Break Free"]] video.
25	* AdaptationOriginConnection: Inverted thanks to ArtisticLicenseHistory. The film begins showing Freddie as a total stranger to Brian, Roger, and Tim Staffell. He doesn't even meet Tim in person, who quits the band and leaves the scene just before Freddie introduces himself to Brian and Roger, conveniently creating an opening for lead singer. In real life, they were already well acquainted when Freddie joined the band; in fact it was ''Tim'' who introduced Freddie to Brian and Roger.
26	* AdaptationalAngstUpgrade: Several elements from Music/{{Queen\|Band}}'s life and career were PlayedForDrama. The most notable being the band breaking up after Freddie's option to go solo comes to light, which didn't happen in real life.
27	* AdaptationalEarlyAppearance: ZigZagged. Due to ArtisticLicenseHistory, many elements and people from Music/{{Queen\|Band}}'s life and career were either introduced much earlier or much later than they originally were in real life.
28	* AdaptationalJobChange: The real Jim Hutton was a hairstylist when he and Music/FreddieMercury first met, not a waiter like what he's presented as in the film.
29	* AdaptationalSexuality: John Reid is gay, and was actually in a relationship with Music/EltonJohn for several years. There is no hint of that in the film.
30	* AdaptationalVillainy: Ray Foster [[NoCelebritiesWereHarmed is based on Roy Featherstone]], Queen's manager, who, unlike the film's portrayal as the band's biggest doubter, was actually their biggest supporter. Particularly egregious is the scene where Queen pitches "Bohemian Rhapsody" as the single. While it's true that Featherstone did agree that the song was too long to be a single, he otherwise loved the single and decided to give it a shot anyway; in the film, Foster notably trashes the song and shows him demanding that "I'm in Love With My Car" be the single. Not helping matters is the last we see of him shows him watching the Live Aid performance, with the line "no time for losers" playing in the background, and that the film is basically demonizing him for [[invoked]][[StrawmanHasAPoint doing his job]].
31	* AmericansAreCowboys: When Queen performs [[Music/Jazz1978 "Fat Bottomed Girls"]] in their USA tour, Freddie adds the line "Ride them cowboys!" after "Get on your bikes and ride!".
32	* AmicableExes: A case of TruthInTelevision, as Freddie and Mary remained life-long friends after the end of their engagement.
33	* AndStarring: Creator/MikeMyers gets this treatment in the opening credits.
34	* ArtisticLicenseHistory: [[ArtisticLicenseHistory/BohemianRhapsody Has its own page.]]
35	* AudienceParticipationSong: "We Will Rock You" is shown to be born from Brian May's desire to create a song that the ''audience'' performs.
36	* AwesomeEgo: Deconstructed InUniverse. Freddie has a very high opinion of his abilities as a singer and performer, with just about everyone in the film agreeing. However, he ends up being arrogant and condescending to an extent that even ''his'' talent doesn't fully justify (most notably when he tells the others that they'd be nothing without him even though he was an airport worker before Brian and Roger hired him), causing Queen to temporarily separate. However, he's left unimpressed by his own solo career and blames his crew for doing the songs exactly as he wanted; he admits to the others he needs their input as much as they need him.
37	* BackForTheFinale: Ray Foster, just for the sake of a BrickJoke (see below).
38	* BadassBoast:
39	** John Deacon of all people gives a good one when the band gets signed by EMI.
40	--->'''John Reid:''' Every band wants more.\
41	'''John Deacon:''' Every band's not Queen.
42	** Right before the band's triumphant appearance at Live Aid:
43	--->'''Freddy Mercury:''' You give me a chance to get my bitchy little vocal chords in order, and we'll go and punch a hole in the roof of that stadium.\
44	'''John Deacon:''' (jokingly) Actually Wembley doesn't have a roof. (everyone laughs)\
45	'''Brian May:''' He's right, it doesn't.\
46	'''Freddie Mercury:''' (smiling) Then we'll punch a hole in the ''sky!''
47	* BadassCrew: Queen. All the members are at the very least great musicians in their own right and all contribute to the success of the whole. The movies makes a point of highlighting that all members wrote great songs and that if Freddie is the most celebrated member of the group, he wouldn't be as celebrated without all the others giving their own inputs.
48	* BettyAndVeronica: A very odd example and taken to extremes, but still present. In his LoveTriangle, Freddie is the Archie, with the Betty being Mary (Freddie's first love interest, a very NiceGirl and a supportive and loyal friend to count on, even after Freddie's sexuality is revealed and they break up) and the Veronica being Paul (a cruel, possessive and manipulative HateSink who induces Freddie to a very dissolute and toxic lifestyle).
49	* BisexualLoveTriangle: Between Paul/Freddie/Mary.
50	* BittersweetEnding: Queen reunites triumphantly at Live Aid and Freddie reconciles with his friends and family and begins a meaningful relationship with Jim. But Freddie knows he has AIDS and he wouldn't have much longer to live. The epilogue tells us he dies from the disease in 1991, six years after Live Aid. He was 45.
51	* BookEnds: The film begins with Freddie about to perform in Live Aid, and concludes with said legendary performance.
52	* BlatantLies: During their time together in Munich, Paul is the one answering the phone, and he lies to all that call that Freddie is working or resting, even if a party can heard in the background, and assures whoever calls that he'll pass their message on to Freddie. Exactly no one believes that Paul is telling the truth.
53	* BlondeBrunetteRedhead: Brian is the straight-up BrainyBrunette, Roger is ''at times'' a DumbBlonde ("Who even ''is'' Galileo?"), and auburn-haired John is, [[SubvertedTrope unexpectedly,]] the ''least'' {{fiery\|Redhead}} of the group. Freddie, of course, adds the absolutely-not-TokenMinority.
54	* BloodFromTheMouth: Freddie coughs specks of blood in his tissue during a recording session, signaling that he's become sick.
55	* BreadEggsMilkSquick: "If anyone would like some coffee, tea, bladed weapons..."
56	* BreakTheHaughty: Freddie finds out that going the solo route with only Paul as his manager doesn't suit him. He apologizes to the other band members and says that he needs them.
57	* BrickJoke: When Queen had enough of Ray Foster's [[invoked]]ExecutiveMeddling towards the release of the eponymous song, the band {{Rage Quit}}s and Freddie tells Foster that the latter will be forever remembered as the loser who lost the band from his company. When Queen is singing "We Are The Champions" in the climax, the scene cuts to a dismayed Foster during the line "no time for losers!"
58	* BritishTeeth: When Freddie is asked by a journalist whether he wants to do something about his extra teeth, Freddie ironically answers that he's British and that he doesn't want to stand out.[[note]]Freddie ''could'' have had his teeth fixed at any time, especially after the band hit it big, but it would have forced him to spend years unable to sing, and he was not willing to make that sacrifice.[[/note]]
59	* ButtMonkey: John Deacon gets the short end of the stick several times during the movie, for instance getting the smallest room in the basement of the group's countryside home.
60	* CallForward: Freddie says without the band, Brian would be "Dr. Brian May" with a dissertation on the cosmos no one would read. Brian May actually earned his [=PhD=] in astrophysics in 2007. May had already completed most of the work toward the degree, including his doctoral thesis, when the band began taking off. His final defence was put on the back burner for... a few decades.[[note]]It's also probably safe to say at this point that many more people ''have'' read his doctoral thesis ''because'' he's also the famous guitarist for Queen.[[/note]]
61	* CampGay: Music/FreddieMercury was quite famously an extremely flamboyant man. Though, later on, especially with his change of looks, he might come across as more of a StraightGay or ManlyGay, with his CarpetOfVirility often in evidence.
62	* CargoShip: PlayedForLaughs InUniverse. Roger wrote "I'm In Love With My Car" as a rock ballad, which earned him mockery from his band mates.
63	-->'''John:''' It's just a bit ''weird'', Roger. What exactly are you doing with that car?
64	* CastingGag:
65	** Creator/MikeMyers, whose breakout role in ''Film/WaynesWorld'' helped re-popularize the song "Bohemian Rhapsody" after Freddie Mercury's death, has a part in the film as EMI executive Ray Foster who is skeptical of releasing it in the first place.
66	** Creator/AidanGillen, whose most famous role is [[ManipulativeBastard Littlefinger]] on ''Series/GameOfThrones'', plays a character who is removed from his position through the scheming of a sleazy, manipulative abuser.
67	** Music/FreddieMercury was a famous cat lover and owned several, while Creator/RamiMalek is allergic to them. This is why you never see Freddie together with them in the same shot.
68	* ClosetKey: Surprisingly, Paul is this for Freddie who realizes he is attracted to men.
69	* ComicallyMissingThePoint: During a luncheon, Roger makes a move on Kashmira and asks her what she will be doing after the meal to which Kash answers "Homework?".
70	* ComingOutToSpouse: The movie features a scene where Freddie must come out to his wife, Mary, about being bisexual. She insists on breaking things off with him and insists to him that he's gay, not bi, despite his attempts to clarify.
71	* CompositeCharacter: Creator/MikeMyers' character, Ray Foster, is a fictionalized character who represents the general opinion of several EMI executives.
72	* CostumePorn: Music/FreddieMercury's wardrobe choices were a huge part of his legacy, and the film certainly didn't forget that.
73	* CriticalDissonance: InUniverse, Bohemian Rhapsody is shown to be a huge hit while excerpts of all the negative reviews are shown on screen.
74	* DeadpanSnarker:
75	** Freddie.
76	--->'''Foster:''' It goes on forever, six bloody minutes!\
77	'''Freddie:''' [[SpeedSex I pity your wife if you think six minutes is forever.]]
78	** Roger Taylor also has moments of this.
79	** Even John Deacon, the man of few words, isn't above making snarky remarks.
80	--->'''Freddie:''' You've got families, children, wives. What have I got?\
81	'''John Deacon:''' You've got $4 million. Perhaps you can buy yourself a family.
82	* DepravedHomosexual: Paul Prenter, who kisses Freddie despite knowing he's already in a relationship with Mary. It doesn't get better from there, as he abuses and manipulates Freddie to go down a path of drugs and constant partying, leading to Freddie getting AIDS.
83	* DeliberateValuesDissonance:
84	** When Freddie first performs, plenty of audience members freely chant "Paki" at him. It’s also used while still working at the airline at the start of the film, and by Paul Prenter in an interview after their breakup.
85	** The bi-erasure towards Freddie's sexuality given the time periods.
86	* DidNotGetTheGirl: Freddie's relationship with Mary is both a literal and figurative example, though both [[AmicableExes remained on good terms afterwards]] and found happiness with their respective SecondLove.
87	** Although Mary did later divorce her husband, and Freddie, by his own admission, could never love anyone like he'd loved her.
88	* DomesticAbuse: Paul Prenter, Freddie's manager and lover, takes several pages out of the standard domestic abuser handbook. This includes isolating Freddie from his friends (and intentionally never telling him when they call), {{gaslighting}} him ("I did tell you, you forgot!"), freely spending his money by convincing him he "needs" it, blackmailing Freddie when he threatens to leave him, and being a MoodSwinger who says he never meant it when the latter doesn't work.
89	* DoNotGoGentle: Freddie's attitude to this diagnosis. As he tells his band, he wants to spend the little time he has left making music. No one is going to make him a "poster boy, a cautionary tale". Freddie Mercury will go out in a blaze of glory.
90	* DontYouDarePityMe: After Freddie is diagnosed with AIDS and reveals it to the others, he requests that they don't dwell on it or tell anyone else. He wants to spend his remaining time making as much music with the band as he can and doesn't want the public to make a spectacle out of him.
91	* DumbAndDrummer: Roger is often portrayed as the Stupid One, albeit sympathetically. Especially jarring is how downplayed his contribution as a songwriter is: Freddie gets a memorable scene composing "Bohemian Rhapsody", Brian gets one composing "We Will Rock You", and John gets one for "Another One Bites the Dust". By contrast, the only song for which Roger is mentioned as having written is "I'm In Love With My Car", which is mostly a RunningGag and mocked by the rest of the band. This despite the fact that he also wrote "Radio Ga Ga", which makes for one of the film's most climactic moments; the fact that Roger wrote it is never mentioned.
92	* EccentricMillionaire: Freddie spends a lot of money in incredible parties where he wears incredible clothes.
93	* EmbarrassingOldPhoto: At a family and friend lunch, Freddie's parents take out old photos of him in his boxing days and the young man decides to go play the piano to escape the embarrassment.
94	* EpicRocking: The length of the titular song is brought up.
95	* ExecutiveMeddling: InUniverse, this is the reason why Queen left EMI, as Ray Foster is preventing the band from releasing the eponymous song.
96	* ExpositoryHairstyleChange: Whenever there's a TimeSkip, people's hairstyles will change. With a couple it also marks a change in attitude.
97	** Freddie's hair is completely short once he starts living more openly as a gay man.
98	** Mary's hair becomes shoulder-length as she starts moving on from her relationship with Freddie.
99	** John's hair gradually getting shorter, through the later 70's/early 80's scenes, then becomes a perm in the mid-80's.
100	** Roger's hair grew somewhat shorter, but not as dramatic as Freddie's or Deacy's.
101	** As in RealLife, Brian May averted this and always kept his long, curly hair. (Although in the earliest scenes, his hair was more wavy than curly)
102	* FaceDeathWithDignity: Freddie after getting over the shock of his diagnosis is relatively calm. He reconciles with his family, finds Jim Hutton, apologizes to his bandmates, and asks to do the Live Aid concert. The other band members are sadder than he is about his impending death.
103	* FamilyOfChoice: Freddie's lifestyle and natural flamboyancy quickly estranges him from his conservative family, Queen becomes his family and the band reaffirms constantly that they consider themselves family. This contributes to Freddie's break from the group, as he throws the idea of being a family back in their faces, stating that they all have ''actual'' families, wives and children, while he's LonelyAtTheTop.
104	* FantasyForbiddingFather: Freddie's father Bomi Bulsara disapproves of Freddie's liberal way of life, going constantly out, performing music instead of studying for more serious careers and so on. However, he still cares about his son even years into the music life, and reconciles with him when he sees that Freddie does follow his motto on "good thoughts, good words, good deeds".
105	* ForegoneConclusion: Anyone who is familiar with Queen's history will know that the group will perform at Live Aid and Mercury will die of AIDS.
106	* ForcefulKiss: Manager Paul plants one on Freddie while he's at the piano.
107	* {{Foreshadowing}}: Paul kisses Freddie, when the latter is still engaged to Mary. Although Freddie obviously enjoyed the kiss, he tells Paul that his heart belongs to Mary and a manager shouldn't date the band leader. This foreshadows that Paul uses the imbalance in their "business" relationship to control and isolate Freddie.
108	* FourTemperamentEnsemble: The four Queen members fit quite nicely into the template.
109	** Lead singer Freddie Mercury is the '''Sanguine''' one, being a self-professed drama queen, extraordinarily flamboyant on and off scene, both cheerful and very melancholic at the same time, having deep-seated relationship problems, and quite undisciplined (he improvises the lyrics on his first gig or comes late to band-related business).
110	** Lead guitarist Brian May is the '''Melancholic''' one, being way more stable (both emotionally and in his private life) than Freddie is, level-headed, the most leader-like member of the band when it comes to technical approach, and more methodical when composing songs.
111	** Drummer Roger Taylor is the '''Choleric''' one, being the most outspoken and passionate member of the group after Freddie. He is rather quick to anger (he is shown almost fighting the other members twice) and is a womanizer, trying to make a move on Kash early on and then alluded to cheating on his wife after that. However, he's also more open to show his friendship.
112	** Bass guitarist John Deacon is the '''Phlegmatic''' one, being quite reserved and almost invisible in comparison to his flamboyant mates, but very reliable and no nonsense when it comes to making music.
113	* FrameUp: Paul frames John Reid (Queen's first manager) as a backstabbing man by claiming to Reid that Freddie isn't on good terms with the group at the moment and says that there is a contract ripe for the taking. When Reid presents it to Freddie, it turns out Freddie is still quite content with the group and Paul plays dumb, causing Freddie to fire Reid on the spot.
114	* TheFriendNobodyLikes: By virtue of being Freddie's lover and personal manager, Paul Prenter hangs out a lot with the group. However, no one likes him at all, except Freddie, and all members and managers see him as a slimeball, regularly throwing diss at him for interfering with group business.
115	* {{Gaslighting}}: Freddie breaks up with Paul when he realizes that Paul deliberated neglected to tell him about Live Aid, and Paul tries gaslighting him, claiming he ''did'' tell Freddie about it, saying that Freddie’s “always forgetting things.” [[SubvertedTrope It doesn’t work.]]
116	* GetOut: See FrameUp above. When Freddie fires Reid as a result of Paul's actions, Freddie orders him numerous times to get out of his car.
117	* GoodTimesMontage: Shown when Queen are touring America for the first time.
118	* GroupHug: After Freddie tells Queen about his diagnosis, at first they are shocked and sad. Then when Freddie tells him not to pity him, they all hug for a long time.
119	* HairstyleInertia: Brian is teased for keeping the same hairstyle long after it's out of fashion. He's also depicted as the most stable and dependable member of the group.
120	* HappilyEverBefore: The movie ends triumphantly at the Live Aid performance, only telling us that Freddie died of AIDS in 1991. In reality, this was before his diagnosis too, but the movie moves that further in the timeline for RuleOfDrama.
121	* HateSink: Paul. He’s a slimy, bigoted, racist, and manipulative piece of shit with no redeeming characteristics who leads Freddie down the life of sex and alcohol.
122	* HistoricalDomainCharacter: It's a biopic, so of course there's this:
123	** Music/DavidBowie is briefly glimpsed (his head obscured by a camera, but the hair is unmistakable and he's addressed as David) in the opening scenes, backstage at Live Aid.
124	** Kenny Everett appears as the DJ who gave "Bohemian Rhapsody" radio play when EMI refused to release it and Freddie smuggled him a copy.
125	** Bob Geldof appears in the third act when the Live Aid concert is featured.
126	* HistoricalInJoke: When talking about what the various band members would have done if Queen had not succeeded, Freddie says that Brian would be "Dr Brian May, author of a paper on astrophysics that no one would read". As of 2007, the real May does indeed have such a Phd. However, due to his fame, it is much more widely read than Freddie predicts.
127	* HistoricalRelationshipOverhaul: Paul Prenter's relationship with Freddie Mercury didn't end until after Live Aid. His big betrayal was a written interview with The Sun, which was published on May 4, 1987 and followed by thematic two-front covers about Mercury's homosexual relations with titles like "All the Queen's Men". These enraged Mercury, in part because he had never come out of the closet "officially". In the movie, this is changed to a TV interview before Live Aid, shown briefly and without much impact on the story or Mercury's character.
128	* HonoraryTrueCompanion: Mary - who Freddie considers his closest friend even after their break-up.
129	* HowWeGotHere: The first shots of the film are of Freddie getting up and getting ready before leaving his home in London, and showing up at Live Aid to get ready to perform. Then the film backs up to 1970, before Freddie has met Brian May and Roger Taylor.
130	* {{Hypocrite}}:
131	** Brought up by Brian after Freddie complains that their video for "I Want to Break Free" was banned in the U.S.
132	-->'''Freddie:''' Creator/{{MTV}} banned our video. The youth of America, we helped give birth to MTV!\
133	'''Brian:''' It's America. They're puritans in public, perverts in private.
134	** Roger chides Freddie for his wild sex parties, only for Freddie to fire back that Roger is cheating on his wife, while Freddie himself isn't doing anything immoral since he's not in a relationship with anyone else.
135	* IJustWantToBeLoved: During the majority of the movie, Freddie struggles in his private life as he doesn't find a real companion unlike his married bandmates while he divorces with Mary (perhaps more importantly sees that she's moved on from him) and is stuck with an abusive relationship with Paul.
136	* IMeantToDoThat: How Freddie's bottomless microphone stand originates. Freddie is about to sing when the stand gets stuck, prompting some mockery by the audience, but Freddie finally pulls it apart and just sings like nothing happened.
137	* IncurableCoughOfDeath: In one scene Freddie coughs up blood into a napkin, hinting that he has AIDS and that his inevitable death will come.
138	* IronicEcho: When Freddy calls the band members to Jim Beach's office to reconcile, they're deliberately late to the appointment. Freddy has a bad habit of coming to meetings late throughout the film.
139	* ItAmusedMe: During Freddie's apology meeting, Brian tells him to step outside and give them a minute. Once Freddie is out of the room and Brian's asked why, Brian reveals he didn't have a real reason. He just wanted to do it.
140	* ItWillNeverCatchOn: EMI executive Ray Foster thinks six minutes is too long for a rock song like "Bohemian Rhapsody". Foster also predicts that ''nobody'' will know who Queen is by the end of the year. Mark his words. [[spoiler:By the end of that year, 1976, "Bohemian Rhapsody" had reached number one in the UK and six other countries, plus top ten in still more.]]
141	** Although Ray wasn't the only one, the montage also includes [[invoked]][[CriticalDissonance real negative reviews]] from music critics at the time trashing the song for also feeling it's too long and thinking they were a Music/LedZeppelin clone. Much like above, they were wrong about that considering it's in the title of the film.
142	* JerkassHasAPoint: During the Prenter tell-all interview, he defines Mercury as afraid of being alone.
143	* KindheartedCatLover: The film shows Freddy's love of cats by showing how many he had and how well they were treated.
144	* TheLancer: Brian May plays this role perfectly to Freddie. He's far more level-headed and reasonable, and when the band as a whole has a problem with Freddie, he leads the group in confronting Freddie about it. He's also clearly leading them during the reconciliation meeting with Freddie.
145	* LeaningOnTheFourthWall: On their first big television gig, Mary tells Freddie that the cameras get by on lipsync by avoiding showing the singer's lips. Sure enough that technique is used quite a few times in the movie, due to the fact that Freddie's actual singing voice was dubbed over Malek's acting.
146	* LogoJoke: The 20th Century Fox logo has an [[invoked]]EpicRiff [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6CrSvnrau2M variation]] arranged by Brian May.
147	* LonelyAtTheTop: Freddie during the middle of the film. By that time he and his band are already music icons and Freddie himself now owns a BigFancyHouse. But at the same time, his friends are all starting families (or already has one in Roger's case), Freddie himself is still estranged with his own immediate family, and his hopes of reconciliation with Mary becoming impossible with her moving on with David Wigg.
148	* LongHairedPrettyBoy:
149	** Roger has wavy blond hair that reaches his shoulders and he was the biggest member of the group at one point because of how pretty he was. He becomes DudeLooksLikeALady when he's in drag for the "I Want to Break Free" music video.
150	** Freddie counts as this in the earlier parts of the movie when he had long hair and was clean-shaven, before he adopts his iconic ManlyGay short-haired and mustached look in 1980.
151	* ManlyFacialHair: Zig-zagged. Near the end of the movie, Freddie grows his iconic mustache with slicked back hair. Roger comments that it looks "gayer", although he's been asked his opinion about the decor of Freddie's new house, not his personal appearance.
152	* MatchCut: While showing a chicken in the farm, once it opens its beak the caw is instead Roger singing "Galileo!"
153	* MisBlamed: InUniverse. When the music video of "I Want To Break Free" was released in the U.S., Freddie got all the flak despite the band dressing in drag being Roger's idea or that John wrote the song.
154	* TheMissusAndTheEx: After a concert, Freddie is happy to see Mary; he is much less happy to meet her new boyfriend who attended the concert with her.
155	* MythologyGag: Roger allegedly loved his song "I'm In Love With My Car" so much he locked himself in a closet until the rest of the band agreed to make it the B-side to Bohemian Rhapsody. It gets a RunningGag in the movie with it coming up a few times and everyone but Roger (and Ray Foster) hating it.
156	* NiceGirl: Mary. She's nothing but a sweet young woman who still remains very helpful, kind and supportive towards Freddie even after splitting up, until the end of his life. Not to mention she saves Freddie from the toxic relationship with Paul.
157	* NoBisexuals: In-Universe. When Freddie comes out to his fiancee Mary that he might be bisexual, Mary just rebuffs it and calls him "gay".
158	* NobodyLovesTheBassist: John Deacon's in-universe status as a ButtMonkey, such as when he gets a much smaller room than the other band members. He's also the only member of the band whose pre-Queen job Freddie doesn't know.
159	* NonIndicativeName: When pitching ''A Night at the Opera'' to Foster, Freddie clarifies that it ''will'' be a rock album. It's just going to be a rock album with the scale and pathos of opera.
160	* NotSoDifferentRemark: When Roger proposes "I'm In Love With My Car", nobody in the band can take it seriously... not even Brian, who, as Roger points out, wrote the line "You call me sweet like I'm some kind of cheese" (for the song "Sweet Lady").
161	* TheOner: The Live Aid performance starts with a drone shot that hangs over Wembley and zooms right into Freddie performing on the piano.
162	* OneSteveLimit:
163	** The film has two Jims; the first is Jim Beach who is dubbed "Miami" by Freddie, the other is Jim Hutton.
164	** Also PlayedForLaughs InUniverse; Jim Hutton gives his name to Freddie so they can meet up later if Freddie wants to; later in the film, Freddie is browsing a phone book trying to find his number, only to find out that there's several dozen Jim Huttons in London. [[spoiler: When he finally finds the right one, the day of Live Aid, he asks Jim if he knows how many there are of him.]]
165	* OnlySaneMan: John is this to the band, as [[NotSoAboveItAll even Brian, who is generally levelheaded, has some rare mischievous moments such as Freddie and Roger.]]
166	* OohMeAccentsSlipping: As frequently happens with Creator/AidanGillen, his Irish accent slips more than once as John Reid.
167	* PaintingTheMedium: During a press conference, Freddie's disorientation and stress are enhanced by distorted, layered shots of the reporters and having their questions echo.
168	* ThePeteBest: InUniverse, Tim Staffell. He leaves Smile (the predecessor band to Queen) and is replaced with Freddie Mercury, who brings the band to stardom.
169	* PlatonicLifePartners: Freddie and Mary are portrayed this way after [[spoiler:they break up]]. Even after having relationships with men for years, Freddie still refers to Mary as the love of his life.
170	* PlotHole: Before reuniting with the band for the Live Aid concert, Freddie quips his nervousness about not playing with the band for "years". The band went on hiatus immediately after the release of the music video of "I Want to Break Free", which in real life, was in 1984; the Live Aid concert took place the following year (it is possible though that Mercury was being hyperbolic). It's worth mentioning however that the timeline of the film is not exact to real events, and for the sake of the story, the release of the music video (and the falling out) could have happened in an earlier year.
171	* PoliticallyIncorrectVillain: Paul Prenter, while outing Freddie's homosexuality and lifestyle on a TV interview, refers to him as "a scared little Paki boy." Freddie Mercury, born Farrokh Bulsara, was of Parsi descent (the Parsis have their origins in Iran), which the film notes in a scene with his family early on. While "Paki" is a slur for Pakistani people in the UK, it often gets generically used to slander anyone of South or West Asian descent.[[note]]As it turns out, racists tend not to be particular about their slurs.[[/note]]
172	* PoorCommunicationKills: Brian and Roger probably would've been less angry at Freddie for firing Reid had Freddie actually explained ''why'' he did it instead of just shrugging off their protests with snarking.
173	* QueerColors: Fitting the film's focus on Freddie's sexuality, one poster depicts him awash in pink, blue, and purple lighting.
174	* RagtagBunchOfMisfits: Invoked by Freddie when pitching the group to John Reid:
175	-->'''Freddie:''' We're four misfits who don't belong together, playing to the other misfits. The outcasts right at the back of the room... who are pretty sure they don't belong either. We belong to them.
176	* RagsToRiches: None of the members of Queen start off wealthy, notably Freddie who begins as a baggage handler in Heathrow writing songs during commuting (while Roger, Brian, and John are on their way to becoming a dentist, astrophysicist and electrical engineer but they are still wannabe rock stars performing in bars). By the middle of the movie, all become celebrated music icons with the associated wealth.
177	* RealFootageRecreation: The film recreates many of Queen's most famous concerts and music videos, culminating in the 1985 Live Aid concert in London.
178	* RealPersonEpilogue: The film ends with a blurb about the real-life Freddie Mercury's life post-Live Aid, touching on his 1991 death of AIDS, before playing archival footage of Mercury (specifically the PerformanceVideo for [[Music/Jazz1978 "Don't Stop Me Now"]]) over the credits.
179	* ReallyGetsAround: Roger is frequently seen with young women who aren't his wife in the second half of the movie, which Freddie is quick to throw back at him when Roger criticizes his lifestyle.
180	* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: John Reid. He is fully supportive of the band from the start, always deferring to their creative decisions, and tries to broker a compromise when Ray refuses to release "Bohemian Rhapsody" as a single. The only reason he tried to convince Freddie to sign a solo deal was because Paul lied to him about Freddie being on bad terms with the rest of the band. He immediately realizes that he's been set-up and tries to apologize, but Freddie won't have it.
181	** When Reid gets fired, their lawyer, Jim "Miami" Beach takes over as the band's manager, and helps to get the band squeezed into a last-minute slot in the Live Aid lineup during their reconciliation meeting.
182	* RedemptionInTheRain: Freddie breaks off his toxic relationship with Paul while standing out in the middle of a downpour.
183	* RunningGag: Freddie is always late for band-related business. When he first meets Brian and Roger, he's too late to propose his songs to the lead singer since he quit five minutes ago. He then goes on to repeatedly miss the beginning of discussions and recording sessions, near the end of the movie the band pays him back by deliberately coming late to their reconciliation meeting.
184	* ScrewThisImOuttaHere: During one of Freddie's wild parties, his bandmates, Brian, Roger and John are initially in attendance, with their wives. However, when Freddie displays a diva-like attitude towards them, they abruptly leave. Then the party gets really wild.
185	** Also when EMI Executive Ray Foster refuses to release 'Bohemian Rhapsody' as their single, the band pulls this.
186	* SecondLove: After they break up, Freddie found true love with Jim, while Mary found it earlier with David Wigg.
187	* SecretKeeper: Freddie's loved ones become the secret keepers for his positive AIDS diagnosis, telling them that he wants to keep it secret so that he can perform music instead of being made a [[DontYouDarePityMe victim]] by the public or an example by moral guardians.
188	* SexDrugsAndRockAndRoll: Heavily downplayed. Queen's members are mostly shown touring and composing music, and only Freddie is shown throwing a hell of a party twice, only hinted to involve orgies and drugs.
189	* ShownTheirWork:
190	** Freddie did have four extra teeth and believed they gave him more singing range.
191	** Paul Prenter did indeed sell information about Freddie to the press after he was fired (though he was fired in 1986 after the Live Aid concert).
192	** Mary Austin was indeed one of Freddie's closest friends, and supported him while he was a starving artist.
193	** The Live Aid performance is recreated pretty accurately, right down to Freddie blowing a kiss to the camera.
194	* SiblingYinYang: Straight arrow Kashmira Bulsara is the perfect foil to her wild, dramatic brother.
195	* TheSmartGuy: Brian May, going for his doctorate in astrophysics (which he did eventually attain). Downplayed in the actual film, but still present, such as when he quickly calculates the total potential audience for Live Aid. Freddie outright calls him "the smart one" when they first meet.
196	* StraightGay: Paul.
197	* StrawVegetarian: It's implied Roger thinks Brian is this when Roger throws freshly cooked bacon at Brian during an argument (although this only works if you know that the real Brian May is a proud longtime vegetarian).
198	* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome:
199	** Paul, the band manager, kisses Freddie on a whim, while Freddie is engaged to Mary. Rather than reciprocate, Freddie tells him firmly that they only have a business relationship and his heart belongs to Mary, and that the manager dating the lead singer would be an inappropriate power balance. Sure enough, when Paul has Freddie under his grasp, he abuses that power.
200	** When Freddie first meets Jim Hutton, the latter tells Freddie his name in the hopes that he'll find him later on. When Freddie does decide to find Jim, it turns out that there are ''dozens'' of Jim Huttons living in the UK, prompting Freddie to put off finding Jim until years later.
201	* TitledAfterTheSong: The film is titled after Queen's most well-known hit song.
202	* TitleDrop: The titular song, of course, gets namedropped a number of times.
203	* TrueCompanions: The band is portrayed this way, with the boys insisting that they're all a family.
204	* {{Yandere}}: Paul Prenter is definitely this, being a selfish, possessive man who would do anything to keep Freddie to himself, manipulating him to the point of making him look insane and pushing away the ones who truly ''are'' kind and loving to him. Fortunately, [[NiceGirl Mary]] saves him from that toxic relationship.
205	* YesMan: During his solo career, Freddie surrounds himself with crew members who do exactly what he wants them to do for his albums. However, he's left unimpressed by the final results and realizes that it was the pushback and criticism he received from the other Queen members that made his work with the band so good.
206	* YokoOhNo: Paul Prenter is portrayed this way in-universe, though the movie does emphasize that Freddie's own issues are what really broke the band up. Averted with the other band members' wives, who are shown helping come up with "We Will Rock You".
207	* YourDaysAreNumbered: The moment Freddie confirms that he has AIDS, he knows he's gonna die sooner than later.
208	* YourNormalIsOurTaboo: After the filming of the [[Music/TheWorks "I Want to Break Free"]] video, the band is angry that the American audience and critics act outraged at them going in drag (a more popular joke in Great Britain than in the United States)[[note]]it didn't help that the scenes of the band in drag were a parody of ''Series/CoronationStreet'', a show most Americans were unfamiliar with[[/note]], with Freddie also pointing out that of course he's the scapegoat because of his flamboyancy while it was Roger who introduced the idea of dressing up to the band in the first place.

Context Film / BohemianRhapsody