History Film / AcrossTheUniverse

** One particularly {{egregious}} example of this is "Girl"; though it only uses one verse, the orchestration and out-of-context lyrics changes the song from a lament about [[YokoOhNo a man whose girlfriend's presence is putting serious strain on his social life with his buddies]], to a simple ballad about a lost love.

** Sadie and [=JoJo=] are very obviously [[NoCelebritiesWereHarmed fictitious counterparts]] to Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix. The former's performance of "Helter Skelter" is reminiscent of Joplin's singing style and voice.

* TheCameo: In order: Music/JoeCocker as a hobo, a pimp, and an aging hippy singing "Come Together", Bono as a wacky Creator/KenKesey {{Expy}} singing "I Am the Walrus" (and [[LargeHam ACTING]]), Creator/EddieIzzard as Mr. Kite, and Creator/SalmaHayek times 6 as a [[HelloNurse sexy nurse.]] Except for Salma Hayek, all qualify as [[OneSceneWonder One Song Wonders]].

Also along for the ride are (Sexy) Sadie, their landlady who is also an aspiring singer, Jojo ("was a man who thought he was a loner"[[note]]from "Get Back"[[/note]]), a talented guitarist who makes his way to New York after the events of the 1967 Detroit riot, and (Dear) Prudence, a closeted lesbian who crashes into their shared apartment after running away from an abusive boyfriend. Everyone falls in love and for the hippie scene present there. But the real world intrudes as UsefulNotes/TheVietnamWar wages on, and the political involvement (willing and otherwise) of various members of Jude's TrueCompanions becomes more and more perilous. It threatens to pull Jude and Lucy apart -- she's involved, and he doesn't approve of that part of the movement she's in...

Jude Feeney is an [[{{Expy}} aimless young man from Liverpool]] who heads to America in hopes of finding his absent father, who knew his mother in WWII but had never been told that Jude was born. When the man proves to be something of a disappointment, he falls in with UsefulNotes/IvyLeague frat boy Max (... well's Silver Hammer, not sung in the film) Carrigan. (Max helped him find his dad; Jude helped Max escape campus authorities; it went on from there.) The two move to New York with Max's sister Lucy. Jude finds himself falling for Lucy, who willingly reciprocates.

Jude Feeney is an [[{{Expy}} aimless young man from Liverpool]] who heads to America in hopes of finding his absent father, who knew his mother in WWII but had never been told that Jude was born. When the man proves to be something of a disappointment, he falls in with UsefulNotes/IvyLeague frat boy Max (...well's Silver Hammer, not sung in the film) Carrigan. (Max helped him find his dad; Jude helped Max escape campus authorities; it went on from there.) The two move to New York with Max's sister Lucy. Jude finds himself falling for Lucy, who willingly reciprocates.

-->'''Max''': "''I'm a cross-dressing homosexual pacifist with a spot on my arm?"

** Sadie and [=JoJo=] are very obviously [[NoCelebritiesWereHarmed fictitious counterparts]] to Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix.

Also along for the ride are (Sexy) Sadie, their landlady who is also an aspiring singer, Jojo (from "Get Back"), a talented guitarist who makes his way to New York after the events of the 1967 Detroit riot, and (Dear) Prudence, a closeted lesbian who crashes into their shared apartment after running away from an abusive boyfriend. Everyone falls in love and for the hippie scene present there. But the real world intrudes as UsefulNotes/TheVietnamWar wages on, and the political involvement (willing and otherwise) of various members of Jude's TrueCompanions becomes more and more perilous. It threatens to pull Jude and Lucy apart -- she's involved, and he doesn't approve of that part of the movement she's in...

* BuffySpeak: [[EddieIzzard Mr. Kite]] in his [[BigLippedAlligatorMoment musical number]].

* DomesticAbuser: The guy Prudence was living with when she first got to the village.

Jude Feeney is an [[{{Expy}} aimless young man from Liverpool]] who heads to America in hopes of finding his absent father, who knew his mother in WWII but had never been told that Jude was born. When the man proves to be something of a disappointment, he falls in with IvyLeague frat boy Max (...well's Silver Hammer, not sung in the film) Carrigan. (Max helped him find his dad; Jude helped Max escape campus authorities; it went on from there.) The two move to New York with Max's sister Lucy. Jude finds himself falling for Lucy, who willingly reciprocates.

* FiveManBand:
** TheHero: Jude
** TheLancer: Max
** TheSmartGuy: Lucy
** TheBigGuy: Jojo
** TheChick: Prudence
** TeamMom: Sadie

** The Beatles wrote "I Want To Hold Your Hand" as a straightforward love song. Here, it's a closet lesbian pining for her unrequited crush. It works.

* TheCameo: In order: Joe Cocker as a hobo, a pimp, and an aging hippy singing Come Together, Bono as a wacky Ken Kesey {{Expy}} singing I Am the Walrus (and [[LargeHam ACTING]]), EddieIzzard as Mr. Kite, and SalmaHayek times 6 as a [[HelloNurse sexy nurse.]] Except for Salma Hayek, all qualify as [[OneSceneWonder One Song Wonders]].

** EddieIzzard as Mr. Kite too, [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nxgFfCSGX7Y with the outtakes being a great example]].

* ShoutOut: All over the place.

* SpoiledSweet: Max and Lucy grew up wealthy and privileged, but this doesn't figure much into their interactions with the rest of the cast, whom they care about deeply.

** [[YourMileageMayVary Who said that Hayek wasn't a]] [[OneSceneWonder One Song Wonder?]]

** [[YMMV Who said that Hayek wasn't a]] [[OneSceneWonder One Song Wonder?]]

* DoingItForTheArt: The homage to The Beatles was more important than the plot, hence a few songs and sequences that technically didn't advance the story at all.

* ExecutiveMeddling: Attempted, but failed. The studio decided the original cut of the film was "[[ViewersAreMorons too artsy]]," and re-edited it to better suit mass audiences. However, Julie Taymor had enough clout to make sure she had ProtectionFromEditors in her contract. She made them release her cut without any alterations, and even went so far as to get the studio to destroy all copies of their re-edited version.
* FakeAmerican: Joe Anderson, Max's actor, is actually English.
** Also, Irish-man Bono plays the American Doctor Robert.

Jude Feeney is an [[{{Expy}} aimless young man from Liverpool]] who heads to America in hopes of finding his absent father, who knew his mother in WWII but had never been told that Jude was born. When the man proves to be something of a disappointment, he falls in with IvyLeague frat boy Max (...well's Silver Hammer, not sung in the film) Carrigan. (Max helped him find his dad; Jude helped Max escape campus authorities; it went on from there.) The two move to New York with Max's sister Lucy. Jude finds himself falling for Lucy, and everyone falls for the hippie scene present there. But the real world intrudes as UsefulNotes/TheVietnamWar wages on, and the political involvement (willing and otherwise) of various members of Jude's TrueCompanions becomes more and more perilous. It threatens to pull Jude and Lucy apart -- she's involved, and he doesn't approve of that part of the movement she's in...

* TheCoverChangesTheMeaning: The Beatles wrote "I Want To Hold Your Hand" as a straightforward love song. Here, it's a closet lesbian pining for her unrequited crush. It works.

* {{Foreshadowing}}: With the song "A Little Help from My friends"

* IncompatibleOrientation: Prudence falls for both the cheerleader chick and Sadie during the course of the film. Both are straight, ''and'' seeing someone else. The unrequited nature of her love for Sadie causes her to suffer a Heroic BSOD until her friends sing to her about how beautiful she is and help (literally) coax her out of the closet.

* IvyLeagueForEveryone

* SpoiledSweet: Max and Lucy.

Jude Feeney is an [[{{Expy}} aimless young man from Liverpool]] who heads to America in hopes of finding his absent father, who knew his mother in WWII but had never been told that Jude was born. When the man proves to be something of a disappointment, he falls in with IvyLeague frat boy Max (...well's Silver Hammer, not sung in the film) Carrigan. (Max helped him find his dad; Jude helped Max escape campus authorities; it went on from there.) The two move to New York with Max's sister Lucy. Jude finds himself falling for Lucy, and everyone falls for the hippie scene present there. But the real world intrudes as TheVietnamWar wages on, and the political involvement (willing and otherwise) of various members of Jude's TrueCompanions becomes more and more perilous. It threatens to pull Jude and Lucy apart -- she's involved, and he doesn't approve of that part of the movement she's in...

* TheVietnamWar: Naturally.

* RecycledSoundtrack: The version of "A Day in the Life" used in the film was recorded by Jeff Beck in 1999, being the only cover not original to the film.

* OneSceneWonder: Bono as Dr. Robert, a Ken Kesey {{Expy}}.
** EddieIzzard as Mr. Kite.

* WhatDoYouMeanItsNotSymbolic

* HoYay: "I Want You (She's So Heavy)" might just be the most homoerotic scene in any movie ever. The army recruiters get awfully handsy while singing a song originally about sexual obsession and lust to a bunch of half-naked young men, as Prudence [[{{Gayngst}} gayngstfully]] sings about her own obsession with Sadie.
* GriefSong: "Girl". See CoverChangesTheMeaning above.