Becoming Bond

Becoming Bond is an 2017 American documentary drama film that premiered on Hulu on May 20, 2017. Directed, written and produced by Josh Greenbaum, it explores the early life and casting of Australian model George Lazenby as James Bond in the film On Her Majesty's Secret Service, his eventual decision to leave the role, and the effect it all had on his career and the rest of his life.[1] The film employs the use of re-enacted dramatizations of Lazenby's life interspersed with actual interview footage of him.

Becoming Bond
Directed byJosh Greenbaum
Produced by
Written byJosh Greenbaum
Starring
Music byJohn Piscitello
CinematographyJohn W. Rutland
Edited byBilly McMillin
Production
company
Delirio Films
Distributed byHulu
Release date
  • May 20, 2017 (2017-05-20)
Running time
95 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Plot

The story itself is told through an interview with Lazenby, with cutscenes to reenactments where actors lip-synch to or voiceover Lazenby's dialogue. Lazenby describes his birth as an at-risk infant and how his humiliation at being the only student to fail in his school grade and miss graduation made an impact on him to never fail at anything again.

After getting a job as a car mechanic, he noticed that the car salesmen seemed to have a much more glamorous life, so he convinced the dealership manager to let him try his hand at sales. After failing to sell any cars, he attended a course from the popular "How to Win Friends and Influence People" symposium, where the only lesson he recalls learning is "Listen first and let the other person do the talking." Pretty soon he was successful at the job and was the key contact for embassy staff vehicle transactions, which brought him in contact with the daughter of an Australian politician. When she moved to London, he followed as a steerage passenger, hoping to win her heart. Upon his arrival, he discovered she had abandoned him in pursuit of a player on the Oxford University cricket team. Fearing he had once again failed in life, his attempts to charm her set him on a path that would land him the role as one of the smoothest leading male characters in film history: James Bond, who always gets the girl in the end.

Unfortunately, being James Bond meant surrendering his own sense of self, and he walked away from the fame and fortune that would've come with the role, settled back in Australia, where he became a realtor, married, raised a family and led, a happy and normal life.

Cast

Reenactment cast

Reception

Becoming Bond has received positive reviews from critics. On the review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, it holds an 78% approval rating with an average rating of 6.51/10 based on 18 reviews; the critical consensus reads "Becoming Bond is an uproarious recreation of George Lazenby's colorful stint as Britain's greatest spy, evidencing that the gregarious Australian may be a greater raconteur than he was a 00".[2] On Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the season a score of 65 out of 100 based on 4 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[3]

See also

References
  1. Debruge, Peter (May 17, 2017). "Film Review: 'Becoming Bond'". Variety. Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved October 24, 2017.
  2. "Becoming Bond (2017)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved May 25, 2020.
  3. "Becoming Bond Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved January 10, 2018.
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