Sorry, this movie sucks

Pretty Good

From my favorite movies..

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

Anyone who lived through the early days of U.S. Beatlemania--as I did--should enjoy "I Wanna Hold Your Hand". The movie is a very vivid recreation of an outrageously hysterical event: The Beatles' first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show, February 9, 1964.The plot concerns several young women whose dream is to see The Beatles at Ed Sullivan's studio in New York. Most of the early part of the film deals with the fans attempting to break into the Beatles' hotel room, the second half shows the girls attempting to gain admission to Sullivan's show. There are some fairly slow spots about 3/4 through the film, but the climactic scenes about Ed Sullivan are very fresh and funny.The cast is fine, including Will Jordan with his on-target impersonation of Sullivan, and the actresses playing the fans (Nancy Allen, Wendie Jo Sperber, Theresa Saldana, etc.) are just wonderful. Nancy Allen's adventures in the Beatles' hotel room--with her cuddling Paul McCartney's bass guitar and "harvesting" hair from a hairbrush--are hilarious and absolutely priceless.Just about everything clicks in this funny, happy film. Whether you remember February 1964 or not, it's well worth seeing.

I love the scene between Nancy Allen and Paul's bass. It is hysterically funny, and amazingly erotic. Beyond that, the film is a loving homage to the Beatles, to their music, to Beatlemania, and to the 1960s, generally. The hysteria of the kids, the hostility of the parents, and the desperation of so many to cash in on the new phenomenon that was the Beatles is captured hilariously, and I think, with some accuracy. Like "American Graffiti," this film has going for it a great script that is complemented by direction that is nostalgic, even sentimental, without being sappy or preachy. It also captured young and talented actors and actresses on the verge of great success.

** I am writing this review having just heard of Wendie Jo Sperber's passing from breast cancer today. Her performance as Rosie, the Paul obsessed teen, was absolutely priceless. I hope fans of this film will take a moment to remember her and her work to help others.** I Wanna Hold Your Hand was a movie that came and went very quickly in 1978. For the life of me I can't understand why. I saw this film a year or so later on HBO and thought it was one of the funniest movies I had ever seen. It is about a group of friends trying to score tickets to the Beatles first performance on the Ed Sullivan show in February, 1964. Each person has their own reason for wanting to be there, and the storyline follows each one as they try to reach that goal. The period detail is excellent, even down to having WINS radio personality Murray the K playing himself in a cameo. The young cast does an excellent job of pulling us into their world and helping us feel what it must have been like on that Sunday in February. I must add that, contrary to an earlier reviewers claim that there were not many Beatle songs heard in the film, there were in fact many songs represented. Obviously, in 1964, there were only about two dozen songs available to the public and most of them are in there.While I found this film to be extremely entertaining, viewers not as familiar with this period of the Beatles history may miss out on some fun. There are innumerable "in" jokes and references that will go over some heads. However, as a movie it stands by itself. I still laugh in the same places I did almost thirty years ago, and still find something new with every viewing. If you are in the mood to relive a little nostalgia or need a good laugh, give this little movie a chance. I'm sure most of you won't be disappointed.

I'd never thought I'd see this film again.I first saw this film on what used to be the old "Movie of the Week" program on ABC. I'd never heard of the film, but a Beatles' "revival" of sorts was sweeping the nation; courtesy the Stars on 45 remixes, that were being broadcast all over radio at the time. "I Wanna Hold Your Hand" was shown in that spirit.Why this film failed at the box office I'll never understand. Even with a low marketing budget one would think that word of mouth would've helped boost this film's profits. Myself, I laughed when I saw the cleaned up version aired on television, circa 1979 or 1980. I caught sections of a rebroadcast some years later on another station, but had never managed to see it in its entirety again until now.Now I own a copy on DVD, and laughed all over again at the adventures and misadventures of an eclectic group of young people trying to see the fab-four. The humor is witty, physical and intelligent, and the general overall feel of the film catches the period that was the early-mid 1960's when the Beatles shot to stardom, and then onto legendary icons. And the portrayal of the fans is spot on. Seeing the throngs of screaming teenage girls brings back memories.Overall the film is very good, but again, as per my previous comments on other films, this film was made in a time when movies were made for everyone, and the audience was more adult not just in age but in attitude. This being so there're a couple of off color remarks made by the characters, but nothing with the fervor nor frequency of today's excessive use of same abusive language.Do yourself a favor and help give this fantastic movie new life by renting or buying it. Relive the 1960's and Beatlemania! You won't regret it :-)