Themes: Rise and Fall Stories, Ladder to the Top, All Washed Up
Main Cast: Mick Jagger, Paul Simon, Ronnie Wood, Eric Idle, Eric Idle, Eric Idle, Neil Innes
Release Year: 1978
Country: US/UK
Run Time: 70 minutes
Plot
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
Review
You don't have to be a Beatles fan to enjoy All You Need Is Cash, though it certainly helps. Co-writers and directors Eric Idle and Gary Weis ruthlessly and hilariously parody the style of biographical television documentaries, and anyone who has ever watched A&E's Biography will be able to recognize the same clichés more than 20 years down the line. But, just as importantly, Idle and Weis know the details of the Fab Four's career and take tremendous glee in twisting them into new comic shapes, and songwriter Neil Innes has created a handful of songs that brilliantly turn the Beatles' greatest hits inside out (it's a shame more bands haven't had the nerve to cover "I Must Be in Love," "Doubleback Alley," or any of the other songs featured in the film, which happen to be great pop tunes in their own right as well as skillfully executed parodies). But while the touch isn't always light and the tone isn't always gentle (thankfully this was made while John Lennon was still alive and Innes could parody his well-documented mean streak without cries of disrespect to the dead), All You Need Is Cash is satire done with tremendous affection for its subject. It's worth noting that Innes was a former member of the group the Bonzo Dog Band, who appeared in Magical Mystery Tour and whose only hit single, "I'm the Urban Spaceman," was produced by Paul McCartney (under the pseudonym "Apollo C. Vermouth"), while Idle was close friends with George Harrison, who makes a cameo appearance as a reporter. The film also features several contemporaries and admirers of the Beatles, including Mick Jagger, Paul Simon, and Ron Wood, all of whom have been affected in some way by the Beatles' influence. Presenting a bizarro-world version of the biggest and best pop group of all time, All You Need Is Cash is a rock version of a Friar's Club roast -- a sharp poke in the ribs, with love and respect in its heart. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Terence Bayler - Leggy Mountbatten; John Belushi - Ron Decline; Jeannette Charles - Queen of England; Tom Davis; Bob Gibson; Bianca Jagger - Martini; Bunny May; Pat Perkins; Gilda Radner - Mrs Emily Pules; The Rutles; Gwen Taylor - Mrs Iris Mountbatten/Chastity; Frank Williams; Ronnie Wood - Hells Angel; Henry Woolf - Arthur Sultan; Dan Aykroyd - Brian Thigh; Rikki Fataar - Stig O'Hara; Al Franken; Mick Jagger - Himself; Lorne Michaels; Bill Murray - Bill Murray the K.; Michael Palin - Eric Manchester; Paul Simon - Himself; Gary Weis; John Halsey - Barry Wom; Robert Putt
Credit
Peta Button - Art Director, Eric Idle - Director, Gary Weis - Director, Lorne Michaels - Executive Producer, Neil Innes - Composer (Music Score), Gary Weis - Cinematographer, Roger Simons - Production Manager, Gary Weis - Producer, Bruce White - Sound/Sound Designer, Tony Jackson - Sound/Sound Designer, Eric Idle - Screenwriter
