With only 1 Beatle movie to go, I thought I would ask Joe if he wanted to watch it with me. Who doesn’t love Yellow Submarine? Joe evidently, as he respectfully declined the offer. Suit yourself. Harumph.
However, he did say that we should go see “Yesterday” together. This request WAS Beatle RELATED… so I had to take him up on it.
“Yesterday” is a movie with the premise that after a world-wide event, no one knows about the music of The Beatles except the main character of the movie, Jack Malik. He takes advantage of having a trove of world class songs that people seem to love and advances his career.
In essence, it’s a love story.
Sort of “The Wonders” with bits of “A Star Is Born” mixed in, minus the death and booze. Think about that reference for a while.
The movie was fun and the music was great and for a long while you cheer on the guy who is ripping off The Beatles with all your heart. Then towards the end, as if you couldn’t guess, having a pop star life vs having the love of your life comes to blows, with a not altogether unexpected happy ending.
Ed Sheeran plays a great part in the movie as Ed Sheeran, who takes Jack Malik (the main character, played well by Himesh Patel) under his wing. I particularly liked the scene where they do what was purported to be a “song-off”. Ed and Jake were to write an original song in 10 minutes and then perform them competitively against each other. Ed’s song is nice, but Jake breaks out “The Long And Winding Road”. Boom goes the dynamite!
The bit where Jack gets a gig (pre-Beatle songs) and is seen playing in a tent to a handful of uninterested kids made me laugh, and then I got quiet thinking about my own writing here and the parallels. Sigh.
The way he plays the songs is a refreshing twist on the old favorites and where I was afraid it was going to be stiff and drab, someone arranged them quite well and they sound great the way he plays them. Or at least acts like he plays them.
It’s a great feel good movie, with a few interesting twists and lots of laughs. I recommend it.
Thanks for going with me Joe.
If you change your mind on “Yellow Submarine” just let me know.
The Aural Retentive 