Page 30 - aruba-today-20190701

A30 PEOPLE & ARTS
Monday 1 July 2019
'Yesterday' takes a great idea, adds too much sugar

By JOCELYN NOVECK just a few lonely people,
Jack Malik (Himesh Patel) is he tells his childhood friend
a soulful if brooding young and volunteer manager,
man, with a very pleasant Ellie (Lily James), that it's
singing voice. But when over: He's hanging up his
we meet him, the fledgling gently weeping guitar.
songwriter and supermar- But then, something inexpli-
ket clerk from coastal Eng- cable happens. On a bike
land feels stuck in the mid- ride home, the street lights
dle of a hard day's night. go out; Jack collides with a
If he doesn't get any help bus. Awakening later in the
soon, he'll end up a real no- hospital, he learns from Ellie
where man. that the electricity went out
And so, after one more — all over the world! — for
desultory gig attended by 12 seconds.

This image released by Universal Pictures shows Lily James,, left, and Himesh Patel in a scene from
"Yesterday."
Associated Press

He makes a joke about ring, more than any actor, a song by an older man
being 64. Ellie has no idea a slew of classic Beatles about a 17-year-old girl?
what he means. Soon, Jack tunes. What a great idea, And more broadly, what
will realize the enormity of and what questions it rais- would popular music even
what's happened: Nobody es: Would we love those look like in 2019 without a
remembers The Beatles, ex- iconic songs today the half-century of Beatles in-
cept for him. Incredibly, the way we did the first time? fluence?
immense Beatles catalog is Would they be as ap- Alas, these questions aren't
all his, to introduce to the pealing in someone else's really explored in "Yester-
world. voice? Would some of the day," which instead takes
This is the tantalizing prem- tunes soar, and others flop? its enticing premise, sets
ise of "Yesterday," directed Would a post #MeToo it up cleverly, then resorts
by Danny Boyle and star- world accept, for example, to a familiar rom-com for-
mula, assuming that what
New Whitney Houston we REALLY want to know is
whether the boy will get the
remix by DJ-producer girl. This is perhaps not total-
ly surprising given that the
screenplay is by Richard
Kygo released Curtis, a master of frothy
(but undeniably enjoyable)
fare like "Four Weddings
weekend. and a Funeral" and "Love
Houston originally released Actually."
a cover of Steve Win- Curtis obviously knows how
wood's "Higher Love" as a to entertain, Boyle is an ex-
Japan-only bonus track on pert director, and many el-
her 1990 album "I'm Your ements here are charming;
Baby Tonight," but the song there are also winning per-
has been given an upbeat, formances from Patel and
dance remix by Norwegian the luminous James, as well
DJ-producer Kygo. as a self-knowing turn from
The new version of "Higher Ed Sheeran as himself, and
Love" was released digitally reliably effective comedy
on Friday. Winwood's origi- from Kate McKinnon.
nal version was released in But for every laugh-out-
This March 26, 1999 file photo 1986 and hit No. 1 on the loud moment in the smartly
shows Whitney Houston per-
forming at the 13th annual Billboard Hot 100 chart. paced first half, there's a
Soul Train Music Awards in Los Kygo, best known for his sigh later as to what might
Angeles. Top 10 hit "It Ain't Me" with have been. And in what
Associated Press Selena Gomez, will perform will clearly be a divisive mo-
the new "Higher Love" at ment for audiences, there's
Associated Press the PrideFestival Utopia on a gasp-inducing scene in
NEW YORK (AP) — You Sunday in New York City. the final stretch that, for
can dance to a new-ish Houston died at the age of some, will stray way too far
Whitney Houston song this 48 in 2012.q from the comfort zone.q