I did it. Despite the advice of a trusted movie friend, I watched the musical, Across The Universe. This was a leap for me, you see, because other than Grease, I have hated every musical every produced.
I even hate musicals I’ve never seen. Why? I don’t know. There are some foods I hate that I’ve never tried. I know I hate them but I then I feel I’m being silly and try them. Guess what? I hate them. With musicals, most (heterosexual) men seem to feel the same way. They hate them.
This is what makes me think there is something called the Gay Gene. We could call it the Musicals Gene to be more PC.
I’m getting way off point because the point of this post is to rave on Across The Universe. Yes, it’s a musical, and my Musicals Gene is definitely turned off but this is a musical full of Beatles tunes. Nothing but Beatles tunes. This is not your ordinary musical.
Beware, however. Every musical is not without its excessively gay moments. And this one is no exception. There’s plenty of dancing and choreography and flaming sequences that make you wonder … wtf?
But even though those gay moments exist, I feel I must point out … this is one damn good musical where the Beatles’ music is, at times, better than the original. John and Paul were amazing writers but they only had a certain range to their voices. Across the Universe shows just how great the Beatles’ songs were/are by pushing them beyond anything previously produced. Some cuts are utterly amazing and will haunt you for weeks. You might even forget how the originals are arranged.
Just grit your teeth through the flaming dance sequences and you’ll enjoy the movie.