'Yesterday': A Fanciful Tribute to the Enduring Power of the Beatles' Music

This is turning out to be quite a summer for moviegoing fans of legendary British music. First Rocketman, the whimsical biopic about the life of Elton John, was released to general critical acclaim, and now Yesterday, a comedy that imagines a world that has forgotten The Beatles, is playing at a theater near you.

So on its opening weekend, I decided to see for myself if Yesterday was as promising as the trailer made it appear. And as a general warning, the details regarding a case of very specific mass amnesia in the film should not be examined too seriously or you’re bound to find issues with the story. However, if you go along for the ride in this fanciful tribute to the enduring power of the Beatles’ music, I have a feeling you’ll enjoy it as much as I did. And here’s why.

It has an intriguing premise

One day Jack Malik is a struggling singer/songwriter on the verge of giving up his dream and the next he’s the only person on earth who remembers the Beatles song catalogue. The briefest of global power outages has apparently erased the existence of the Fab Four from the collective consciousness of the planet. (Remember: Just go with it!)

At the moment of the blackout, Jack was hit by a bus. Once released from the hospital, his best friend tries to cheer him with a replacement for his guitar that was smashed in the accident. Jack decides to break it in with that old chestnut, "Yesterday", which amazingly none of his friends have ever heard. (Perhaps being knocked unconscious during that Y2K-like event may explain why the Beatles still exist for him.)