My dear readers: With apologies for the lengthy radio silence, this Mother's Day weekend I offer my takes on a pair of streaming options: Let It Be and the Idea of You.
Spoiler level here will be mild.
First on my weekend agenda, a restoration of the maligned 1970 Beatles documentary, Let It Be.
A disclaimer: The Beatles are my whole life, and I debated whether to watch the new Let It Be. I remember being traumatized by the movie's depiction of strife within the band when I was a kid, but - with the context provided by Peter Jackson's Get Back documentary, and with an adult understanding of the complexities of adult relationships - I hoped the film might hit differently. I'm pleased to say it absolutely did. The members of the Beatles often were at cross-purposes during this time, but their disagreements seem much less the focus of the movie than I remember. Truly, the film spends most of its time on the birth of now iconic songs from the Beatles' Let It Be and Abbey Road albums, culminating on the rooftop with their final live performance. It is not a particularly well-crafted documentary, especially in light of last year's Get Back, but it is an important piece of Beatles history, and I'm grateful to see it restored for the next generation of Beatlemaniacs...and the next and the next.
On the heels of Get Back, Let It Be feels like the CliffsNotes version of this story, but you can't go wrong with 90 minutes of Beatles music.
Of a possible nine Weasleys, Let It Be gets seven.
Let It Be is now streaming on Disney+.
Next on the docket, the May-December romance the Idea of You.
A young pop star and an older art museum owner become romantically involved.
A qualifier on this one, too: A rumor persists that this film is based on a Harry Styles fanfiction. I refute this picture based on it being sourced from a Harry Styles fanfiction that is not Tired Tired Sea. However, Anne Hathaway is a perpetual favorite of mine, and Nicholas Galitzine is a new favorite of mine, and the movie is free on Prime, so who am I to say no?
The Idea of You is a big ol' cliche, or, more specifically, a bunch of littler ones. There are a many cringey artistic choices (the lingering stares physically hurt me), and more cringey dialogue. The film survives on the charm of its leads, but even this much charm barely gets it off life support. It's certainly not something I could see making it to the big screen in "the before times."
There are no surprises in the Idea of You, but maybe when you settle in with a movie like this you want comfortable more than surprising. Of a possible nine Weasleys, the Idea of You gets four.
The Idea of You is now streaming on Prime Video.
Until next time...
