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| Courtesy of Universal |
(Rated PG-13 for suggestive content and language.)
Our current era of intellectual property-based pop culture, when it feels like every movie that hits theaters must be part of a franchise, board game, breakfast cereal, or some other form of brand recognition, has rendered making an intimate, low-stakes film almost impossible. Sweet, simple love stories have been forced out of the multiplex like homeless people in a newly hip neighborhood.
That thought hit me relatively early in Yesterday, the new romantic comedy from director Danny Boyle and writer Richard Curtis. The premise is admittedly a brilliant one: Jack Malik (Himesh Patel) is a struggling musician in a small English town who’s beginning to realize that stardom is out of his reach. He’s moderately talented, but he doesn’t have anything to say in his art. It’s bland, mediocre noise. Of course, that doesn’t matter to Ellie (Lily James), Jack’s best friend and self-appointed manager who is clearly in love with him.
However, Jack’s career takes a dramatic shift after he’s hit by a bus during a mysterious global blackout (yeah, I know… just go with it). When he wakes up, the musician with no point-of-view learns that somehow the Beatles have been erased from existence. That means their immense catalog is up for grabs, so Jack decides to partake in what he considers to be some victimless plagiarism.
Armed with arguably the greatest songs ever written, he becomes the most famous pop star on the planet. But Jack’s sudden fame separates him from Ellie, so he’s eventually forced to choose between his new life and the one he left behind.
“What if you were the only person who remembered the Beatles?” is an idea ripe with creative possibilities. Unfortunately, Yesterday only scratches the surface of what this might entail. It’s much more comfortable as a heartwarming story about a man coming to terms with his artistic limitations and figuring out what comes next. From that perspective, the Beatles stuff only gets in the way.
Every time the plot returns to Jack performing another classic, I can just hear a studio exec complaining, “Sure the couple’s adorable. But what’s the hook? Where’s the trailer moment that’s gonna sell tickets?” To me, that adorable couple is the hook. When the overly ambitious plot calms down and simply focuses on Patel and James being charming – and their fantastic chemistry – it’s a far more enjoyable movie.
That’s not to say Yesterday is bad; it’s just conflicted. There’s plenty to appreciate, aside from the amazing music, of course. That includes a breakthrough performance from cinematic newcomer Patel, as well as James using sorcery and sheer force of will to transform a thankless role into the film’s emotional center. The supporting cast is also outstanding, packed with scene-stealers like Kate McKinnon as Jack’s blunt, icy handler; Joel Fry as his dopey roadie; and Ed Sheeran, proving he’s a good sport by playing a smarmy, egotistical version of himself.
In short, Yesterday is fun, but ultimately disappointing because it’s trying to be two separate movies at the same time. As incredible as the central premise is, it ends up destabilizing a much more intimate and poignant story, preventing the narrative from answering the most compelling questions it poses.
Grade: B-
Blu-ray Review: Cinderella (Signature Collection)
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| Courtesy of Disney |
Cinderella, one of Disney’s most iconic films, will be 70 next year, so the studio is celebrating by adding it to the Walt Disney Signature Collection. It hit shelves earlier in the week with a couple of new extras, but this release is mostly just a repackaging of the previous Blu-ray. Still, if you don’t already have a previous version, the latest is a worthy purchase for the historical significance alone.
Even those who’ve somehow never seen Cinderella probably know this version of the story, whether they realize it or not. The earlier interpretations of the fairy tale were much darker, plus Disney’s team of writers invented many of the elements that many people assume have been a part of the narrative all along.
Interestingly, while the hand-drawn animation is gorgeous – as is this Blu-ray transfer – and a welcome look back at a time before CGI, this film helps prove how much viewers’ expectations and attention spans have evolved since the mid-20th century. Although the running time is a seemingly brief 75 minutes, the leisurely pacing and bare-bones story combine to make for glacial viewing experience.
When I sat down to watch Cinderella with my eight-year-old daughter, she lost interest quickly. (Full disclosure: so did I. Send your angry messages to the e-mail address below.) Part of that could be that the classic moments we remember (the Fairy Godmother, the Royal Ball, the famous songs, etc.) don’t really arrive until the halfway point. Until then, it’s all buildup and wheel-spinning; it’s a much more episodic narrative than I remember from childhood. Still, the film is unquestionably a classic due to its place in cinema history, as well as its massive influence on society since 1950.
As Diane Disney Miller (Walt’s daughter) points out in one of the bonus features, Walt Disney Productions’ finances were significantly diminished following World War II. If Cinderella wasn’t a massive hit, there’s a real chance the company doesn’t become the cultural behemoth we know today.
You can draw a straight line from the film’s cash flow to the studio’s economic and creative renaissance over the next decade, which includes the development of those beloved theme parks. There’s a reason Cinderella has such a prime piece of real estate in the middle of Disney World – she helped pay for it.
Special features: Trivia featurette; “In Walt’s Words” enhanced version of the film; intro from Diane Disney Miller; four behind-the-scenes featurettes; “The Art of Cinderella” section; and song clips.
Grade: B-
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