I Wanna Hold Your Hand follows a group of fanboys and fanboyettes who put all modern day internet fan communities to shame on a journey to meet their idols. There's a lot of screaming, shouting and overall hyperactivity with its lightning fast, 1930's-like repertoire and I watched the entire film with the biggest smile on my face. Crazy over the top comedies like these are my forte and I Wanna Hold Your Hand is one of the most energetic I've ever seen. The film begins with Ed Sullivan (Played by Ed Sullivan look-a-like Will Jordan) on the set on his own show off air introducing the movie Patton style, setting the stage for just how big The Beatles had become by January 1964. This was only three months after the assassination of JFK but this is never mentioned in the film. The film shows how Beatlemania provided an escape from the real world.Wendie Jo Sperber and Eddie Deezen (a voice forever implanted into my head from years of childhood exposure on Dexter's Laboratory) as Rosie and Ringo (as he calls himself) are the two most hyperactive of the cast members. I find it adorable that these two, one a social outcast and the other puppy dog eyed time bomb being brought together through their insane Beatles' worship; especially when Rosie tells Ringo, "You're the only boy I feel I can really talk to". Likewise Pam Mitchell's (Nancy Allen) scene in which she invades The Beatles' hotel room as she strokes and licks Ringo Star's guitar neck is erotic cinema at its finest (she even takes off her engagement ring and puts t into her shoe beforehand, nice touch). The cinematography really puts a lot of emphases put on that guitar neck only for Ringo himself to later comment that it's covered in sticky stuff, sexy. I'd do the same thing as well, not with The Beatles but there are other celebrities of whom I was in their hotel room I would be rubbing my face against everything they've touched and don't lie, you would too. I Wanna Hold Your Hand also features Paul Newman's daughter Susan Kendall Newman in her second of three film appearances. Her character of Janis is introduced complaining to the manager of a record store that "all I see around the store is Beatle albums. What about Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, don't they get equal floor space?"; back to the USSR for you Ms. Frankfurt School. It seems every generation has their socially righteous trying to ruin everyone's fun although the movie does manage to make her into a sympathetic and more likable character as the film progresses. The film even gives significant attention to Beatles' haters. One of the film's greasers Tony (Bobby Di Cicco) hates The Beatles so much he abuses Beatles' fans and even attempts to sabotage their appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show; talk about haters gonna hate. The other stroke of genius is while we do see The Beatles they are never shown in their entirety. Rather the film takes the Ben-Hur Jesus approach in which only the bodies are seen but never the faces. If they actually did cast actors to play The Beatles in which we see their faces it would take you out of the film. There are even shades of American Graffiti present in I Wanna Hold Your Wand with its early 1960's setting, young people, rock music and cars.I Wanna Hold Your Hand marked the directorial debut of Robert Zemeckis. Like in Zemeckis' Forrest Gump years later, I Wanna Hold Your Hand combines fiction surrounding a historical event. Much of the film's cast being reunited the following year in the comically less successful 1941 (directed by Steven Spielberg) despite also being written by Zemeckis and Bob Gale. I've always considered Zemeckis to be a much better director than Spielberg. I Wanna Hold Your Hand captures that feeling of having such a strong devotion to something. As you become increasingly attached to these characters you feel that if they really did miss The Beatles performance on The Ed Sullivan Show then their lives really wouldn't be worth living.

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."

I love the scene between Nancy Allen and Paul's bass. It is hysterically funny, and amazingly erotic. Beyond that, the film is a loving homage to the Beatles, to their music, to Beatlemania, and to the 1960s, generally. The hysteria of the kids, the hostility of the parents, and the desperation of so many to cash in on the new phenomenon that was the Beatles is captured hilariously, and I think, with some accuracy. Like "American Graffiti," this film has going for it a great script that is complemented by direction that is nostalgic, even sentimental, without being sappy or preachy. It also captured young and talented actors and actresses on the verge of great success.

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 ****