A Telegraphed Mish Mash

Rating: Null/10 (14 September 2008)

I very quickly got the impression that this film had no idea where it was going, other than into some kind of sticky setup for the next Beatles' song.
Granted, the concept was well meaning, & the visuals were creative, though mock retro, rather than actual period presentation. By far the best feature of the film was the arrangement & presentation of the music itself, despite some fairly amateurish performers, & some overtly awkward applications, with the noted performance exceptions of Joe Cocker singing an oddly placed, but inspired rendition of "Come Together", & a Watts riot tie in being put to a Gospel arrangement of "Let It Be" which truly was, quite possibly, the only genuinely touching moment in the film.
Without a doubt, the biggest flaw of this film, besides flying all over the place without direction, is that the entire plot & many of the characters seem wholly developed for the purpose of jamming two or three dozen Beatles song into a movie, whole characters created & named, solely that they can have their respective song sung to them. Between that aspect & the relentless cramming of Beatles' references into the already unremarkable dialogue, the viewer is helpless to notice anything but these sophomoric tendencies, which reduced the film to leaning heavily on the brilliant skill of the very thought provoking original composers of this music, & the powerful intent their songs can carry.
Before now I'd never had a solid example of a movie that was rushing & dragging at the same time. This film drags, & I can only imagine that it was also ripped up by execs before release too. It drags primarily because the connection between characters hangs on threads or less, & what actual plot they try to string together, besides poorly executed spoofs on Joplin & Hendrix & the like, is disjointed, clichéd & insubstantial
However, simultaneously as the film drags, it is also rushed, with no intention other than to quickly segue into the next musical number, & hide the lack of skill in the script writing department. The only notable time where this worked in their favor was in the "I Want You" induction sequence. The rest of the time it only served to prevent the audience from becoming involved with the characters, on a more substantial level than just their stereotype.
Oh yeah... We got lots of stereotypes in this movie, & also downright spoofs on real life persons, & though many might consider it homage, I tend to lean more toward hackneyed writing. though I suppose that in an age where this generation will soon lose touch with the historical noteworthiness of people like Ken Kesey, & Timothy Leary, a film like this may be the only way to link them to Mid-Twentieth Century history.
Such a sad comment that is, & if it truly is the case, then I'd pray that we, somehow, as a culture could come up with a better way to present it than this.
Perhaps I'm being a bit rough on this movie though, in expecting it to be less vapid or simplistic, being that I'm fond of The Beatles' music, & also not necessarily within the film's target demographic. As musicals go, it manages to entertain, in about as substantial a way as Coco Puffs can be considered a breakfast meal. The cast is certainly full of pretty people. The dance numbers are well choreographed, the direction & cinematography are eye catching, & I can see how people who are into this kind of thing would be able to enjoy it, on its own merits, without dissecting it like I have been
Their mistake, in my opinion, was in leading us to believe there was a story to follow beyond overdone clichés, & people who were more than just a two dimensional caricature of a 60's icon, or a Beatles song archetype
But I won't tell you to not watch it, because there is an off chance you may like it, & not care about the things I'm mentioning, but I likely won't watch it again. I can like pointless musicals too, & if I get the hankering to watch one, I'd be far more fulfilled by watching "The Muppet Movie" & that's not Sarcasm. I like "The Muppet Movie"