Don't Believe the Hype

A waste of 90 minutes of my life

Blistering performances.

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

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.

This is not for the younger crowd (unless you are a big Beatle Fan) a very,VERY funny but affectionate spoof of Beatlemania insanity, it's not an actual spoof of the Beatles in fact it pays homage to their enormous talent, just the sleazy side of the music biz.The video and a lot of the jokes are a bit dated but although the costumes and re-creations of the original merchandise are really good the best thing about this parody is the AMAZING music, Neil Innes sounds just like John Lennon and their original songs sound exactly like the Beatles. The lyrics are hysterically funny and I think Lennon gets the worst of the ribbing especially on songs like "Cheese & Onions". George Harrison fully backed the project & makes a few small appearances and put up a lot of his own money to back the project.I used to play Rutles tracks at parties and night clubs and people thought they were bootleg or unreleased songs, I mean they really liked them.

When I first saw this about 25 years ago, I had only recently discovered Monty Python and was captivated by the mature, wry humor prevalent in their work.The Rutles, a mockumentary which takes a rather satiric look at the phenomenon known as the Beatles, is an excellent vehicle for Eric Idle with a stellar supporting cast from some of his Monty Python pals as well as cameos from the likes of John Belushi and Gilda Radner. These two cameos alone make it worth the price of admission.It is obvious that the Beatles are the object of Idle's scorn but it is by far one of the funniest parodies to come along in a long time. I was thrilled to see it has been released on DVD and if you are a fan of wry, British, humor coming from the likes of Idle, you are definitely in for a treat! A must have!!

This hilarious parody of the Beatles goes all out, portraying songs such as "Can't Buy Me Lunch" and "Tragical History Tour". It's the sort of thing that could only come from Monty Python (with a little help from the "Saturday Night Live" folks). I can imagine - apologies to John Lennon - that they had fun making this; it probably gave Rob Reiner some ideas for "This Is Spinal Tap".Anyway, "The Rutles: All You Need Is Cash" is not to be missed. You'll never stop laughing. Starring Eric Idle, Michael Palin, George Harrison, Ron Wood, Mick Jagger, Bill Murray, John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd and Gilda Radner.