Award-winning director Danny Boyle ("Slumdog Millionaire") knows how to please an audience, so with this story by Jack Barth and Richard Curtis, he brings us a PG-13 screenplay by Richard Curtis ("Love Actually") about a street busker and part time stock clerk at a big-box store who suffers an accident during a world-wide, 12-second blackout. His good friend and sorta manager is at his hospital bedside when he regains consciousness. Problem is, some of the things he has always taken for granted seem to have never existed, including the Beatles, their music, and Coca Cola!
Part of Boyle's wonderful cast:
- Himesh Patel (Lots of TV) is Jack Malek, suddenly credited with classic Beatles creations because there were no Beatles in this altered universe, even though HE remembers their music. His first attempt to play a Beatles song for his parents (Meera Syal and Sanjeev Bhaskar) is an exercise in frustration.
- Lily James ("The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society") is Ellie, the neighbor, classmate and manager on whom Jack depends. She is stunned by the beauty and simplicity of the song "Yesterday" and thinks Jack has entered a whole new creative phase.
- Alexander Arnold ("Poldark") Gavin is the first person who can sense the potential of the music. He records some of Jack's songs and puts them on the Internet.
- Ed Sheehan playing himself, offers Jack an opportunity to tour with him. He also suggests an improvement to one of the Beatles' songs. You'll smile when he compares his and Jack's song-writing skills to Salieri's and Mozart's.
- Kate McKinnon ("The Spy Who Dumped Me") Debra is the record company agent who advises Jack that she can make a LOT of money for him, then take most of it back.
- James Corden as himself, hosts a TV talk show where Jack is a guest.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
See what I mean:
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Posts
