This is a great film. It works if you have a sketchy knowledge of The Beatles because it doesn't rely on obscure references or in-jokes but equally if you do have a nerdy knowledge of the Fab Four (as I probably do) then it is never simplistic or inaccurate. Knowing how possessive and geeky Beatles fans can be, that's quite an achievement.
There are superb Beatles pastiche songs by Neil Innes from The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band and hilarious cameos from George Harrison, Mick Jagger, Bill Murray, John Belushi, Michael Palin, Bianca Jagger, Roger McGough, Paul Simon and Ronnie Wood- some as themselves, some as minor characters. There are superb one-liners from the pen of Monty Python's Eric Idle ("Many fans burnt their albums, many more burnt their fingers attempting to burn their albums", "He was supposed to have been killed in a flash fire at a waterbed shop", "In the midst of all this public bickering, "Let it Rot" was released as a film, an album, and a lawsuit") and the whole thing is brilliantly authentic. The Beatles Anthology, the real documentary which followed probably twenty years later and is also exceptional viewing, can't help but look like this and that's a great testament to the direction of Eric Idle and Gary Weis. The budget might have been miniscule (it certainly looks like it) but it hardly matters, there is enough invention and intelligence here to make it all worthwhile.
The only real negative is that the film, sadly, peters out. The frantic pace of the gags in the first three quarters of the film appears unsustainable and it doesn't help that they are parodying a relatively sad period and slower, more introspective songs. It's hard to write a pastiche of something that was fairly ridiculous to begin with and the Maharishi stuff, the Magical Mystery Tour and the slow-motion bust up are all tip-toed around in the least satisfying segment of the film. Swapping references to late sixties drugs like LSD and marijuana for tea just isn't very funny, is it?
But it's still fantastic, second only to the mighty This Is Spinal Tap. 8/10
