Much better than it needed to be

When the Beatles first became stars around the world in 1964, United Artists wanted a film that would allow the company to capitalize on the popularity of the band. Oh, and the folks at United Artists wanted it as soon as possible. Oh, and they didn't want the production to cost much, either.

So, they gave the project to director Richard Lester and gave the man a budget of $500,000 and 6.5 weeks to script and film the thing. While United Artists was, undoubtedly, expecting a quick and dirty little teen exploitation film, they wound up with a movie that exceeded all expectations and is still held in high regard today.

Indeed, Lester could have turned in a perfectly idiotic film that did little more than capture the Beatles playing a few songs, and this movie would have sold well. However, Lester took a thin plot, added in some very dry humor and came up with a winner.

The film is supposed to capture a "typical" 36-hours in the lives of the Beatles. While the events are "typical" in an ideal sense, it's all a heck of a lot of fun, and captures what people imagined the lives of the band members to be like. The members constantly smart-alec around and have fun, all while making it through a demanding performance schedule.

The plot, like I said, is simple -- the Beatles are captured on their way to recording a live concert and going to publicity shots and such along the way. The film starts out with the band being chased by happy fans while the Beatles are on their way to a train. Once eluding the fans, the trouble begins.

You've got Paul's grandfather who has an unfortunate habit of getting engaged and mixing up other forms of trouble. You've got the managers who argue because one is taller than the other (and, of course, John Lennon gives them fits). One of the finest sequences put on film is in this movie and simply involves the Beatles running around in a field while "Can't Buy Me Love" plays. Sure, it's a very simple sequence featuring the Beatles just goofing off, but it's all good fun.

The best line in the film comes at the end of that sequence, too. After the Beatles finished their goofing around, the owner of the field confronted them and angrily proclaimed, "I suppose you realize this is private property."

"Sorry we hurt your field, mister," was the reply from George Harrison. Just amazing.

And then, there's a sequence where Ringo (egged on by Paul's grandfather, of course), declared his independence and left the studio. Ringo's harmless exploits, naturally, landed him in jail put him in danger of missing (gasp!) The Big Show!

Sure, you've got plenty of great songs here that captured the band when their popularity was starting to run out of control. However, putting in some slapstick comedy and portraying the band members as prisoners of their own fame made this film truly fantastic.

Whether you're a fan of the Beatles or not, you owe it to yourself to watch this fine movie. I challenge you to find a better "rock n' roll" movie, in fact.