Crazy Ian

Across the Universe will likely go down in history as the movie that "got it right" in terms of translating the Beatles' music to the big screen, but part of me thinks that they haven't quite got it yet.

Let's summarize major Beatles' movies to date: A Hard Day's Night had music translated into a film, and although it was amateurish and manic, they did well.

Help! had music translated into a film, an although even MORE manic, did OK.

Magical Mystery Tour had music translated into a film, and was a mess. I could barely sit through 20 minutes of it.

Yellow Submarine was a very good mix of music/film, with a bit of non sequiter.

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band was a wacky interpretation of more Beatles' music than it should've been, tainted by the music producers of the 70's. It was definitely a product of its time.

Across the Universe was a simplistic love story spanned over two countries interspersed with real-life events. Charming, but shallow. Nostalgia and music carry the brunt of the film. It is the Forrest Gump of Beatles' music movies.

I laughed at this movie. I laughed a LOT. True, some of the laughs were simply because some people were in this movie that had NO BUSINESS being in it, because they are considered to belong to a higher echelon of movies. Christopher Walken and Maggie Q are usually seen in LARGE blockbusters or high-profile indies; George Lopez has a very successful TV series, not to mention MANY cameos from well-known comedic actors. These people are GOOD. When they are on the screen, funny stuff happens. The script is an obvious parody on the movie "Enter The Dragon", but with ping-pong in lieu of kung-fu or karate. It also spoofs the "underdog" motif like the "Rocky" movies. I dunno, all I can say is that I REALLY enjoyed this movie. I didn't expect much, and I got a lot back because of that. True, I was a little liquored up, and a second sober viewing might not pay off repeat dividends, but I had a good time. Isn't that really what it's all about? Honestly, it ain't Citizen Kane, but I've seen crappier movies... a contemporary comparison: I was NOT disappointed by this movie, and comparatively much more disappointed with the 3rd Pirates of the Caribbean movie...

Yaaarrrr, thar be worse things under the sun, matey...