I must admit that as an eighth-grader growing up in Northwest Alabama, it was not until John Lennon was killed on Dec. 8, 1980, that I put together that John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr were actually The Beatles.

After hearing scores of Beatles and John Lennon songs over the few days after Lennon’s death, I bought my first Beatles album. Within a few weeks, I had another. The trend continued—years later, I have a Beatles poster in my office and a shelf of Beatles books. So I must confess that you could probably smear chimpanzee feces across a canvas to Beatles music and I would probably at least tolerate it if not enjoy it.

But Across the Universe, a vibrant musical directed by Julie Taymor, gives the viewer an entertaining visual and audio experience to keep up interest for two plus hours. And once again, it illustrates how The Beatles are simply the best band ever. With songs sung by various cast members and done in many styles, the brilliance of the music and lyrics still comes through.

That doesn’t mean the movie was brilliant, although it wasn’t bad. At times it seemed trite or certain things seemed forced to fit the Beatles’ theme. The main characters, for instance, included Jude, Lucy, Max (as in Maxwell), Sadie, Jo-Jo, and Prudence, all names found within Beatles songs. And minor characters, likewise, included Dr. Robert, Mr. Kite, Martha, Julia, and Rita. (I never noticed an Eleanor, Michelle, Mean Mr. Mustard, Pam, Rocky, or Bungalow Bill.)

The story is set amid a backdrop of the late 1960s in which the main characters all end up in Greenwich Village amid the counterculture movement. A cast of virtual no-names all give solid performances as Jude (Jim Sturgess) falls in love with Lucy (Evan Rachel Wood, who actually does have a few known acting credits). Lucy’s brother Max (Joe Anderson) and Jude are best friends. Living with them in a dilapidated apartment in the Village are singer Sadie (Dana Fuchs), guitarist Jo-Jo (Martin Luther McCoy), and the flakey and shakey Prudence (T.V. Carpio). But Max receives his draft papers and finds himself fighting in Vietnam. Lucy becomes embroiled in the war protest scene while she and Jude drift apart. Sadie goes solo and leaves Jo-Jo behind, and Prudence, well, she’s still flakey.

We follow their adventures amid the backdrop of Beatles songs to see if any or all of the Greenwich Village gang get back to each other. Along the way we have fun performances from Bono as Dr. Robert and Eddie Izzard as Mr. Kite. The special effects are good, the choreography and costumes superb, and the overall flow of the film moves along nicely.

As one who is not usually a fan of musicals, this one had enough whimsy, heart, and drama to make me a fan. And, of course, it offered 33 Beatles songs.

Unless you absolutely hate musicals, hate the Beatles, or hate anything to do with the 60s, you might as well give Across the Universe a try. Maybe in the end you’ll find that all you need is love.

Tim W. Jackson sometimes feels like a real nowhere man, sitting in his nowhere land, making all his nowhere plans for nobody.