Film

Becoming Bond

Name: Becoming Bond
Genre: Documentary, Comedy
Released: 2017
Cast: George Lazenby, Josh Lawson, Kassandra Clementi, Jane Seymour, Jeff Garlin

Comedy
Light-hearted

A wildly entertaining documentary-comedy hybrid about George Lazenby, the Australian car mechanic who somehow convinced producers to make him James Bond with zero acting experience. It's a scrappy, affectionate portrait of ambition, chutzpah, and the weird luck that changes lives. Perfect if you love underdog stories and Hollywood absurdity in equal measure.

TMDb rating

3.4

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you enjoy a scrappy underdog story told with a wink, where real history and playful reenactment blur together, and a little Hollywood gossip goes a long way.

Skip it if you want a sharp, rigorous documentary, since this is a light, mostly affectionate romp that reshapes events for laughs and leans on its celebrity cast.

What it asks of you: a brisk, loose ninety-one minutes that mixes staged scenes with real-person material and asks you to go along with its jokes rather than check every fact.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood2019

Tarantino's love letter to 1960s Hollywood captures that same dreamy-sleazy era when outsiders could crash the system. Bonus: Brad Pitt as a stunt double who makes his own luck, much like Lazenby's swagger.

But Nearly three hours of meandering charm that prioritizes mood over plot. Some find it self-indulgent; others find it perfect.

The Disaster Artist2017

James Franco's film about Tommy Wiseau making *The Room* has the exact same DNA: an unqualified dreamer bulldozes his way into filmmaking and somehow succeeds. It's hilarious, touching, and celebrates beautiful failure.

But Relies heavily on knowledge of *The Room* itself. Without that context, some of the reverence won't land as hard.

Matinee1993

Joe Dante's ode to mid-century cinema hucksterism and the charisma required to sell impossible dreams. It captures that specific postwar American magic-show energy that Lazenby embodied perfectly.

But It's a period piece about cinema history, which means some may find it more interested in nostalgia than narrative momentum.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Becoming Bond

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Stalker1979

Both are portraits of men who succeed through sheer force of will and belief, navigating worlds they don't fully understand. Both ask what it means to commit to an impossible vision.

Tarkovsky's meditative sci-fi about a man who guides others through a mysterious zone. Like Lazenby, it's about the art of convincing people to follow you into the unknown. A masterwork of atmosphere and philosophical depth.

But It's 163 minutes of slow, silent introspection with almost no plot. The opposite of a crowd-pleaser; this requires surrender.

The Producers1968

Mel Brooks' masterpiece about two con artists trying to stage a catastrophic Broadway flop. Same theme: how a good talker can make people believe in something ridiculous and impossible.

But The humour is very broad and theatrical. If you find Mel Brooks exhausting, you will find this exhausting twice over.

My Favorite Year1982

Peter O'Toole as a washed-up Hollywood actor navigating live television is pure charm. It's about maintaining your hustle and charisma when everything's gone wobbly—exactly Lazenby's entire arc.

But It's small, warm, and understated. If you need plot momentum and high stakes, this will feel too gentle.

Swimming with Sharks1994

Frank Whaley as a studio executive's assistant enduring Hollywood horror. Darkly comic, unflinching about the industry's brutality and the desperation required to stay in the game at any level.

But It's a grimy, mostly one-room chamber piece with Kevin Spacey being intentionally hateful and difficult. Demanding and claustrophobic.

The Wolf of Wall Street2013

DiCaprio as a charismatic hustler who talks his way into impossible wealth and influence. It's got that same intoxicating energy of someone's sheer nerve rewriting their own story through force of personality.

But Nearly three hours of excess and repetition. Scorsese's point is the exhaustion, but some see only exhaustion without the point.

Dolemite Is My Name2019

Eddie Murphy as Rudy Ray Moore, a nobody who invents himself as a blaxploitation legend through pure audacity and work ethic. It's joyful, colorful, and deeply human about reinvention on a shoestring.

But The humour is frequently crude and the filmmaking deliberately rough. Some will see authenticity; others will see a lack of polish.

Ed Wood1994

Burton's black-and-white homage to cinema's most sincere failure. It's about making art when you have no skill, no money, and absolutely nothing stopping you from trying. A love letter to unearned confidence.

But It's melancholic and slow-paced. The charm is in the futility itself, which won't appeal to everyone.

The King of Comedy1982

Both films explore the fine, terrifying line between charm and delusion, between audacious self-belief and delusional madness. Where Lazenby succeeded, Pupkin's identical energy leads only to ruin.

Scorsese's unsettling masterpiece about Rupert Pupkin, a delusional nobody determined to become a celebrity. Robert De Niro's manic energy and desperate conviction create something deeply uncomfortable and unforgettable—tragedy posing as ambition.

But It's bleak and cringe-inducing. Pupkin is pathetic in ways that never resolve into redemption. The film offers no comfort.

Moonlight2016

Both examine performance and authenticity as survival strategies. Lazenby performed his way into a role; Moonlight examines what performance costs when your very existence requires it.

Barry Jenkins' three-part portrait of a man's formation across time. Formally experimental, gorgeously shot, and quietly devastating. It's about identity, reinvention, and the masks we wear—all themes Lazenby's life embodies physically and literally.

But It's a slow, poetic character study about sexuality and trauma with minimal dialogue. Not remotely plot-driven or conventionally dramatic.