This sequel doesn't hold a candle to the original, in fact, at times the attempts at comedy are painful.At times, the low-budget of the film, becomes more than just a joke, it is actually annoying. The film features washed out lighting, terrible audio and rough impromptu comedy that never delivers much punch. I think at times Idle doesn't even have a crew he just stands in front of a cheap video camera, recording himself. It's funny, but not funny enough, for the entire film to be carried that way.It's so bad in spots, that you sometimes think someone could make a parody of how cheap, and fast Eric Idle can punch out product. A parody of the parody perhaps, that's about the only way this film could ever save itself. Monty Python has become so cliché and so formulaic now that it begs for parody the way Star Trek, super heroes and other stale icons of pop culture cry out for it.That's what this sequel is I'm afraid, old, stale pop-culture that just rubber stamps old tricks and dishes it out in liberal, repetitive doses.It's too bad. The original is brilliant. It is a quick, sharp, witty send-up of an era and an industry that needed a solid comedic thrashing. It spanked the rampant consumer hysteria and the fan boy worship of pop idols, but did it with a lot of love and affection for the music itself.George Harrison once referred to the original Rutles film this way: "It was actually the best, funniest and most scathing. But at the same time, it was done with the most love." There's not a lot of love in the sequel, just some cheap, quick cameos, some running gags that never pay off and some really poor sound and video to look at.While my admiration for Idle and Python remains, these guys have become stale. If this film taught me anything, it is that someone needs to make a "Rutles-like" documentary of Monty Python, to remind us all what made them great in the first place.

This complete waste of time seems to be rather badly patched together out of out-takes from the first film, new footage of Eric Idle and a bunch of talking head celebrity interviews.The new Eric Idle footage scores the best and has the most laughs. However, jokes about tight trousers being the reason for the group's success get old and tiresome rather quickly.Much of the celebrity interviews are inexplicable. Jewel fares the worst, seeming like she's not sure if she understands the joke, or if there even is one. Even if the Rutles were a real band I don't see how they could have possibly inspired people like Gary Shandling and Steve Martin. The problem here is that the musicians interviewed aren't funny and the comedians interviewed are out of place. Tom Hanks and Conan O' Brian fare best in gamely trying to play along, but the result is awkward, forced and quite often unfunny.Like another person here mentioned I would like to have seen an update of the Rutles today, but with the Lennon assassination, it would be in poor taste to parody the Beatles post-breakup years. Much of this film feels like it's unfinished, and I wonder if Eric Idle was considering filming new footage and then scaling down the celebrity interviews. In it's current state, it's a sorry mess and it's not hard to see why it sat on the shelf for a couple of years.Stick to the original, and forget this exists.

Most outings from Python alumni are good for at least one good, hard belly laugh. Unfortunately, that is most definitely NOT the case with "Rutles 2: Can't Buy Me Lunch". I'm not kidding. Not ONCE did I laugh. If I'd actually been able to find & purchase this sold-out-at-all-stores-I-went-to travesty instead of borrowing it from a friend, I honestly would've taken it back for a refund or an exchange for something good.Creator Eric Idle had carped about WB leaving this sequel to languish in the vaults "until I should pass away". Trust me, they should have. It's the one time I think "studio wisdom" actually should've been applied. And what REALLY steams me is that I was one of the most vocal lobbyists to get WB to finally release it on DVD. I was mildly worried when one of the two previews on the DVD's official website featured former SNLer Jimmy Fallon.It was nothing compared to the disappointment that was to follow.Instead of treating rabid fans of "The Prefab Four" to new footage of those wacky Liverpudlians & what anarchic mischief they've been up to since The Rutles' demise in 1970, we are fed unused footage from the 1978 -- & highly superior -- "The Rutles: All You Need is Cash", & even most of that was seen in the special features of that DVD. NO new appearances from Neil Innes (Ron Nasty), John Halsey (Barry Wom), or Rikki Fataar (Stig O'Hara) were presented to go along with this inferior rehash of a brilliant mockumentary, which obviously inspired the likes of "This Is Spinal Tap", "Bad News", & "Dill Scallion", all funny & all definitely owing a debt of gratitude to Idle's vision.Shortly after "The Beatles Anthology" was released, Neil Innes & Co. returned to the studio to record "The Rutles Archaeology". Innes contacted Idle to invite him to reprise his role as Dirk McQuickly for the video of "Shangri-La", but Idle turned him down, saying that it'd been done before & he had no time to retread old ground. He should either have stuck to that statement or taken Innes up on the offer. The second Rutles' album was MUCH truer to the original (in some instances, even funnier!) than Idle's movie. Had Idle reprised his role, maybe he would've remembered what made it so funny to begin with.The new interviews (featuring the likes of Tom Hanks, Robin Williams, Bonnie Raitt, Salman Rushdie[?!]) again feature nothing new or humorous. And the whole "trousers" thing? It was (is) funny for the brief mentions in the original, but it feels like it's being beaten to death in the sequel.I wish I'd been that fortunate, either before or after sitting through this. Having survived "Rutles 2", I'll never complain about having to go to the dentist's office again.

Major Rutles fan and have been for many years, way back to the short film shown on SNL (which should have been a bonus feature on either Rutles DVD!). I waited for some time for this film to be released. I was disappointed (very). Basically it was the first film re-told, with out the SNL cast ('cept for Bill "the K" Murray). Yes there were some scenes from the original movie that are shown here for the first time (deleted or un-used takes)- which was k00l to see BUT come on, its the same story. I couldn't believe that the old footage was used with songs from the most recent album- I really thought that we would see the Shangri-La video or the band talking about the new songs, they should have been playing the new songs, if nothing more than at the end of the re-telling of the old film. The first Rutles DVD was a killer original flick, this is just a re-hash (sadly). I thought for sure there would be more NEW Rutles history/lore/comedy and comments on the newest album, heck the little blurb in the paper (when that album came out) had more original humor than Rutles 2..Still a major fan, but discourage any other fan wasting $ on a purchase...recommend Netflix or as a rental (sorry Eric- just telling the truth).