The Rutleshave 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
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