Man on the Run

Grade: B

Plenty has been said about The Beatles, whether it be from books, fictional movies, or documentaries. I’m old enough to remember when The Beatles Anthology first aired. We taped it off regular TV, and I watched it so much I can still quote it, and could detect the differences/additions when we got the expanded 8 VHS set in stores a year later. I’d wondered if Man on the Run would be The Beatles Anthology Again, But With Wings This Time. It’s a different enough beast. It never cuts to video of present day interview footage, which was rampant in The Beatles Anthology, to a distracting level. You never knew where Paul McCartney would be. He’s on a boat, or around a campfire, or sitting in the stands of a sports arena, while the lighting runs through color schemes on the stage in the background. Man on the Run wisely keeps all that to audio only. Instead of seeing him in all these outlandish locations, we just listen to what the man says.

After The Beatles broke up, Paul McCartney found himself back at square one. He didn’t have to work again, but wanted to. With his wife Linda, friend Denny Laine, and a revolving door of musicians, he formed Wings. His intention, bless his naive heart, was for Wings to be like a band where everyone was equal and nobody was more important than anyone else. But come on. There was no getting around it being Beatle Paul and his New Backup Players.

All the while, he had to deal with the aftermath of the divorce from the best band there ever was, or will be. Legal entanglements and personal/professional animosities reared their mop-topped heads. The back cover of Ram has a picture of two beetles copulating, signifying Paul’s feelings of being screwed over by his former band mates. He would drop subtle pot-shots at them in his lyrics. Not all of those words were actually about them, but if John Lennon so much as perceived that they were, his retaliation was worse than the original offense. He would come back with lyrics, and sometimes whole songs, that were unambiguous attacks. In Lennon’s “How Do You Sleep,” he sings “the only thing you did was Yesterday.” In what sounds like a sound bite from 80 year old Paul, he offers a humorous retort. “The only thing I did was Yesterday? Let’s see, there’s also Let it Be, Hey Jude, Eleanor Rigby, The Long and Winding Road…” – followed by the well-known two word phrase. I love hearing him cuss.

Not all of it was negative. Sometimes the rivalry was healthy. As they both described it, they’d “scare each other” into doing something musically great. The Band on the Run album was a big “I’ll show him” to John. I think “Let Me Roll It” is one of the coolest songs ever written. I’ve had the pleasure of belting that one out with him three times. Apparently, John Lennon really dug his song “Coming Up,” from 1980. The Beatles: After the Breakup is an awesome book of interview quotes from John, Paul, George, and Ringo – taken from 1970 on. I’ve read it so many times, and there’s a fascinating contradiction that has stuck with me for 30 years. In 1972, Paul said “We’re not friends. We just know each other.” Then, in 1976, he said “None of us are enemies by a long shot.”

Paul states in the movie that he’s very grateful that he and John were able to make peace before his death in December of 1980. The famous story of the two of them almost crashing Saturday Night Live but deciding not to at the last minute is recounted here. Ringo has a funny moment in backstage footage after Wings’s Madison Square Garden show in 1996. While escorted to the party room after the concert, he walks in with his arms behind his back, pretending to be handcuffed, while yelling “It’s ok! I know him! I know him!”

It was a pleasure to get to know Linda better than ever before. A reporter asks Paul “When did you realize Linda could sing?” Without missing a beat, he replies with “On our wedding night.” People were critical of her voice. I always found it grating on “Long Haired Lady” from Ram, as much as I enjoy the album. There, it’s more talking on pitch than singing. However, towards the end, she lends a harmony on the best version of “You Are My Sunshine” I’ve ever heard. It’s an acoustic trio between Paul, Linda, and Denny Laine. She is lovely, with a quirky sense of humor. “Weird in a cute way” is an expression I once heard. She and Paul were the loves of each other’s lives. I think they would still be married now.

Morgan Neville (Piece by Piece, Won’t You Be My Neighbor?) is a perfect choice to direct. He depicts Paul’s Tokyo drug bust by featuring an iconic scene from The Great Escape. The rhythm of Steve McQueen’s tennis ball bouncing off his cell walls is flawlessly interspersed with the intro to “We’re Open Tonight” from Back to the Egg. Man on the Run is a fun watch, to be sure. McCartney, perhaps, gives Wings too much credit by implying that they succeeded in following The Beatles. Actually following The Beatles? That would be something.

Grade: B