Across the Universe for a Dollar and Fifty Cents

Among the many things I love about being home is the "Dollar Theater" just a few minutes away. It's actually $1-2 dollars depending on the time and day, but still cheap nonetheless. There may be a little stink, and it's a little dirty...but c'mon people. In the land of the privileged, some left over popcorn on the floor still isn't a big deal.

What it did though, was give me the chance to catch the film Across the Universe on the cheap. Musicals are my guilty pleasure, so I was excited to pay for my buck and a half ticket to see it on the big screen (how all movies should be seen).

I liked the film. I'll open with that.

When the actors and actresses, who are largely unknown, are singing, there is a lot to like about this film. They have wonderfully dynamic voices, and its hard to go wrong with a song list featuring Beatles tunes.

I also liked the portions where they went into "art house" mode and went into full-fledged psychadellic scenes that were wildly spectacular and interesting.

It was the in-between moments that disappointed. The "story," if you want to call it that. The characters were under-developed and the story didn't mesh together well. I know that the rules of a musical are a little different, as breaking into a song in the middle of a scene is par for the course. But showing a character who we don't know anything about singing a song about something we don't care about in a place we don't...well you get the point. Too often, the film spends too much time on characters who are supposed to be secondary. I'm sure they could have cut down on their two-plus hour runtime to cut out those scenes non essential to the story.

The film really is in its element in the darker moments, the abstract moments, the artistic moments. Across the Universe is really about the spectacle of it all, so I recommend a viewing just to witness it in all its wonder. Just be patient with the slow parts and the undeveloped story and the movie will be a pleasure to watch.