Yesterday movie review

MOVIE TITLE:   Yesterday 

RATING: PG-13 

LENGTH:   1 hour, 56 minutes 

Movie Review Mom GRADE:  A-

IN A NUTSHELL:

Whether you’re already a Beatles fan or not, you’ll understand why their music was so amazing and game-changing.  Acquiring the rights for the 17 Beatles songs in this charming movie was pretty expensive, but clearly, worth it.  Yesterday is a feel-good rom-com with a twist from writer Richard Curtis of Love Actually and directed by Danny Boyle who won an Academy Award for Slumdog Millionaire.

Himesh Patel shines as the lead.  One of my biggest complaints is why on earth would anyone cast the lovely Lily James in this musical movie and not let her sing?  She was great in Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again and truly special in CINDERELLA.  I just adore her.

TIPS FOR PARENTS:

• • Some profanity
  • Pre-marital “relations”
  • A girl declines a one-night-stand with a guy and says, “It’s not for me.” Nice!  Too bad more girls don’t draw the line at disrespect.
  • Young kids won’t catch all of the Beatles references, like the yellow submarine someone holds up in a scene, or possibly even recognize the songs.  Now is the time to introduce them to the Beatles! You can start with Hey Jude

THEMES:

• “Miracles happen.” – Ellie (Lily James)
• “A world without the Beatles is a world that’s infinitely worse.” – Liz (Sarah Lancashire)
• “Love is all you need.”  – The Beatles

THINGS I LIKED:

• • It was so fun to have Ed Sheeran in the movie.  I really love his music.  This wasn’t his first time acting, as fans of Game Of Thrones: Season 7 (7eps) remember.  In fact, his appearance in the HBO show caused such a stir that he deleted his Twitter account because of the backlash.  We even get to hear him sing in this movie.  He credits the Beatles as his biggest inspiration when he writes songs.
  • I love it when “locals” are invited to be Extras in movies. In the scene where there is a concert on the beach of the Norfolk Town of Gorleston, the residents were the first to be selected as the crowd extras.  Makes sense, right?
  • I love the “Abbey Road” look to the movie poster.
  • The “new” world after the mysterious black-out is missing several interesting and funny things.  I don’t want to spoil it with details, but the audience I watched the movie with laughed every time Jack Googled things people had no idea existed.
  • James Corden and Michael Kiwanuka play themselves.
  • There’s a surprise “cameo” in the movie whose identity has been kept a secret. The actor’s name isn’t even included in the credits, but his presence (who he represents) in the movie was really great.  Look for the word written on the boat in that scene.
  • The actual film was secretly shipped to theaters under the name “Polo.”
  • There is a scene that was filmed in the famous Birkenhead Tunnel, which has also been used in other movies like Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 and Fast & Furious 6
  • There is a lot of humor, which audiences always enjoy, right?
  • Someone suggests that the famous song Hey Jude be changed to “Hey Dude.” Believe it or not, Metallica actually did change those words in their parody album Sgt. Hetfield’s Motorbreath Pub Band
  • Saturday Night Live star Kate McKinnon is always great in her outlandish overacting.  I thought it was funny that, in this “new” world without the Beatles, SNL aired on Thursdays and was known as Thursday Night Live.  ha ha

THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE:

• Seriously, the fact that Lily James didn’t sing really bothered me!  There is about a 5-second scene where she offers a tiny backup vocal to Jack, but that was it.  Not enough!  She had so much more to offer.  I would have been happy with a simple duet with her and Jack.   Hmphhh…
• Don’t overthink this movie.  There are some plot holes if you look carefully, so don’t let them bother you.  Just enjoy the ride.
• Some viewers might be disappointed that the film doesn’t become more than just a rom-com.  It can be more if you just Let It Be.
• Some of the dialogue was snappy and hilarious.  Other times, it was disappointing and cliched.

FUNNY LINES:

• “I’m trying to live outside the traditional construct of time.” – Rocky (Joel Fry)
• “The world’s full of miracles.” – Ellie

“Like what?” – Jack Malik (Himesh)

“Benedict Cumberbatch becoming a sex symbol.” – Ellie

• “You look like Ed Sheeran.” – Jed Malik

“I am.” – Ed Sheeran

“Right.  Well done.” – Jed

• “Gingers and rap, sounds like crap.” – Rocky (Joel Fry)
• “I have a question. Is this the best you can look?” – Debra (Kate McKinnon)
• “The White album has some diversity issues.” – Head of Marketing (Lamorne Morris)
• “So, when did you first realize your son was too good for you?” – Debra

INTERESTING LINES:

• “You’re happy. That means you’re successful.” –  secret cameo person
• “It’s not complicated.  Tell the girl you love, you love her, and tell the truth to everyone you can.” – secret cameo person

OTHER MOVIES LIKE THIS YOU MIGHT ENJOY:

 
Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again

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@TrinaBoice