Rating: NR
Genre:
Comedy
Release Date: 03/13/2001
Dubbed: English
Sound: DD5.1
Run Time: 70 Minutes
Distributor/Studio: Rhino Home Video
A
mockumentary of a
Beatles-like singing group called the Rutles,
The Rutles is a collaboration between
Monty Python alumnus
Eric Idle and
Saturday Night Live filmmaker
Gary Weis. The members of the "pre-Fab Four" are
Nasty,
Barry,
Stig, and
Dirk. There really isn't any plot, just a series of vignettes, unctuously narrated by
Idle, which mercilessly skewer the
Beatles mythology. Under the guidance of agent
Leggy Mountbatten (before he tragically takes a teaching post in Australia), the Rutles rise to the top with such hit songs as
"Please Please Let Me Hold Your Hand" and
"I Am the Waitress." Mention is made of the Rutles' film successes: "A Hard Day's Rut," "Ouch!," "Tragical History Tour," "Yellow Submarine Sandwich," and "Let It Rot." We also see such career highlights as
Nasty's declaration that the Rutles are more popular than God (he meant "Rod," as in
Rod Stewart), the rumor that
Dirk is dead (whereupon
Stiggy starts his own rumor that
he is dead), and
Nasty's unfortunate liaison with a
Yoko Ono counterpart (depicted as a Neo-Nazi dominatrix).
The Rutles gains an added veneer of verisimilitude through the participation of such
rock stars as
Paul Simon,
Mick Jagger, and
Ron Wood, as well as
George Harrison himself, who shows up as a
BBC commentator.
~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
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