'Yesterday' - Another Richard Curtis Feel Good Fantasy Romcom

 

People are going to see Yesterday for its curious premise--what if no one remembers The Beatles except for one person? And that person can claim their songs as his own?

Once in a while, we get movies celebrating the timeless music of the best British band ever. May it be in a musical like Across the Universe, starring Jim Sturgess and Evan Rachel Wood, or a drama like I Am Sam, where the soundtrack is filled with Beatles covers. It's been a while since those movies came out so I think it's just right about time another movie with The Beatles gets made.

But Yesterday is more than The Beatles. It's about life and love that rings true to some of the band's songs. And it's written by Richard Curtis!--the man behind movies like About Time and Love Actually, and the man who wrote rom-com classics like Notting Hill, Bridget Jones Diary, and Four Weddings and a Funeral. Based on his work, the man seems like he loves music as much as he loves movies. He is even one of the executive producers of Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, and Yesterday is not the first time he used 'Yesterday' in one of his films. Remember Bean? He also wrote it!

This is the guy that made some of the most collectively life-affirming movies, and Yesterday is just an addition to his credentials. It's also directed by one of the most stylish directors there is Danny Boyle, who's always good at incorporating music in his movies. Yesterday included.

United International Pictures

Then again, it's more than just the music, and the premise. It's not even just about the nature of stardom and the consequences that come with it. The movie always falls back to love. The love between  Jack Malik (Himesh Patel), an aspiring singer-songwriter, and his manager slash childhood best friend, Ellis (Lily James). Their dynamic is nothing extraordinary especially in Curtis' standard, that's why the unimaginable side premise about the wiped out history is earned.

The film tries to mix these two contrasting things together, that sometimes, the fantasy aspect overpowers the romantic one. Himesh Patel and Lily James as Jack and Ellie are cute, but we are also interested on where Jack Malik's claim of The Beatles song would end up on. Especially when Himesh is joined by a funny Ed Sheeran playing as himself who's also struck by Malik's "songs", and Kate McKinnon, who steals most of the scenes she's in even if her character is verging on caricature as Jack and Ed's agent. Not to mention Patel's singing voice and guitar chops are impressive, that it makes us want to watch more of the music than focus on the central love story.

But with The Beatles, one can never go wrong, really. However shocking and out-of-this-world the film can be. And overall, the film is just simple, tender and really sweet. Sometimes, we forget about its loopholes as long as it teaches us things about life and it makes us feel good about it. At the core of Yesterday, it's really about that and as corny as this may sound, it teaches us that all we really need is love.