The new movie Yesterday is in love with The Beatles… and hopefully you are too if you go see it. This is a high-concept comedy / romantic comedy written by the guy who wrote fine romantic comedies like Notting Hill and Love Actually. And directed by Danny Boyle as one of the least Danny Boyle movies he’s ever directed.
Yesterday’s high concept is that the power across the globe blips out and, when it comes back, The Beatles had never happened and the movie’s protagonist (a failing singer/songwriter) is the only one to remember them. So he debates for a couple minutes film-time and decides to become the single songwriter behind some of the best songs ever written and performed.
So… you’re admiration and/or tolerance of the movie will largely be based on your love or, at least, fondness for The Beatles. If you don’t know them, think they are over-rated, or, more abstractly, think they are fine but that maybe that Boomer culture puts them too much on a pedestal then maybe this isn’t the film for you. The flick is full of classic Beatles tunes and everyone thinks each song is one of the best songs ever written and the world is a worse place without these songs in them. If you agree with that or just kind of dig the Beatles and don’t really care to go into analysis mode, then you’ll probably like this movie just fine.
And it’s a fine movie on its own Non-Beatles merits. As a comedy, I laughed quite a bit… there’s some other good jokes about a few other things that have been forgotten or lost besides The Beatles. A lot of the Beatles or music industry comedy is solid. The actors are fun and dialog pretty well written.
The film is a romantic comedy as well. Lily James is the love interest in the film and she’s never been more fresh-faced and adorable. Unfortunately, the movie struggles a little to justify the barriers that keep her and the main character apart. But it’s all for build up to the inevitable cute conclusion. It’s imperfect but the rest of the movie’s high concept comedy is enough to balance the weaker romantic comedy part.
So, yeah, I found much of this movie to be an infectious, cute good time at the theater. The Beatles covers are all pretty good (or maybe great or maybe terrible… you bring your own baggage). It’s debatable whether these particular songs in their particular form would be huge hits in 2019 like they were in the 1960s… but maybe don’t analyze the high-concept sci-fi concept too much. I pretty much enjoyed this flick and pretty much recommend it too.
Score: 84