A musical about 1960s counterculture set entirely to Beatles songs is somewhere between the worst and best idea in the world. JM and I went to see Across the Universe this afternoon. Visually, it's as tasty as the big peanut butter chocolate chip cookie I munched on through the previews, and this isn't just because the three main characters are exquisite (note to Roger Ebert: please, please, please show this film at your festival and get Jim Sturgess to visit C-U!). Anyway, it's downright kaleidoscopic at times.
The main main character (Sturgess) is named Jude, and toward the end I was frantically trying to recall the lyrics to "Hey Jude" so I could know if it would end happily or not. (I hate spoilers just as much as surprises, and so even musicals can be wrenching.) A scene in a bowling alley was definitely my favorite, though some of the other surreal stuff doesn't work so well (apologies to Eddie Izzard), and the trailer, which boils the movie down to all of its references to the Beatles, makes it seem a lot sillier than it is.
I'm afraid though that the world needs a bit more than love. In fact, on the walk back, we revised the lyrics. Mine were "Love is a good start," and JM's were "Love can't hurt." That's probably why I married a marxist.
