Review of I Wanna Hold Your Hand

** I am writing this review having just heard of Wendie Jo Sperber's passing from breast cancer today. Her performance as Rosie, the Paul obsessed teen, was absolutely priceless. I hope fans of this film will take a moment to remember her and her work to help others.** I Wanna Hold Your Hand was a movie that came and went very quickly in 1978. For the life of me I can't understand why. I saw this film a year or so later on HBO and thought it was one of the funniest movies I had ever seen. It is about a group of friends trying to score tickets to the Beatles first performance on the Ed Sullivan show in February, 1964. Each person has their own reason for wanting to be there, and the storyline follows each one as they try to reach that goal. The period detail is excellent, even down to having WINS radio personality Murray the K playing himself in a cameo. The young cast does an excellent job of pulling us into their world and helping us feel what it must have been like on that Sunday in February. I must add that, contrary to an earlier reviewers claim that there were not many Beatle songs heard in the film, there were in fact many songs represented. Obviously, in 1964, there were only about two dozen songs available to the public and most of them are in there.

While I found this film to be extremely entertaining, viewers not as familiar with this period of the Beatles history may miss out on some fun. There are innumerable "in" jokes and references that will go over some heads. However, as a movie it stands by itself. I still laugh in the same places I did almost thirty years ago, and still find something new with every viewing. If you are in the mood to relive a little nostalgia or need a good laugh, give this little movie a chance. I'm sure most of you won't be disappointed.