Forgetting the Beatles

Rating: 7/10 (1 July 2019)

So, imagine if you wake up one day and suddenly discover that nobody has ever heard of the Beatles (and Oasis for that matter). Well, that is what happens to the struggling musician Jack Malik (though it should be noted that there is a world wide black out at the exact same time as he is hit by a bus). Fortunately for Jack he happens to be a big Beatles fan, and he happens to remember quite a lot of their songs as well, so it seems like he has basically hit the jackpot.
Yeah, this film is one of those light hearted romantic comedies that basically explores the price of fame. The thing is with Jack is that he really wants to be a famous musician but his song writing skills are, well, not all that great. He does have this friend, Ellie, who has basically been in love with him since she saw him playing Wonderwall at school, and she is also his self styled manager. Not surprisingly Jack doesn't seem to actually notice that Ellie likes him.
Well, as it turns out, when he starts playing Beatles songs, songs that nobody has ever heard previously, a lot of people sit up and start to notice, one of them being the musician Ed Sheeran. Well, Ed invites him to open for him at a concert in Moscow, and what else are you going to play in Moscow but 'Back in the USSR'? Yeah, that raises even more eyebrows, and next thing he knows is that he is on his way to Los Angeles, and fame and fortune.
The interesting thing is that Ellie doesn't go with him. This is interesting because while she was more than happy to help him out while he was a struggling musician, when fame and fortune come their way, she suddenly decides that it is not for her. Obviously, and this comes out in the film, she wasn't so much doing it because she wanted Jack to become famous, but simply because she loved Jack and saw this as an opportunity to simply be around him.
Another thing is that it is never quite explained what happened to the Beatles, though the suggestion was that they simply never decided to make any music, or if they did, they made the choice that fame wasn't for them, and simply disappeared into the background to live quite and peaceful lives. This is the thing about this film, namely that it is about the value of the quiet and peaceful life, and that fame and fortune never actually bring the fulfillment that our world seems to suggest that it does.
Okay, there is the question about Jack plagerising the songs, but the reality is that if these songs where never written in the first place, then how could he actually plagerise them. Well, in a way he can't, because the songs were never written. The other thing that gets me is that the Beatles had much more of an influence on modern pop culture than just Oasis. Sure, Oasis sounded a lot like the Beatles, but the reality is that the Beatles literally defined the music of a generation, and beyond.
But, that is actually just a minor thing. Look, the idea is that the Beatles not existing is just a plot device to actually drive the movie, and to explore the relationship, and the pitfalls, of being famous. As the producer in the film says 'I don't care about his personal life, he is just a commodity to me'. Mind you, there are quite a few amusing aspects to this film as well, because the Beatles aren't the only thing that doesn't exist - Coca Cola doesn't either, and neither do cigarettes. While there are problems with the concept, you really do need to suspend your disbelief.
Look, I didn't consider this to be an outrageously funny movie, but it was a good movie nonetheless. And of course, you also get to hear quite a lot of Beatles songs as well.