Of all the movies I ended up watching today, this was the last I expected to nearly send me to sleep. I love a lot of Richard Lester’s work as a director (Robin and Marian, The Bed-Sitting Room, even Superman II), and of course I love The Beatles, but I always had a hunch I wouldn’t be crazy about the band’s ventures into film, and that’s why it’s taken me so long to see this. That hunch didn’t extend to some of the awfulness on display here, though.

I hasten to point out maybe it’s ‘cos my mind was still consumed with the issues put forth by The Corporation, ‘cos I don’t want someone biting my head off for not liking their favourite movie or something – but I barely cracked a smile through the whole thing. The worst thing in the movie, the “clean” grandfather character, feels like the cliché annoying character who always appears in a long-running TV show just when you’re beginning to love it. When they finally play music, it seems even better than ever, placed as it is in juxtaposition with the non-acting and awful jokes. Maybe that was the point … I doubt it. There’s simply not enough of the music, especially during the only decent portion of the film, its finale; and even that’s interrupted by old grandad coming up out of the floor.

Just give me the soundtrack, thanks. Even better, give me “the remake”, lol – Spice World – I surprise even myself to say I’m totally serious there.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, January 18th, 2006 at 6:15 pm in 2 hearts, Movie Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.