brendanchenowith-66538 As American Graffiti focuses on one night in the lives of a group of California teenagers, I Wanna Hold Your Hand goes across the plains two years later and focuses on A Day In the Life of Beatle-crazed teenagers hoping for a glimpse of the best band in history (their opinion which I share). Released in 1978, the same year as the god- awful Sgt Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band, this does a much better job as an homage to the Beatles and equally deserves the exposure and saturation of the Pepper movie. Wendy Jo Sperber, Nancy Allen and Teresa Saldana are manic fans who travel from New Jersey to New York to catch even the slightest glimpse of their idols while in town to appear on "The Ed Sullivan Show". Pandemonium appears to dog their every step as they try to break into the band's hotel as well as the CBS Studio hosting the live broadcast. Supported by beatnik-folk-purist Susan Kendall Newman, jealous Beatle-hater and Four Season fan Bobby Di Ciccio, obsessive Beatle- geek Eddie Deezen and mild-mannered future Jimmy Olsen actor Marc McClure (see what I did there?) as an unlicensed getaway car driver (actually one of the limos from his father's funeral parlor), the girls fight a never-ending battle for an encounter with John, Paul, George, Ringo, and the American Way (sorry). Seriously, all the leading and supporting actors give this film 110% in hilarity, likability and authenticity. You really want them to get what they want and you're laughing your head off at everything that goes wrong during their exploits. One of the biggest laughs comes early in the film in which Rosie (Wendy Jo Sperber) goes insane and screams at the top of her lungs when she mistakes a life sized cardboard cut- out of Paul for the genuine article. This movie made me think of the Hairspray yet to come at that time, as Rosie's character is what Tracy Turnblad might be like two years after desegregating the Corny Collins Show. Her hair is still straight, although some of it's bunched up in a hideously hilarious looking ribbon. The hysteria, the screaming, chanting crowds, the cop chases, and the pandemonium are all chief ingredients of every John Waters movie. Could it be he might have seen this and it seeped into his subconscious? Finally, I think this movie, this film, this cinematic comedic masterpiece (and yes, I'm as obsessive a Beatles fan as they were) should be reissued through the Criterion Collection as it paints a very accurate as well as affectionately satirical picture of Beatlemania on "Sullivan Day". Music licenses were a lot less expensive to acquire in 1978, and this may not be the case these days, with the Beatles now enjoying a higher level of popularity than when they were a band. This wasn't the case in the late 70s, and the Sgt Pepper movie didn't do them very many favors. In fact, the Beatles were so "over" then, there wasn't much interest in anything to do with them, so the licensing of their music was obtained for...a song (okay, yes I had to say it, very sorry). Hopefully good will triumph over evil and this film will see a remastered release (with a stolen limo full of extras). If you're either a fan of broad slapstick comedy, the Beatles music, or both (as I am), and you haven't seen this yet, try to get yourself a copy whether owned or loaned. You know this can't be bad.

SnoopyStyle 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.

Lee Eisenberg 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.

moonspinner55 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 ****