“The entertainment industry is a villain” isn’t a new story. There have been many films, shorts, books, etc. written about the tragedies that befall some of our most infamous musicians. Taurus tries to take on the monster by giving us a story about the week in the life of another tragic musician.

In Taurus, we meet Cole, played by real-life Rapper/Punk-Pop Artist Machine Gun Kelly aka Colson Baker. This isn’t his first time playing a rockstar. His performance at Tommy Lee in Netflix’s The Dirt is still one of my favorites to this day. However, this time around, Cole is at the height of his addiction and depression. This isn’t an origin story. This is a slow burn about a guy who has already given up.

Taurus seems to want to be a commentary on the industry that constantly chews artists up and spits them out with zero care. A commentary on the Mac Millers, the Lil Peeps, and the Amy Winehouses. Those that we see are struggling and do nothing to help them. Instead, enable them until they can’t take it anymore.

DOES TAURUS MAKE THE IMPACT IT WANTS TO?

While Taurus really tries to make a point, in the end I found it lacking. While we see Cole at his wit’s end, we never get any dialogue let alone any subtext on what has happened for him to get here, and why he chooses to stay here. We never see the puppet masters at work. That’s not to say I need an origin story, but I do need to see the enablement. Giving me casual scenes of a Label Rep yelling at Cole’s assistant, or a mention that he used to be married isn’t enough for me.

The entire supporting cast does a great job, but they need more. Writer/Director Tim Sutton chooses to mostly ignore them rather than use them to humanize and connect the audience with his main character.

Colson Baker Shares The Worst Parts of Himself

If you’re a fan of Colson Baker, you know this story is very close to his own life. He has been very open about his own struggles with mental health and you can see him pouring his entire heart and soul into this role. That said, does he do a good job? I honestly don’t know. Baker is very much himself as Cole. However, he somehow manages to kill his natural charm. Which cannot be easy for someone who is so charismatic.

That said, Baker does a good job of making Cole an unlikeable asshole. However, it may be to the detriment of the storytelling. Because the script lacks any empathy building, we are left with a 90 minute film about an unlikable douchebag who happens to be a superstar struggling with addiction. So, in the end, I don’t care.

Taurus comes to theaters and VOD Friday, November 18, 2022.

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