Fun, but lack of Britain and what did this have to do with the Beatles?

Rating: 7/10 (27 October 2007)

Across the Universe - Julie Taymor's homage to the 60s and 70s. I'd call it an homage to the Beatles, but aside from using 33 of their songs (and referring to a few more) and eye-roll-inducingly calling the two main characters Jude (Jim Sturgess) and Lucy (Evan Rachael Wood), this movie has no real tie to John, George, Paul or Ringo. Nor, aside from Jude and Mr. Kite (played by the lovable Eddie Izzard), who I'm pretty sure was a hallucination (or was it? It looked so real), is most of the cast British.
What shots there are of Britain (at the beginning and end of the film) show a stuffy factory-working bunch of elderly old men. Yeah, it's not like anything happened in Britain during the 60s and 70s anyway, right? Unless you count, um....THE BEATLES! I guess they were all so downtrodden cause we stole their Beatles.
I love music and singing. I like Beatles music. I also liked most of the arrangements in the movie. Quite a few caused that goosepimples reaction. I also liked most of the singers. Evan Rachel Wood, Jim Sturgess, Joe Anderson, and Martin Luther were quite good. Didn't really care for Dada Fuchs as an actress or singer, and I found it kind of funny that SHE was the one to go on as a professional singer in the movie. My favorite has to be Joe Anderson. He had the most charisma, and was also the best written part. I wish that more of the songs weren't pre-recorded (There is a noticeable difference in sound) but I'm happy that the singers did their own singing.
There is undeniable power in these tunes, if you're into musicals or just plain Beatles music. I am. Notable entries were "Hey Jude" "Come Together" ""Strawberry Fields Forever" "I Am The Walrus" (How ridiculous was it for Limey-disliking Americans to say words like knickers and "English Garden and English Rain). Notably weird and therefore personal favorite entires were "I Want You" and "Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite". "Twist and Shout" was surprisingly absent, as well as most of the more shallow-pop Beatles songs. I guess Ferris Bueller cornered the market on that one. I was disappointed as I expecting a scene where Jude drunkenly types out one of the more innocuous Beatles songs like "Love Me Do" or "P.S. I Love You" in a letter to Lucy.
Unfortunately, if the 33 Beatles songs were the films strong point, they were also it's weakness. Sometimes they had little to do with what was actually going on in the movie (or if they did, it was in a very roundabout way) and sometimes I had little clue as to what was going on. The script was kinda "helter skelter" and thinly tied in with the songs. These are elementary musical mistakes. If you're at the point where you want to get through the dialogue to get to the next song, the musical's in trouble. The music should assist the story, not override it. And this is a paper-thin story. The songs don't reveal or mention much about the characters themselves, aside from the obvious "Hey Jude", and "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds" doesn't play til the credits roll. What was the point of naming her that then? Events are mentioned that mean little though are meant to mean more. People break up and re-unite for reasons not explained to the audience.
This was an ambitious movie, and it suceeded and failed in various places. Loved the singing. Wasn't so crazy about the thin characterization and story. A mix, but mostly enjoyable, Across the Universe gets a B.