Scrambled Eggs

Today's Here and Now [audio] review of Across the Universe, a movie that's as impressive as it is disappointing. (At least they don't have the poor guy sing "Yesterday.") Reminded me of how poorly served T Bone Burnett was in WALK THE LINE: even material this well arranged and produced can't support a flimsy script. And why do we keep returning to this material, feeding on it and shoveling money down its well when nobody's it's never been improved by any other medium, beginning with Frampton Bee Gees nightmare and on through Beatlemania and that sappy Lennon musical and LOVE, the Vegas sellout blockbuster. It makes you yearn for YELLOW SUBMARINE, which at least didn't take itself so seriously. How can Taymor (JULIE TAYMOR!) waste an actor like her old Obie pal Bill Irwin (uncredited)? Why is "Max" (Joe Anderson) such a dead ringer for... Kurt Cobain?!? Can rock, conceived to kill off musicals, ever revive the tired Broadway's form? Does anybody ever want to sit through another choreogrpher who wants to try? It's Eddie Izzard's movie, the rest of them mistake oversinging for acting.