I Wanna Hold Your Hand

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 :-)

There is a scene that takes place about three quarters of the way through this film that is not only one of the ten funniest scenes in the history of movie-making, but probably does even a better job of summing up what the year 1964 was all about than Dr. Strangelove. It involves Christian Juttner, who must confront an evil looking one-eyed barber, and a snake-like pair of electric clippers.

And forget Burt Lancaster & Deborah Kerr on the beach in "From Here To Eternity." For sheer lustful passion, that scene doesn't even come close to Nancy Allen's roll in the hay with Paul McCartney's Hoffner bass.

A flawless masterpiece!

I thought that this was one of the most interesting comedies ever! It's hysterically funny from one point to another about these three young girls who are HUGE fans of the Beatles and would do anything just to see them on Ed Sullivan. What a great idea for a movie. It's amazing! It's one of the greatest films I ever saw, and that anyone can enjoy!

I never saw this until just today--I was afraid it would turn out to be a dumb film like "Beatlemania!" was--but it turned out to be one of the innocently charming films I've ever seen.

I am a big Beatles admirer, but I wasn't around for this particular time period (I grew up with them during the 70s instead). But this film was sure a fun treat to watch! Delightful slapstick, lots of times completely unbelieveable, but who cares? The fun is in watching these very likeable characters (except that annoying nerd who was goofy and funny but not likeakle, and the Beatle-hater who tries to axe the show... LITERALLY) go through their exciting and silly adventure in their attempts to get tickets.

I was really laughing HARD while watching this one, and highly recommend it!

Out of all the characters, the one whom I fell in love with the most was the one young girl who wanted more than anything else in the world to see her beloved Paul McCartney. Long dark hair, just *slightly* chubby, having cute puppy dog eyes and wearing a sweet little pink bow in her hair, I felt so sorry for her. She wanted SO much to see Paul, and it was both funny and terribly heartbreaking at the same time to watch her rush into a phone booth to call the radio station with the correct answer for a Beatles trivia contest and be so anxious with her handful of dimes that she practically *THROWS* them at the phone.

My favorite lines declaring the Beatles one of life's happiest pleasures come at a scene when the bride-to-be is driving with her future husband (who gives the impression with his short onscreen time that he'd be a real CREEP to her!). Check this scene out and listen to her lines, they're priceless to Beatle fans everywhere.

I'm afraid I'm not a good judge concerning whether or not non-Beatle admirers will react so favourably to this one... but if they dig slapstick and watching people go berzerk over such ridiculous things as the everyday napkins celebrities use, they just might. I mean hey, I love the Beatles, but I would NEVER go for the nonsense that goes on here! So for both Beatle fans and non-fans, I think it's safe for me to say that this movie works as both a fun piece of nostalgia and a satirical look of human nature gone wild and how crazy some will go when it comes to beloved icons.

Oh, and I'm sure Paul finds it VERY flattering as well! Hee hee...

A cast of unknowns with a young Robert Zemeckis as director made a movie as memorable as the Beatles themselves! Especially Wendie Jo Sperber, who is the most hysterical of all the fans, and Nancy Allen, who actually gains access to their hotel room at one point. This movie is very funny and it helps if you're an admirer of the Beatles, but anyone would like it.