Either you're on the bus...

Rating: 9/10 (26 October 2007)

There are people who hate musicals. Sometimes they go to see a movie like this knowing they'd never like it and then complain about it, misleading people into thinking the movie is bad. If you're one of those people stay home, you ain't gonna make it with anyone anyhow.
Julie Taymor has done an outstanding job. Firstly these kids can sing. I'm sick of people announcing a musical and then the people in it are famous people or someone they think will draw a certain crowd and then those people can't sing. Well, she luckily has chosen some great singers for this film. Secondly she did something very interesting. She mixes in regular history, with Beatles history and the stories within the songs. If you're familiar with the Beatles catalog as most of us should be, you find yourself guessing the next song based on the context. And then you hear the first few notes and you think "Perfect!" And then comes the part where you give up trying not to sing along. Yeah I did, and after a while I'm fairly certain I heard the person across the aisle doing the same.
I didn't totally get into it right away. It took "Come Together" to really draw me into it, and I'll admit that's my favorite Beatles song, so maybe that's why, but this version of it (and I adore the Future Villain Band version from SPLHCB) is really great. She got some vocal help in addition to the basic cast on that song that really punches it through. And all the cameos are great.
I was watching it thinking it should be movie lots of people love. The 'High School Musical' fans should like it provided they're old enough to see a PG-13 movie. That's up to the parentals, since it has a boob, and a few butts, and a couple of funny cigarettes, and some cursing in it. But it's pretty minimal for these days. I think people who lived through the time, who don't hate musicals, should feel like they're taking a trip down memory lane. And there is a really collective memory vibe to it. (But I wasn't even born then, which is weird.) If you've seen a few movies, you'll probably be reminded of 'Hair' and of course 'Sgt. Pepper's' but this movie is a truly well made film and really the story is wrapped together so well, I guess it's like 'Shakespeare in Love' in that way. Check it out if you don't mind seeing art.