Cert 15 Stars 3

This enjoyable, crowd pleasing and sentimental biopic of the late Australian Grammy award winning singer Helen Reddy was scheduled for release this week months before she sadly passed away peacefully in California last week.

So far from being viewed as a tasteless cash-in on her death, it can be seen as what it was intended to be, an uplifting celebration of her life and career.

It begins with her 1966 arrival in New York as a penniless wannabe with her three-year-old daughter in tow, and charts her rise to superstardom with eight number one US singles and her own TV show.

Taking its title from her trademark power pop feminist anthem, this is an and uplifting canter through her rise to fame and fortune, with a focus on her friendship with renowned music journalist Lillian Roxon and a tumultuous marriage to music promoter Jeff Wald.

Tilda Cobham-Hervey is a spirited and charming screen presence as Reddy, plus the music is great, with the use of Reddy’s own vocals adding authenticity, and it’s message empowerment is as necessary and relevant today as it was back then.