British writer/director Richard Curtis is a name that not everyone may know, though his movies (Four Weddings and a Funeral, Love Actually, About Time) are modern classics. For Yesterday, he teams with acclaimed director Danny Boyle (28 Days Later, Slumdog Millionaire, Trainspotting). This is a match made in British heaven. They just need one more aspect to complete the trifecta – The Beatles.
In Yesterday, Jack Malik (Himesh Patel) is an aspiring songwriter that dreams of making an impact in the music world, though he’s stuck busking on street corners and bar gigs for a few bucks. Though, he has the support of a few close friends, notably Ellie (Lily James), who is his manager and best friend. Just when life couldn’t possibly get worse for Jack, a strange phenomenon happens across the world. In short time, Jack realizes that no one can remember a Beatles song and discovers that The Beatles never existed.
After a brief conscience crisis, he does his best to replicate Beatles classics as his own songs and starts his rise to fame.
We have had a barrage of music bio-pics in the past year and each of them plays the greatest hits and nothing but the hits. Although, this isn’t a Beatles bio pic per se, it’s a greatest hits soundtrack, without stellar deep cuts. I can’t complain about hearing these iconic songs. My only complaint about the music is that some songs are played twice, which feels like a missed opportunity, as there are so many tracks to choose from. I can’t imagine many people who are begging to hear “Back in the USSR” more than once in a two hour movie.
The first half of Yesterday is rife with the charm easily created by Boyle and Curtis. Sadly and possibly ironically, it’s only when Jack goes stateside to hit it big, that the movie loses some of its soul. Ed Sheeran makes far more than a cameo. And while he is happily the butt of many jokes, it seems as if he produced the movie to give him some credibility on the level of John, Paul, George or Ringo. He gets at least four of his songs played throughout the movie.
That’s the equivalent of ordering a juicy medium-rare steak and finding that it comes with a free chicken McNugget. Or I suppose, it’s exactly like watching a movie that gives reverence to the Beatles, but also includes Ed Sheeran.
Relatively-unknown Himesh Patel is a joy to watch as a man who is constantly dumbfounded and anxiety-ridden about his false success. Lily James is the standout and emotional core in Yesterday. There is a great scene in regards to where peopel place their friends and relationship in columns that rang entirely too true.
The absolute worst part of this delightful movie was the addition of Kate McKinnon. As Jack’s new sleazy Hollywood agent, she plays the role as the equivalent of an SNL character. She chews the scenery as if she’s in a Will Ferrell comedy, but stands out as the rotten sore thumb in this otherwise sweet British comedy.
While Yesterday may not be as solid as Curtis’ 2014 masterpiece About Time, it’s a crowd pleaser that will leave you humming some of music’s best hooks. By that, I mean The Beatles, not Ed Sheeran. B+
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