My neighbor knows what a huge Beatles fan I am, so he asked me a couple weeks ago if I had seen this movie. I told him I had heard about it but hadn’t had a chance to watch it. He said, “It’s not bad…” Well, I’ll be the judge of that!
Paul McCartney Really Is Dead is listed on the IMDb (International Movie Database) as Documentary/Fantasy/Music. This should be the first clue that something just isn’t right about this film. A documentary and fantasy? I believe we call that a ‘Mockumentary’…which brings to mind images of Spinal Tap or Desperately Seeking Paul McCartney.
The story line of the film is that in 2005, a package from London containing two mini cassettes and recorder showed up at Highway 61 Entertainment’s office. The package had no return address. The voice on the tape claims to be none other than George Harrsion, making a confession that Paul McCartney really did die in a car accident in 1966. (Note: the subtitle of this film is ‘The Last Testament of George Harrison? (yes, with a question mark!)) The voice on the tape then narrates the rest of the film as he explains the circumstances around Paul’s death and the ensuing cover-up.
Believable? Maybe to the young and the gullible who, unlike us Beatles freaks, haven’t grown up hearing the tall tales of ‘Paul is Dead’. The movie actually does a pretty good job of putting together all the clues about Paul’s untimely demise that could supposedly be found in the Beatles album covers and lyrics. And I actually found that part of the movie informative since I had never heard ‘all’ the clues. But the ability to find this movie entertaining came crashing down when the stories of how ‘Faux Paul’ ended up married to Linda Eastman and Heather Mills were discussed. At this point, I let out an audible laugh and felt the film became a comedy.
Because of this films ability to show new Beatles fans all the album and lyric ‘clues’ that obsessed fans found to support the tall tale of Paul’s supposed death, I gave this movie a bit of a higher rating.
I rate this movie: 2 out of 4 Beetles
Beatles-Freak's Reviews 