I Wanna Hold Your Hand (1978) User Reviews

Just simple fun

[MarioB · 8/10 · 5 June 2000]

I never heard of that movie in 1978! I saw it a few years ago and I was asking myself why I never heard of that film in 1978! This is not a great comedy movie : just plain fun and entertainment, in a very creative and honest way. Even if there's some cliche (the old-fashioned rocker of the 1950's, the beatnik girl, the cars) I think it captures very well the Beatlemania in a teenage 1964 point of view. Young actresses are very good and comedy situation are pleasants. I also love the idea of hearing only the voices of the Beatles, and showing only their feet, as if they were adultes in a children comic strip. I have this on tape - thanks to PBS! - and I watch it once a year, just for smiling.

Historically Accurate and Very Funny!

[mrb1980 · 8/10 · 4 July 2009]

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.

A Definite Must See For Any Beatles Fan!{Spoilers!!}

[Cosmic_Cre · 8/10 · 25 March 2004]

I have always been a massive Beatles fan for as long as I could remember, but I have to admit that after seeing this film, my love for them went to an even higher level.

Let me explain... now, I'm what you would call a late generation fan. I wasn't even THOUGHT of in 1964 because at the time, my mom was only 10 and my father was 12. So, with that said, I don't know anything personally about Beatlemania or what this performance meant to the nation at that time or what it was like just being a teenager during this time. That is, until I watched this movie. Watching this film and the antics of these characters is possibly the closest I will ever come to experiencing first hand what Beatlemania was like. It was like I was an unofficial member of this group of kids as they are trying desperately to get tickets to see the Beatles live on the Ed Sullivan show, all this starting by them trying to sneak into the Beatles' hotel.

I loved that Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale made a wonderful dynamic by NOT making all the characters involved Beatles fans which made the film that much more believable. Let's face it... as popular as the band was then(and now), they did have a great number of detractors and they were brilliantly represented in this movie by Susan Kendall Newman as politically driven, Janis who feels the Beatles are nothing but meaningless drivel and Bobby Di Cicco as macho greaser, Tony who thinks they just suck, period. Their presence was a great contrast to the rest of the cast, especially Wendie Jo Sperber as the sweet, cherubic Rosie, the most fanatical of the bunch that at one point of the film, she literally throws herself from a moving car just so she can get to a phone booth to win Beatles tickets on a radio call-in contest. The rest of the cast is rounded out by Nancy Allen as Pam, a bride-to-be roped into this adventure against her will and ends up having fortunate luck of accidentally ending up in the Beatles' hotel suite; Theresa Saldana as Grace, the career minded, future reporter who wants exclusive pictures of the band and will do anything(literally) to get them; Marc McClure as Larry, who has a crush on Grace and is willing to do anything to help her achieve her goal and Eddie Deezen as Richard who is Rosie's equally fanatical partner in crime as they reek havoc throughout the hotel.

Another thing I thought was a great direction taken by Zemeckis and Gale was to use Beatle sound-a-likes, not look-a-likes and to have the guys' faces hidden. This decision was terrific for this reason: the casting director could have auditioned actors until the cows came home and NONE of them would have been good enough to play the Fab Four. None. Thank goodness Robert and Bob realized that the power just in the Beatles' voices and music was enough not only to be the soundtrack of the film, but allowed we the audience to imagine the real Beatles instead of insulting us by making us accept four actors that would have most definitely paled in comparison to the real thing. I feel that even attempting this would have seriously cheapened the film and wouldn't have given it the impact that it has. It almost has the feel of it being a sort of time capsule and most certainly shows us the difference between hearing about what happened from someone else and being there. The film made me feel like the latter, like I was actually there.

So, long story short, the movie is a must-see for any Beatles fan. It'll make you relive the energy and excitement of Beatlemania or if you're like me, who was not around during this time, will show you first hand exactly what it was like.

What a cute movie!

[San Franciscan · 2 April 2002]

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...

She Loves You, Yeah Yeah Yeah

[bkoganbing · 7/10 · 12 April 2009]

The most important thing about the Beatles arriving in America in January of 1964 to appear on the Ed Sullivan Show is not even mentioned in I Wanna Hold Your Hand. The fact is we were a nation in mourning with our young president slain. The Beatles coming to America was the first thing as a country we got any kind of excited about.

I Wanna Hold Your Hand is the story of four young teen girls from New Jersey, Nancy Allen, Wendy Jo Sperber, Susan Kendall Newman, and Theresa Saldana and their quest to see the Beatles up close and personal and maybe get tickets to the Ed Sullivan Show. They inveigle young Marc McClure who is the son of a funeral director in their town to use his limousine, the better to get up to the hotel the Liverpool Lads are staying at. They also pick up Bobby DiCicco who hates the Beatles as foreigners and who are taking the place of his idols the Four Seasons. He's on a mission of his own to halt the broadcast by fair or foul. As history tells us he failed, but you got to see what intervened to prevent him from carrying out his task.

Best in the film is Wendy Jo Sperber, the Beatlemaniac on steroids. She is hilarious in her attempts to get to her Fab Four. Most annoying in the film is Eddie Deezen the nerdy kid she teams up with in her quest. I mean he comes off like SuperNerd, his lack of social graces is painful to watch.

Pieces and whole songs from The Beatles are heard throughout the film, fans will love it. Robert Zemeckis who directed and wrote the film had a real feel for those crazy times in New York in 1964.

Amusing, nostalgic hysteria...

[moonspinner55 · 6/10 · 1 October 2005]

Group of girlfriends scheme to see The Beatles when they come to New York City to appear on Ed Sullivan's television program in 1964. Fresh, fast-paced representation of obsessed fandom, coupled with canny recreation of an nostalgic era. Unfortunately, the story has nowhere in particular to go in the third act and resorts to ridiculous slapstick. Still, for the first three-quarters of the way, a very bright, sometimes exhilarating feature which never found its audience (the majority of the press it generated was in regards to Steven Spielberg's co-producer association). The young cast is quite good, though they are sometimes encouraged to overdo it. **1/2 from ****

It's Better Than You Might Think

[IrisNo11 · 10/10 · 4 August 1999]

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!

Fun flick

[on_the_can · 6/10 · 8 April 2009]

The most remarkable thing about this movie for me is the fact that it made me feel nostalgic for an era I was never even part of. I'm a classic rock fan so the Beetles aren't anything new to me although I'm far from a Beetlemaniac, yet I some how missed the '60's while watching this.

It also made me nostalgic for a forgotten era of comedy. This movie is not hysterical...but it's a fun story involving several intertwining characters and plots that you care enough about to stay interested. All in all it's a very entertaining film. We don't seem to get too many of these anymore. I'm a huge fan of Apatow films and others of the like, those movies have far more laughs per minute than "I Wanna Hold Your Hand" but will they still be entertaining 30 years from now? Who knows? Only time will tell...but this one's been time tested and I was pleasantly surprised by it.

With Eddie Deezen as a Beatlemaniac, what could go wrong?

[lee_eisenberg · 10/10 · 25 November 2005]

As someone who never experienced Beatlmania when it first started, "I Wanna Hold Your Hand" helps me experience it as best as possible. The plot centers on some teenage girls who want to see the Fab Four on "The Ed Sullivan Show" in 1964. But the movie's highlight is geeky Eddie Deezen as Richard "Ringo" Klaus. His performance alone pretty much carries the movie. Of course, the movie's real star is the music. With all of the Beatles' songs, there's never a dull moment in the movie. Also really funny is Bobby DiCicco as Beatle-hating Tony Smerko; he has some great scenes. It's hard to believe that Robert Zemeckis started here.

As an extra note, many of the cast members appeared in "1941" the next year. Needless to say, Eddie Deezen played the same sort of character.

Fantastic.

[afonsobritofalves · 7/10 · 5 October 2018]

One of the best comedies ever. "I Wanna Hold Your Hand" is one of the best films ever made by Robert Zemeckins, a true masterpiece. Highly recommend.

Not humorous, not interesting, and not unique

[blott2319-1 · 4/10 · 15 January 2022]

Back in the late 70s and early 80s it seems there was a big draw for movies like I Wanna Hold Your Hand. Essentially films like this boil down to the crazy misadventures that all take place over the course of one night as all the teens struggle to make their way to a particular place or event. In this case it is a journey to the Ed Sullivan show in order to see the Beatles perform live. I wasn't really connecting with the humor of this film, as a lot of it seemed to be built on us laughing at the obsession these girls had for the Beatles. It just wasn't something that struck me as all that funny. Eddie Deezen is in the movie for some extra "comic relief" playing the same character he always played, and frankly that exaggerated nerd persona has worn thin for me. There's even one kid who has a vendetta against the Beatles, and I have no idea why we're supposed to care about his struggles to spoil everyone else's fun.

The highlight for me was actually Nancy Allen stumbling into the Beatles' room. I thought that was an entertaining way to show how someone who didn't seem all that excited about the band could freak out when they got closer than they ever planned to get. I didn't care all that much about her upcoming wedding, though. I think that's the biggest problem I dealt with when watching I Wanna Hold Your Hand, I simply wasn't invested in seeing these girls attain their goals. It all seemed a bit unimportant to me, and I was also surprised by the way they were so readily able to access tickets to this highly exclusive event from multiple sources. I wonder if the movie was more focused on a single girl, or if all of them stuck together, I would be more invested in seeing them reach their goal. But as it is presented, I simply wasn't crazy about I Wanna Hold Your Hand. It was about as effective as a comedy for me as the impersonators in the film were at emulating Ed Sullivan and the Beatles (i.e. Completely ineffective.)

If you were a teen girl in the '60s - A MUST

[blanche-2 · 8/10 · 7 January 2012]

"I Wanna Hold Your Hand" is the hysterical story of young girls who want to see the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan Show, and the lengths that they go to achieve their goal.

Nancy Allen, Teresa Saldana, and the late Wendy Jo Sperber are the three crazed girls in this 1978 film, directed by Robert Zemeckis, who also helped write the script. The film also stars Bobby DiCicco, Eddie Deezen, and Marc McClure.

The film covers the events of February 9, 1964, the day the Beatles made their American debut on The Ed Sullivan Show. Rosie (Sperber) is determined to get into the show and is constantly looking for phone booths whenever Murray the K is giving away tickets if you can answer questions such as, "Which Beatle is left-handed?" She winds up meeting Richard "Ringo" Klaus (Deezen) who is a nearly insane Beatles fanatic who has taken over a room in the hotel without the hotel's knowledge. Pam Mitchell (Allen) is engaged and rather disdainful of the whole thing, but gets swept up in the events; Grace (Saldana) hopes to start her photography career by getting backstage, but the guard wants a bribe. Janis Goldman plays a protester who thinks the Beatles are a corruptive force in the world of art.

"I Wanna Hold Your Hand" is heavy on slapstick, but much of the slapstick is very funny the way it's done. The best part of the movie for me is that all the things these girls do, many girls in New York City no doubt tried with as much conviction and passion. And the film captures perfectly the insanity that ruled the teen girl population of New York that day. The only thing not shown is how they screamed during the entire Sullivan show -- there is a dog act with no attendant screaming. Mitzi McCall and Charlie Brill could not hear one word of their skit which was overpowered by screams.

On a sad note, two of the stars met with tragedy. Teresa Saldana was badly injured in a knife attack. She was able to resume her career and founded Victims for Victims, devoting much of her time to helping survivors of trauma. Wendy Jo Sperber died of cancer at the age of 47. Both of them, along with the rest of this fine cast, give wonderful performances.

If you're a baby boomer, this is a great film for you to watch and relive the innocence of the time and the Beatle furor. If you're not, it's a fun, charming movie.

Frequently Excruciating With Bouts of Brilliance

[jay4stein79-1 · 7/10 · 7 February 2007]

I don't love Robert Zemeckis; he always seemed a shadow of his sage and master, Steven Spielberg. Oscar wins or not, he's simply not as talented as his teacher. That being said, he's had some seriously, delirious high points (Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, Contact, and Back to the Future), but the rest of his oeuvre is, well, cloying at best (Forrest Gump) and atrocious at worst (What Lies Beneath). He's a capable mid-level director who was rocketed to superstardom by his association with a true master of the cinematic artform (though, truth be told, Spielberg has missed the mark on numerous occasions).

In any event, one could view I Wanna Hold Your Hand as a microcosm of Zemeckis's entire career--frequently excruciating with bouts of brilliance. Where are the lows? How about the saccharine reiterations of the three four central female characters. For the first 45 minutes, the women are defined by repeated phrases that beat into the audience's brain their too-flimsy characters. Rosie loves Paul, Janis loves folkies, Grace wants to take some photos, and Pam wants to get married.

Ultimately, the arcs for the former three characters follow predictable patterns. With Pam's storyline, however, Zemeckis finds the heart of this film and creates a lasting tale that, more or less, makes this movie recommended (though not necessarily essential) viewing.Pam's conflict is fairly straightforward until she finds herself in the Beatles' suite. Then something interesting happens--she does something to a guitar that, well, I don't want to mention here for fear of having the post deleted. She cowers in front of that guitar and she shudders. Later, she clenches the hem of her dress in tightly wound fists between her thighs.

What Zemeckis finds between Pam's legs is the nascent youth movement of the 1960s. Pam's running away from her betrothed at the end of the film to the Beatles and that funny feeling causing her to quiver, demonstrates the shift from the cleancut, conformist ideals of 1950s America to what would become a more liberating--sexually and emotionally--period in the late 1960s. The Beatles were at the forefront of that youth movement and, here, the rumblings of the movement are present.

What Pam reveals in this movie is among the most emotionally and sexually truthful representations of that turbulent decade. I credit Zemeckis for his willingness to not ignore the sexuality inherent in Beatlemania, and I credit too Nancy Allen for an amazing performance. It's a real shame she's never received the recognition she deserves (for this movie, Blow Out, and Dressed to Kill).

The rest of the movie, though, is hysterical, in the late-19th century definition of the word. Mostly, it's a lot of wailing and gnashing of teeth. Bobby Di Cicco turns in a performance that is worth seeing, as he's able to find, by movie's end some level of truth in Smerko's character. And then, of course, there's the overzealous Eddie Deezen's overacting, which is shrill beyond all reason. It's rare to find a performance that strident and, at the same time, ingratiating due to the actor's prowess for physical comedy (again, his physical shenanigans are, well, overblown, but I somehow found them riveting).

All in all, this movie really isn't a seven--it's probably a six at best--but I cannot shake those scenes of Nancy Allen nor do I want to. They're probably the most wonderful moments Zemeckis ever contributed to celluloid. For that it gets an extra point.

mistake to scatter

[SnoopyStyle · 4/10 · 19 February 2016]

The Beatles are coming to America to perform on Ed Sullivan's show. In New Jersey, engaged Pam Mitchell (Nancy Allen), Grace Corrigan (Theresa Saldana) and Rosie Petrofsky (Wendie Jo Sperber) are eager to go. Janis Goldman (Susan Kendall Newman) intends to protest their bad music. Grace recruits Larry Dubois (Marc McClure) for the limo from his family funeral business. They are joined by irreverent delinquent Tony Smerko (Bobby Di Cicco). They arrive at the hotel surrounded by a mob of young girls. The group scatters as they try to sneak into the hotel. Rosie finds Beatles collector Richard Klaus (Eddie Deezen).

It's a wild wacky time as the teens try to get to the seminal cultural event. The problem starts with the fact that not all of the six characters are friends. This disparate group is itching to come apart and that's exactly what they do. In fact, they scatter into six single individuals. The missing aspect of this wacky misadventure is friendship. The movie concentrates on the crazy hijinx but without the friendship, I don't care. The story could split the group but it needs to keep some of the kids together. The movie fails to deliver the relationships.

A Masterpiece

[Brainy-2 · 6 November 2000]

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 Wanna Hold Your hand (1978) **1/2

[JoeKarlosi · 7/10 · 8 February 2013]

I WANNA HOLD YOUR HAND was the first film directed by Robert Zemeckis (it was also produced by Steven Spielberg). It's a fictional comedy that plays on a winning idea of having a group of New Jersey teenagers traveling into New York City with the goal of meeting The Beatles on their historic first trip to the United States, one early February weekend in 1964. Their adventures will take them right up to the momentous Sunday Night TV appearance of The Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show. The young actors here include: Nancy Allen (she plays an engaged girl who's too mature to get involved by something as trivial as The Beatles); Theresa Saldana (an aspiring reporter looking to snag exclusive photos of The Fab Four); Susan Kendall Newman (Paul Newman's daughter, playing a folk music lobbyist looking to expose the saccharine Beatles); Wendie Jo Sperber (a wildly obsessed Beatlemaniac who's in love with Paul); Eddie Deezen (bespectacled "geek actor for all seasons" with a serious Beatles addiction); and Bobby DiCicco and Marc McClure (two guys along for the ride who don't care much for the English quartet but tag along anyway to get the girls).

The movie is quite a distant cousin away from the classic American GRAFFITI. It's a wild day out, and its comic style includes a good dose of slapstick pratfalls and the like. Nerdy Eddie Deezen is at the center of most of the silliness, but Wendie Jo Sperber is well suited to her role as the biggest female Beatles Nut of the group. Theresa Saldana's character is a tad more interesting and complex, and Nancy Allen gives one of the better performances I've seen from her as the conflicted bride-to-be who feels herself helplessly switching allegiance from her fiancé in favor of John, Paul, George and Ringo. (The Beatles themselves only appear in the movie via old film clips; stand-ins are used and photographed from behind in key moments). Murray the "K", the original DJ who documented the Beatles' every move in New York, comes back a dozen or so years after the fact to recreate his old persona. Impressive is that none of the film was actually shot in New York, but the sets and subbing locations fooled me for many viewings until I ultimately found out it's actually California. A favorite scene capturing the a sign of those times centers around a younger boy who sports a moppish Beatles-like haircut, admonished by his typically conservative dad.

Finally, I wish to add that the most recent 2004 DVD release from Universal is not the best way to experience this movie. I had been pretty familiar with the film from seeing it several times on VHS, but that version was issued in the much preferred audio format of MONO. The 2004 DVD has since remixed the sound to an undesirable 5.1 arrangement which now almost completely drowns out the accompanying music soundtrack which consists of many vintage Beatles classic recordings, taken from the actual records. They were intended to be heard in the background more prominently right along with the spoken dialogue, but are now toned down whenever people are speaking to the point where you can barely decipher anything that's accompanying the talking. **1/2 out of ****

Enjoyable but forgettable

[JoeytheBrit · 6/10 · 23 September 2008]

A lot of reviewers have wondered why this film wasn't a box-office success when it was released back in 1978, and I think the reason was because, although it's enjoyable enough, it is largely forgettable. Low budget movies like this rely on positive word of mouth but it's four days since I watched it and I've only watched one other film since yet the memory of this one is already growing hazy. Then again, it might just mean that Alzheimer's is setting in early or that I shouldn't have had that last beer while watching…

The macguffin here is tickets to the Ed Sullivan show back in 1964 in which the Beatles appeared. Zemeckis recreates a believable facsimile of that period when the world was on the cusp of a social and sexual revolution – a revolution embodied by Nancy Allen's character whose sexuality is awoken by one of the Beatles musical instruments in the film's one memorable scene and whose liberation is affirmed by her decision to ditch her commanding boyfriend.

There are some funny moments here and the film's cheerful attitude just about carries it through the less funny moments – which grow more frequent as the film progresses. Of the young cast, Allen was the only one who went on to any sort of sustained fame which is a surprise as, apart from Eddie Deezen, they all manage to avoid being annoying or reverting to stereotype.

You'll probably enjoy this one while you watch it, and it will obviously mean more to those who were around when the Beatles first became famous, but it won't take long to fade from your memory.

Teens go ga-ga over moptops

[helpless_dancer · 10/10 · 31 March 2002]

One of the funniest comedies I've seen in years. These teens went way beyond the call of duty in order to see the Fab 4 and their antics were truly hilarious. An absolutely perfect story showing the enthusiastic excitement of Beatlemania; including loads of old Beatle songs and a ending which was just right. What a trip!

Really Fun!

[behai-62593 · 7/10 · 15 August 2022]

The sometimes predictable plot and at times meandering story line is all made up for in the last twenty minutes when they all get to see The Beatles! I have to admit, when that one girl gets out of the car and ditches her fiance saying that she's gonna see The Beatles I got a little choked up.

It also makes up for those things with a good cast of characters. All of the characters have concise motives and all know exactly what they want (or THINK they know).

If you're a fan of The Beatles you're sure to have a good time! Even if the movie doesn't offer the most challenging of content.

What a Fun Movie

[beatleman6 · 10/10 · 1 December 2005]

** 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.

Manic and energetic fun

[davidmvining · 7/10 · 9 November 2020]

Ensemble pieces are hard, and Robert Zemeckis lands one pretty well with his very first movie. The newest wunderkind and protégé of Steven Spielberg got his first movie with Universal on the promise that Spielberg would finish the film if Zemeckis didn't work out. Well, work out Zemeckis did, going on to a long film career that includes several classics. Working with his friend and writing partner Bob Gale, Zemeckis started his career with this feature film that pointed to a lot of things he become rather well-known for and what made him such an enduring voice in popular American film.

It's 1964 and The Beatles are coming to America to appear on The Ed Sullivan Show. A group of teenagers in New Jersey has made it their mission to get to New York just to get close to the new rock group whose music is sweeping the nation. Among them are Pam (Nancy Allen) who is due to elope and become a married woman the very next day, Janis (Susan Newman) hates the Beatles and wants the world to realize it along with her, Rosie (Wendie Jo Sperber) who is a Beatlemaniac and knows everything about them, and Grace (Theresa Saldana) who wants to get an exclusive picture of the Beatles to sell to the local paper and get her started as a photographer. Each character has very clear desires and motives for getting them to New York and eventually into the audience of the show, a hallmark of Zemeckis' later characters. They are all clearly defined with well-established desires all revolving around a single MacGuffin. It's a roller coaster ride, and it works quite well.

So, they convince Larry, the son of the local funeral director, to borrow his dad's limousine so they can get close to the hotel and inside, one step closer to the Beatles. As soon as they're in New York, though, the group begins to splinter, and that ends up being where a lot of the fun is to be had. One of the joys of Robert Zemeckis' filmography is the clockwork method he plots everything. Introducing a lot of small things early that end up playing out later, the movie is a jigsaw puzzle that throws everything up in the air and then assembles it intricately in order on the fly. Pam accidentally hides in a cart that goes into the Beatles' room while they're out and, alone with their instruments and things, she lets out her Beatlemaniac, eventually getting caught and gifted a ticket to the show. Janis takes Larry around trying to get a kid a hair cut so his father will give him the three tickets he has for the show in return. Rosie meets up with a male Beatlemaniac and they bond over their mutual love but fight because the other isn't as big a Beatlemaniac as the other, coming together in the end because Rosie wins a pair of tickets on the radio. Grace ends up pretending to be a prostitute to get the $50 she needs in order to pay off the stage hand who's going to let her in the stage door, but she hides in the closet instead and jumps out with her camera while the John is with the real prostitute, getting her $50 through extortion rather than prostitution.

As this varied group of stories all come together, the movie really picks up steam. One complaint about the film is that the first hour feels surprisingly calm for what seems to be a madcap adventure, but that goes out the window as soon as the wheels really start moving to bring everyone back together. The movement of characters through the plot up to that point is consistently entertaining, just lacking the madcap energy one might expect. The group of friends all end up coalescing at that theater, seeing each other as they charge in for that seminal performance, it really feels like the audience is in very sure and even practiced hands.

None of these characters are particularly deep, largely defined by individual character traits and goals, but that sort of approach to character building can work quite well for an ensemble piece. Everyone is gathered around a single thing and they all want to get it for their different reasons. The differences provide new flavors while the single thing provides cohesiveness to the entire exercise. It's a balancing act that is rather amazingly achieved by first time director Robert Zemeckis.

It's a fun film that uses body doubles amusingly to recreate the Beatles' prime time performance. Energetically acted and with a really entertaining third act, it represents Zemeckis' confident first step into feature filmmaking.

What a bunch of pathetic unimportant characters.

[mademoiselle_end · 3/10 · 14 March 2005]

I rented this film on a spur of the moment thing. I saw it in the comedy section of my local video store and thought, oh a film about The Beatles and their fans, this ought to be a gas. Wrong.

The historical footage is very well integrated in the film. You never see the faux Beatles up close and you see the "real" Beatles on various TV sets and so on. That's good.

Now that the only good element of the film has been taken care of, let's go explore the bad points. First off: the characters! My God are they common, stereotypes and annoying! Okay, we all expected girls to cry, to yell, to shout, to faint. Fine, but did they all have to have such powerful annoying voices? And i think about the main character here, Miss Rosie.

It's an easy slapstick adventure, when people fall constantly, stupidity rules and luck has everything to do with the movie.

There are very few Beatles songs in the film, and it seems it's always the same ones that play over and over again. I don't want to continue, this is bringing me down.

Don't rent this unless you're deaf.

The Beatles take America by storm

[Woodyanders · 8/10 · 29 July 2019]

February 9, 1964. Pandemonium erupts in New York City when the Beatles show up in town to perform live on "The Ed Sullivan Show." Six teenagers from New Jersey all find themselves caught up in the ensuing frenzy as they all try to get in to the studio to see the Fab Four.

Director/co-writer Robert Zemeckis and co-writer Bob Gale capture with tremendously winning wit and verve the infectious joy and excitement of Beatlemania in the mid-1960's: Zemeckis and Gale recreate the 60's period setting with great affection, the zippy pace rarely flags for a minute, the tone remains breezy and lighthearted throughout, and the humor for the most part is quite sharp and on target, with only the last third succumbing to some rather overdone slapstick. Moreover, it's acted with considerable zest by an enthusiastic cast: Karen Allen as the smitten Pam Mitchell, Bobby Di Cicco as surly greaser Tony Swerko, Marc McClure as the bumbling Larry Dubois, Theresa Saldana as the perky Grace Corrigan, Susan Kendall Newman as uptight buzz crusher Janis Goldman, Wendie Jo Sperber as the raucous Rosie Petrofsky, and the gloriously geeky Eddie Deezen as hardcore Beatles fanatic Richard "Ringo" Klaus. Will Jordan provides a spot-on uncanny impersonation of Ed Sullivan while Dick Miller has a nice sizeable role as the gruff Sgt. Bressner. Donald M. Morgan's vibrant cinematography gives this picture a pleasing bright look. Terrific soundtrack of choice Beatles songs, too. A total hoot.

"We want the Beatles! We want the Beatles!"

[classicsoncall · 5/10 · 15 December 2020]

Well, this will bring you back to the hectic days of the Beatles first trip to New York and America, but unless you were around for the hysteria, this picture offers only a pale imitation. When I saw the DVD in one of my local libraries in the Just Arrived section, I thought it was a brand new release, so it was more than a surprise to find out that it was from 1978 with nothing new to add to my knowledge of the Fab Four. In fact, I even recognized actress Wendie Jo Sperber from her stint on the TV sit-com 'Bosom Buddies'. She's the most rabid of her female contingent intent on seeing the Beatles up close and personal, leading the charge as teenager Rosie Petrofsky. I hate to say it, but most of the characters in the story came across as annoying to me, none more so than smarmy Tony Smerko (Bobby Di Cicco) and that goofball Richard 'Ringo Klaus (Eddie Deezen). I did get a kick out of the Ed Sullivan impersonator, I think in a pinch, Will Jordan could have almost passed for the real deal.

The thing about recreating the event on screen is that you can tell that the screaming girls in the Ed Sullivan show audience were acting. If you see actual clips of The Beatles at the time, you'll realize just how frantic and out of control their female fans really were. Fainting and crying were just for starters, and you'll get a good sense of that if you catch the 2016 documentary "The Beatles: Eight Days a Week - The Touring Years". Speaking for myself, like many teens of the era, I was glued to the TV that night of February 9th, 1964, because even though I didn't know it yet, The Beatles would wind up impacting music and entertainment in a way that no one could conceive of at the time.

I hate to be too harsh on the picture for viewers who might not have been around when the Beatles first hit our shores, but this film just didn't do it for me. There are plenty of Beatles documentaries out there that offer a much better perspective on the impact they made on music and culture of the era. About the only authentic carry over from the Sixties in this picture is the presence of Murray the 'K', popular disc jockey from radio station 1010 WINS. And for those in an even more nostalgic mood, check out the $3.98 price tag on that Beatles first album!

The 60's and the Beatles

[Petey-10 · 1 March 1999]

When you think about the 60's, what do you remember from that decade? The Beatles of course! And this movie tells about the 60's and the Beatles. And there are these American teenagers who just have to see this British group called the Beatles. And what would be a better way to see them than go to Ed Sullivan show, where the Beatles perform.And believe me, it's not going to be that easy. I Wanna hold your Hand is a great movie with great actors. Although this movie was made in the 70's, it shows you what the 60's was all about.