The Rutles have finally come to DVD for a second time, with the long-awaited follow-up to the 1978 Eric Idle mockumentary about the Beatles. Made throughout 2001 and 2002, The Rutles 2: Can’t Buy Me Lunch saw only limited screenings in theaters in 2003, and has been completely unavailable to anyone for the last two years. But finally, now, Warner Home Video is thrilling fans everywhere with a full-scale release of this second trip down memory lane of what was one of the most influential bands ever, The Rutles.

The back story (for those unfamiliar with The Rutles): In the mid-70’s, Eric Idle (Monty Python) and Neil Innes (Bonzo Dog Band, Monty Python’s musical mastermind) created The Rutles, a mythical band that parodied the Beatles, as a skit for their short-lived BBC series Rutland Weekend Television. A few years later, Lorne Michaels, executive producer of NBC’s Saturday Night, made a half-joking-half-serious offer to the Beatles to come on the show and play, for $3000. Of course the Beatles didn’t show up, but this proved to be the perfect way to get the Rutles onto American television. Soon thereafter, Idle hosted the show and brought the Rutles music video “I Must Be in Love” along with him. A year later, while hosting Saturday Night again, Idle invited Innes to play a Rutles song, entitled “Cheese and Onions,” live as the show’s musical guest.

Idle always really liked the idea of The Rutles and the songs that Innes wrote to accompany the faux story. The two Saturday Night performances received an amazing response and Michaels suggested that Idle follow through with a full documentary for NBC, which would provide a sizable budget. Idle, Innes and friend Gary Weis (who had been providing short films for Saturday Night) began working on what eventually became The Rutles: All You Need Is Cash.

The Rutles’ story: The Rutles were a mop-top English pop quartet of the ‘60s who set the foot of the world a tapping with their catchy melodies, wacky Liverpool humor and their zany, off-the-wall antics; they changed the face of music and the world forever. Dirk McQuickly and Ron Nasty, the leaders of the band, were perfectly complimented by Stig O’Hara, the quiet one, and Barry Wom, the loud one, to form a cheeky, heart-warming, lovable, talented group who gladdened the hearts of the world. While playing the Cavern Rutland in 1962, “Pre-Fab Four” were discovered by Leggy Mountbatten, who took a liking to their trousers and completely ignored their lack of musical ability. They went on to produce monumental, musical-milestone albums such as Sgt. Rutter’s Only Darts Club Band and Shabby Road, and smash films such as Ouch! and A Hard Days Rut; they even appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show. The end for The Rutles came suddenly in 1970, as Let it Rot was released as an album, a movie and a lawsuit. Just a few years after they first broke up, host/interviewer and Rutle historian, Melvin Hall, documented the history of a band that graced the world with its presence, then deserted it forever, in The Rutles: All You Need Is Cash.

All You Need Is Cash first aired in 1978 in prime-time and received great reviews, but horrible ratings. A second airing later in the year proved a bit better, but in short, America didn’t understand it and was not interested. In 1983, the film was released on VHS and laserdisc, and with the enthusiasm of the small but dedicated core of fans that had been there from the beginning, the popularity of The Rutles began to grow.

Now that you know all that, fast-forward to the turn of the century, after All You Need Is Cash had successfully gained cult status. Idle decides to revisit the band in another, shorter documentary, in which he poses the question: did The Rutles change the world? Or, did the world change with the Rutles? …or did The Rutles not change, and the world did?

The Rutles 2: Can’t Buy Me Lunch takes Rutle fans on another look back at the mop-topping, foot-tapping happy-go-lucky days of Rutlemania, with all new interviews by David Bowie, Billy Connolly, Steve Martin, Bonnie Raitt, Graham Nash, Gary Shandling, Conan O’Brien, Tom Hanks, Robin Williams and many more celebrities – all who have been minimally effected by the Pre-Fab Four. From legendary concerts to backstage moments, from successful projects to misunderstood flops (notably the Tragical History Tour), from familiar tunes to those that make you fall asleep, it’s all here in another dose of Rutlemania fever. Once again, Eric Idle assumes his role as host/interviewer Melvin Hall and takes a look at just how much, or how little, The Rutles changed the world a long long long time ago…

There are many facets that separate this sequel from the original mockumentary, many ups and many downs. First of all, this second installment of The Rutles’ story is more of a retrospective, rather than a straight linear documentary, which adds depth to the tale. It’s not as sharp as the original and kind of jumps around a bit, but it does tackle a few new aspects of the Rutle history, including their final concert at Candlestick Park in 1966, the effect of curry on the band, and all the shagging. Another big difference, rather than many interviews with made-up historical personalities and a couple of real-name celebrities, Can’t Buy Me Lunch has many real personalities commenting on their memories of the Rutles, and just a sprinkling of faux-identities – which I think is better, since again, this is more of a showing-their-influence rather than telling-their-story film. The real celebrities this time around prove to be funnier in their reminiscing about the Rutles. For songs, there are lots of old favorites, but also the appearance of some newer tunes from the Rutles 1996 album “Archaeology,” a definite bonus as all the new tunes are vibrant and equal in greatness to the first batch.

Idle did a great job in finding and using a lot of unused footage from the original filming. Unfortunately, however, Can’t Buy Me Lunch does use a lot of recut material from All You Need Is Cash, some of which is over-dubbed with new songs – which, to bigger Rutle fans, will seem awkward (i.e. the video we have come to love as “Living in Hope” is used again, but dubbed over with the newer song, “Easy Listening”). However, given that it is obvious that Idle couldn’t shoot new “1960s” Rutle footage (since all the actors are almost a quarter of a century older), it is understandable that due to serious limitations, he had no choice but to give a new life to previously used clips.

For me, the biggest downer is that none of the original Rutles participated in this sequel; Neil Innes (Nasty) Rikki Fataar (Stig) and John Halsey (Barry) are not featured at all, except in the original Rutles footage. Finally, I was saddened by the short running time of only 56 minutes – less than an hour! I wanted more! Still, what is presented is a wonderful, funny and great-to-finally-see compliment to the original.

The Rutles 2: Can’t Buy Me Lunch was shot and is presented in a Full Screen (1.33:1) format. Only an English stereo sound track is used, and subtitles are in French and English. When the original All You Need Is Cash was released on DVD, it was remastered in a Dolby Digital 5.1; I was sad to see not the same effort put forth on this release. Packaging is standard clamshell jewel case and inserts are adverts for Idle’s book, The Greedy Bastard Diary, and the new Broadway musical SPAMALOT. The movie itself, while not as sharp as the first, is still hilarious and an excellent addition to the Rutles’ story. The Rutles 2: Can’t Buy Me Lunch gets a solid B+ for DVD content/presentation.

Special features on The Rutles 2: Can’t Buy Me Lunch are at first glance minimal, but in actuality end up roughly doubling your viewing time. Not too bad, considering this is a straight-to-DVD release, but I was still hoping for a bit more. Missing, is a commentary by Idle and couple of other tidbits that could have made this a more complete accompaniment to All You Need Is Cash. Still, the extras add to the feature and enhance overall Rutle experience and earn a solid B for a grade. Here is a detailed look at what is included:

• Additional Interviews – There is additional interview footage from 14 of the film’s interviewees. They run a total of 26 minutes and are really fun to watch, some are downright hilarious!
• Melvin Outtakes – This is a collection of outtakes from Eric Idle’s host character. It runs 8½ minutes and has many amusing moments.
• Alternate Ending – This is a different ending to the film that revisits the opening sequence and also contains a slightly different closing credits montage. It runs about 4½ minutes.
• Easter Egg – There is an Easter egg hidden in the Special Features menu. It’s a short-but-funny deleted scene.

In a nutshell: The Pre-Fab Four strikes again in The Rutles 2: Can’t Buy Me Lunch, the hilarious and witty follow-up to the 1978 mockumentary, The Rutles: All You Need Is Cash. Created over three years ago, the film had been seen only in limited screenings and has been unavailable to the masses untill now. Finally, Rutlemaniacs everywhere can watch and own this second installment of the Rutles’ story. Though it’s not as clever and sharp as the original, the sequel proves to be a worthwhile trip down Rutle memory lane, filled with celebrity interviews, never-before-seen archive footage and new songs. With a nice 45-minute helping of extras that will roughly double your viewing time, this DVD is a must-buy for anyone who owns All You Need Is Cash, and a definite good watch for both those familiar and unfamiliar with the Rutles’ story.

DVD Movie Content/Presentation Score: B+
DVD Special Features Score: B
DVD Overall Score: B