Wasted potential

Rating: 6/10 (13 July 2019)

Like many people here, I'm a big Beatles. fan. However, the trailer didn't exactly blow me away, but it looked entertaining, so I gave it a watch. And I have to admit, I left the cinema feeling a little disappointed.
The plot focuses on Jack (Himesh Patel), a man working a dead-end job in a warehouse who is trying to hit it big as a musician. During an unexplained power cut, he ends up being hit by a bus, and wakes up to realise that the Beatles (as well as a few other odd things) never existed. Using this new found information, he decides to write down all the lyrics to the songs he can remember and pass them off as his own. He is discovered by Ed Sheeran's manager and soon becomes a huge star.
I can't emphasise this enough - this film could've been fantastic. It has so much potential. The Beatles played such a huge part in music history; they delved into so many genres from rock, country, psychedelic, blues...yet none of this was even really mentioned, aside from the musical covers and a few obvious references that even non-fans could understand. Instead, the film settled for a rather predictable romance between Jack and his ex-manager/best friend Ellie that, in all honesty, wasn't very interesting. The characters have their moments, but I felt like they lacked the charm and substance that could've made the romance more entertaining. The other characters as well are rather bland, I didn't remember much about them although I did like Jack's friend Rocky (played by Joel Fry) who Jack brings along as his roadie. In fact, I remember thinking whilst I was watching the film that Joel Fry would've been more suitable playing the main character instead of Himesh Patel.
The film wasn't that funny either. It had a few good jokes here and there - the Abbey Road debate, Oasis not existing - however, a lot of them seemed to fall flat and didn't really go anywhere. I don't remember the audience I was with laughing that much either so I don't think I'm alone with that opinion. Like I've said, the film had so much to work with and yet it was never really used to its potential. The writer's could've included a few funny digs at some of the songs (such as leaving Revolution 9 off the White Album. I'm sure even the biggest Beatles fans wouldn't complain about that) or poking fun at the psychedelic era Pepper costumes. Although in fact, I thought one of the biggest missed opportunities was with Ed Sheeran. His character could've had much more to do - they could have even made him a villain due to jealousy from being pushed out of the spotlight by a superior musician. If you're having an extended cameo by someone famous, at least give them some funny material to work with. But instead they settled for him admitting that Jack is a better musician and nothing is really done with it.
I don't think this was a bad film by any means, it had plenty of heart and some good moments. I think the best scene was when Jack goes to visit John Lennon and asks his age (Lennon replies, 'Seventy-eight'), which felt very touching and served as a bittersweet reminder of what could've been had the real Lennon not been killed in the 1980s. If the dramatic scenes had a little more substance such as this one, and a few more well-thought out jokes, I think this may have been a much more interesting film. Unfortunately, it settles for easy humour and a predictable romance. If you're looking for something lighthearted and safe then this is probably the film for you, but if you want something with a little more depth, I'd give it a miss.