Reptileenbu Did you people see the same film I saw?

Teringer An Exercise In Nonsense

Brendon Jones It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

Michelle Ridley The movie is wonderful and true, an act of love in all its contradictions and complexity

bkoganbing 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.

on_the_can 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.

JoeytheBrit 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.

preppy-3 This takes places on February 8 1964 when the Beatles first appeared on the Ed Sullivan show. It's about 6 teenagers (4 girls, 2 boys) who want to see them for various reasons. Rosie (Wendie Jo Spreber) LOVES the Beatles; Janis (Susan Kendall Newman) hates them and wants to protest; Pam (Nancy Allen) is along for the ride and is getting married the next day; Grace (Theresa Saldana) is a reporter who wants an interview with them; Tony (Bobby DiCicco) is a hood and Larry (Marc McClure) drives them from NJ to NY to see them. Various complications occur.I'm way too young to remember back then (I was only 1!) but I heard this perfectly captures exactly what it was like back then with the hundreds of screaming girls trying to see the Beatles. The film is full of gags flying fast and furious. Not every one works and the film does have its dead spots (Allen being in their hotel room is kind of silly) but, all in all, this is lots of fun. The cast is young and appealing--Allen and Sperber especially are good. Also Will Jordan doing Ed Sullivan is more than a little amusing and it's always good to see Dick Miller (playing a police sergeant). Unfortunately Eddie Deezen is in this too and I find him completely annoying. Still, this is a must for Beatles fans and anyone who wants a good funny comedy. This was completely ignored when it came out but has since acquired a cult.Scenes to watch for: Jordan's opening talk to staff, a barbershop sequence (you'll know it), the concert sequence at the end (beautifully shot) and listen closely to Jordan's final line. Fast, funny and loads of fun."I want you to be prepared for excessive screaming, hysteria, hyperventilation, fainting, fits, seizures, spasmodic convulsions even attempted suicide--all perfectly normal. It merely means these youngsters are enjoying themselves."