Smartorhypo Highly Overrated But Still Good

Nessieldwi Very interesting film. Was caught on the premise when seeing the trailer but unsure as to what the outcome would be for the showing. As it turns out, it was a very good film.

Dynamixor The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

Frances Chung Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

jgeorge4 There's a very good reason this movie is so obscure: It's not great.Before you leap down my throat, let me assure you I'm a Monty Python fanatic and a Beatles fan. I love a good mock-biopic (I think "Dewey Cox" is about the best movie ever made).But those of us who turn to "The Rutles," expecting the kind of side-splitting laughter easily found in The Holy Grail, The Life of Brian, Spinal Tap, or Dewey Cox, are going to be pretty disappointed.Is the movie worth watching? Definitely. It's worth an hour of your time just to be amazed by the all-star cast ("Hey, was that John Belushi? Was that Bianca Jagger? Was that George Harrison?") It's really an astounding collection of 70s-era comedy and rock royalty.Additionally, it's worth watching because the music is so amazing. It's amazing how you can subtly combine, retool, and revamp the Beatles' songbook and come out with music that's very appealing in its own right.But in the end, the parody of the Beatles playing live and being all campy starts to wear a little thin, and you begin to see why this movie is so obscure. Go ahead and watch it, but keep your expectations in check.

marieinkpen Oh I love this film. It is very very silly indeed, with plays on words that no longer seem original, but somehow it just doesn't matter. I love Eric Idle. His take on Paul McCartney is gorgeous and he is also wonderful as Stanley J Krammerhead the third, and the presenter himself. Wonderful comedy performances like Gwen Taylor's mother of Leggy Mountbatten, and Jerome Greene's Blind Lemon Pye arguing with his wife - wonderful! I love the songs, which almost seem not like pastiches at all sometimes, and rather wonderful in their own right. Am I dead - or alive? Will my poor heart - survive? I just love it. Wonderful wonderful wonderful! (yes that word again). The perfect cheer-you-up film. And my, wasn't Mick Jagger beautiful once.

secondtake The Rutles: All You Need Is Cash (1978)This might be a necessary rite of passage for those who love the Beatles, or those who love "This is Spinal Tap" and other mockumentaries. Because this set the pattern, and a rather low bar of professionalism, for all that followed. It's not a great movie but it has great moments.Those moments include the extended interviews with Mick Jagger (and to a lesser extent Paul Simon). When each of these people first appear it's a thrill, when the reappear the surprise is gone and you realize the surprise is most of it. That the famous real stars were willing to get in on the gag is a great twist of fictional history.There are also other little snippets--not enough of them, but good ones, like Bill Murray being a crazy (typically) radio announcer, and an odd and overacted scene with John Belushi. Dan Aykroyd and Gilda Radner show up and so even does Bianca Jagger. These are quick and fun cameos, and the more of these the better.Central throughout is Eric Idle, the director and writer, and the one consistency in it all as the traveling reporting telling the documentary tale of the Pre-Fab Four. Some of the camera tricks are really funny, and the general dead pan delivery is good.All of this is great stuff and it's a lot, and if you could make a shorter mockumentary with the cream of the movie you'd have a pretty solid film. What drags it down is partly avoidable, party not: all the songs. We hear a good 15 or 20 Beatles-style homages or send-ups with these four mimics, and it's always interesting for ten seconds, hearing the slight twists to the famous riffs or melodies, seeing how they set the stage (with a little real footage now and then to make it even more real). But it wears thin after a minute, and sometimes the full three minutes is played out and it's just too long. And it happens a lot.It's a fun ride and if you can chill or chitchat during some of the drawn out parts you'll quickly be jerked into attention by some new twist.

Electrified_Voltage I can't remember a time when I wasn't at all familiar with the Beatles, even though I was born sixteen years after they broke up. I certainly haven't been familiar with the Rutles for as long, but first heard of them at a very young age, hearing several of their songs. I remember seeing a bit of "The Rutles: All You Need Is Cash" many years ago (sometime in the 1990s), but just last night, I finally saw the whole thing for the first time, leaving me with somewhat mixed feelings.This film is a mockumentary, telling the story of the Rutles (spoofing the story of the Beatles, of course). The band members are Ron Nasty (based John Lennon), Dirk McQuickly (based on Paul McCartney), Stig O'Hara (based on George Harrison), and Barry Womble (based on Ringo Starr). The film gives us an insight on the band and what they went through during their years together (parodies of the things that happened in the lives of the Beatles during the group's existence), showing a lot of footage and interviews with many people on the band. Some celebrities play themselves, such as Mick Jagger and Paul Simon, and some are played by actors.As I started watching this parody, it looked fairly promising as a comedy, with the part where Eric Idle, as the host, tries to keep up with the fast-moving camera, and ending up having to run in order to do so. I certainly didn't find myself laughing out loud at every single gag (I may not have gotten all of them), but it was far from a completely laugh-free experience, with some of the gags matching the one I mentioned, and maybe even some topping it. The songs, which are all based on Beatles songs, definitely add to the entertainment value, if you're into them. The movie has some lacklustre scenes, but manages to later redeem itself."The Rutles: All You Need Is Cash" was the idea of Eric Idle, formerly of Monty Python fame, who also played Dirk McQuickly in the fictional band. So, if you strongly dislike Eric Idle or Monty Python, this TV special is probably not for you. However, if you're a fan of Eric Idle/Monty Python, and are also a Beatles buff (one who doesn't mind seeing them lightly lampooned), you could find a lot to like in this little parody. If you're a fan of the Beatles' music, you would also probably like the songs featured here (once again, as long as you're not disgusted by the satire, as some Beatles fanatics have been).