The new Robbie Williams movie Better Man bills itself as an unconventional music biopic thanks to the idiosyncratic choice to have the central role portrayed by a CGI chimpanzee, but many Americans have found themselves puzzling over a more basic question about the film: “Who is Robbie Williams?”
The British pop star, 50, is one of the most successful recording artists in UK history, with seven number one singles and 14 number one albums to his name. However, he has never achieved the same cultural impact in the United States, where he has failed to crack the Billboard Top 50 with any of his songs (1997’s “Angels”, a cultural phenomenon in the UK, came closest when it reached 53).
