A plucky little film that punches above its weight class

Rating: 8/10 (28 June 2020)

So reading through the reviews....I'm sorting out that the majority of blokes that gave this movie 1 or 2 stars are the sames ones that probably angry the lead is dare I say it.....a Pakistani!!!!!
As for the film itself, is it a Citizen Kane? Trainspotting? Gone With the Wind? Nope, doesn't bother to try to either. Is it a Bridget Jones' Diary or Notting Hill? Thank the gods no it isn't.
You have a perfectly average will they/won't they rom-com, that takes a twist (what if no had heard of The Beatles), and you have a movie that admirably punches above its weight class and does so in the most wonderful way possible.
Seeing Jack struggle, and as someone with a few friends that are grinders in the music industry, I've seen that pain of doing a show and a) only your friends show up or b) the people that are there aren't even listening to what you're playing. The point is really driven home when Jack goes on his Beatles songwriting binge and is on his way to his first gig and his parents ask him to play one of the new songs, then keep interrupting him as he's starting to play what I think is the most seminal of The Beatles hits, Let It Be.
And I'm sorry, I could feel that tension between Lucy and Jack throughout the film, a couple of times Danny has to hit the audience over the head with it so people aren't whining, "This is supposed to be a Beatles movie!!!"
For myself, Himel drove the spike in and nailed this movie perfectly as a rom-com with the Pier Hotel concert and the first song out was Help! and it was the perfect combination of heartbreak and energy with the way he was screaming the lyrics not as much singing. Felt like the way that song should have been sung, especially if Joe Strummer ever got his hands on the song.
You have a couple of through lines with Ed Sheeran, dropping the line about becoming Salieri was just brilliant. And then Kate McKinnon is a perfect stereotype for a producer but then takes it so over the top, especially at the end with her "Stop in the name of money!" line.
Could it have been better? Yeah the pacing at times leaves much to be desired, sometimes Ellie comes off a bit one-dimensional, but overall, I'm giving this movie 8 out of 10 stars.
Not standard Danny Boyle, but he does service to the movie instead of his personal tropes.