Reviews (1)

HOW GOOD IS SNL
Saterday night live is the best funniest show. And 1990 was a very good year for comedy. To all of you who are thinking bye it. ... Read more

Reviews (63)

A must for Python, Beatles fans
What's genius about the Rutles is this: Watch the Rutles, and then watch one of the Beatles documentaries (the Compleat Beatles, etc) - then note that the Rutles was made PRIOR to any of the decent Beatles documentaries, yet looks like a parody of the real deal.
This mockumentary pre-dates Spinal Tap, and takes a different approach - by chronicalling supposed "source" material - news reels, press conferences, etc. The approach works well for Eric Idle, and the music by Neil Innes is perfect - slightly silly, but more Beatles than Weird Al.
The knowledge of the Beatles - their personal history, their tv appearances, their scandals, etc - is so well known by Idle - makes this mockumentary spot-on accurate, and all the more funny.

The DVD is worth having. If you have this on VHS, you've got a pretty lousy transfer from the original 16mm film. The film was restored and retransfered for DVD, and it casts the movie in a whole new light of clarity.

The bonus material isn't much to write home (or Amazon) about, but it's nice to have the stuff added on such a low priced DVD.

terrific sendup of Beatlemania stands up well after 25 years
In 1978 it was easy to remember Beatlemania, and this sendup of the mass hysteria was spot-on and hilarious. Starting as a skit for Saturday Night Live, and popular enough to get built into a feature-length film, this Eric Idle project is layered with jokes, spoofs, terrific songs, and great cameos by George Harrison, Mick Jagger, Paul Simon and Idle's wife, and it is still very funny 25 years later.

DVD extras are quite good. Eric Idle's commentary is excellent -- informative and entertaining. There are also 4 deleted scenes that last about 18 minutes; a photo gallery with 29 pictures; a "Play Songs Only" option, where you ee only the film's songs (Goose Step Mama, Number One, Between Us, With a Girl Like You, Hold My Hand, I Must Be in Love, Living in Hope, and Ouch!).

The look and sensibility of the film are exactly right, the writing is VERY funny, and the songs are surprisingly Beatle-like and quite listenable. If you are a Beatles or Monty Python fan, or if you just love good comedy, you will probably get a real kick out of this.

Side Splitting Hilarious
The movie was made more than 20 years ago, but retains its relevance as the Beatles continue to be a cultural icon. While the Rutles was not originally intended to be a full length movie, the product is great.

The project was completed long before John Lennon's murder, so all four members could approve the project. The Beatles are spoofed by the characters in the unique personality traits possessed by each member of the fab four and their scandals. The one-liners and song parodies prove Eric Idle's value to Monty Python and strength as comedic writer. The parody on Yoko Ono being "... a Nazi who's father invented World War II" is hilarious. Look for a scene midway through the song "Ouch!" in which Idle can not even control his own laughter at the monsterous woman in a bikini. I bet it a was too hard to get through a take with a straight face. This is a must for Beatles fans and Monty Python fans.

Idle and Innes compliment each other perfectly
This little treasure is something that all Beatles fans, Python fans and early SNL fans should own. It's the one thing that Idle says he is most proud of, and for good reason. His little bits, which perfectly parody the Beatles that Idle so adored, fit seamlessly into Innes' fantastic songs. Idle comments that Innes' songs added another dimension to the Beatles songs they're based off of rather than becoming shameless parodies (are you listening Weird Al?) and he is quite right.

The film contains moments of comic genius, but mind you they're mostly subtle moments of comic genius. The people I've run into that didn't think this film is funny at all tend to like the blatant, loud, American-style humor. So be patient with the humor, enjoy the music and discover the true genius of the Rutles.

By the end of the film, I almost cared more about the fictional Rutles than I did about the actual Beatles. (And I'm a huge Beatles fanatic) It's just a fantastic, fun film for those who can appreciate the true, witty humor.

Attention All Beatle Fans: BUY THIS!
If you're a Beatle fan, and for some reason you've never heard of this film, immediatley purchase this DVD!
IT is the ultimate parody of Beatlemania. The Rutles was initially released as a made for NBC TV film in 1978. Created by the Saturday Night Live team and Eric Idle (Monty Python), it has a distinct British flavor and Pythonesque sense of humor. It is basically a "mockumentary". Here's an example: after "Nasty" (John Lennon) proclaims the Rutles are bigger than God, the public is outraged, and start burning Rutle records. Record sales soared, people were buying them just to burn them! It turns out that the journalist who interviewed Nasty was hard of hearing. Nasty said the Rutles were bigger than "Rod" (Stewart)!!
The mockumentary covers the entire Beatle phenomenon up to their break-up.
The film gained more fans on video, and is now a bonafide cult classic. The music by Neil Innes (who wrote songs for Python) is superb, and he is perfect as John Lennon. Eric Idle plays McCartney and directs. The songs parodies are also on cd. They are amazingly Beatle-like.
The film is never critical, but made as a tribute with large doses of humor. The harsh aspects of Beatlemania are lightened. For example, Brian Epstein does not die in Rutleland, he accepts a teaching post in Australia.
Even if you are not a Beatle fan, this film is still a lot of fun, although you may not get all of the references. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

PUT IT ON DVD!
He's certainly deserving of a dvd for his best material...

A good tribute that could have been just a little better.
My thoughts on the 'Best of Tim Meadows' are a bit mixed. First of all, it's great to see that this best of set was made. Meadows was a cast member of SNL at least as long as anyone since the show's inception (perhaps the longest). He is very deserving of this recognition. During that time he played all kinds of characters, from tough to sensitive, from goofy to dead serious. He also had a very wide range. Therein lies a big flaw with this tape. While it contains many skits that are very funny in general, it also leaves out many that showed Meadow's true talent.

The funnier skits are great. One particularly good one is 'Perspectives,' a very early Sunday morning talk show hosted by Lionel Osborne, a clueless, aloof talk show host who thinks everything is fantastic. There are two Perspectives skits that are quite funny. One of them is an out-take with Chris Rock as the guest as a member of the Million Man March. It's quite humorous to see them both start to loose it laughing due to the content of the material. There are also several skits of Meadows doing O.J., where he accentuated O.J.'s guilt in all instances. Some other great clips include him doing Sammy Davis Jr., Ike Turner on Weekend Update, and of course some Ladies Man skits.

The downside of this tape is that it does leave out some great characters that Meadows has played, while including some that could have been left out. For instance, there is Jingleheimer Joe, a skit where he is a census taker, and others that are quite funny, but don't showcase Tim's true talent. The fact that there are no skits of him doing Oprah is a travesty. He did Oprah better than Oprah did Oprah, yet there is only a two second glimpse of this in the closing credits. One would think that perhaps one of these could have made it on to the tape in lieu of three Ladies Man skits. Other great characters he's done that didn't make it on include Bernard Shaw of CNN, Michael Jackson, and Don King, just to name a few. There's also another skit with 'Captain Jim and Pedro,' played by Meadows and Adam Sandler. While this is a very funny skit, it is Adam Sandler who clearly steals it, while Tim's character is sort of just along for the ride. That said, I would recommend this tape to any and all SNL fans, particularly anyone who has had any appreciation for Tim's work over the years.

Tim Meadows Rules
I saw this on TV and I could not stop laughing. One of the funniest things he did was the Ladies Man and the Weather man. This video is a must buy for any SNL Fan. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

this is the best fukin SNL movie ever
this is one hilarious gut busting comedy with all of chris farleys greatest SNL moments. GET THIS DVD

Mostly great for boring times
I saw this at a friends house. It's pretty funny, but some is not. ... Read more