I Wanna Hold Your Hand

In February 1964 a force descended upon the United States that was more powerful than a hurricane, hit New York City, it was that infectious phenomena known as Beatlemania. I Wanna Hold Your Hand centers on this sweeping craze through the eyes of four teenage girls from New Jersey. Their goal is simple, to see the Beatles in their first American television appearance on the Ed Sullivan show, their motives however, where greatly different. Rosie (Wendie Jo Sperber) is the ultimate Beatle fan, she knows every miniscule fact about the Fab Four, always trying to win tickets to the show in the numerous radio contests surrounding that historical moment in music history. Grace (Theresa Saldana) is a girl intent on a career in photo-journalism and hopes to get a scope on the Beatles. Pam (Nancy Allen) is about to elope with her boyfriend when she is swept away by the enthusiasm of her friends. There is also Janis (Susan Kendall Newman) who wants to protest the Beatles, she is an avid protest music fan and wants groups like Peter, Paul and Mary to be appreciated instead of the invaders from England. Helping the girls are three boys, Tony (Bobby Di Cicco) a greaser that just want so get together with one of the girls, any one really it doesn’t matter to him, Larry (Marc McClure) the nice boy that truly wants to help and Richard (Eddie Deezen) a Beatle fan who is almost the match for Rosie.

This film is in that strange yet often wonderful genre, the screwball comedy. Forget realism, put things like how many laws are being broken aside and just enjoy the ride. Motivation is simple here, while the girls may each have their own reason the boys basically want to hook up with the girls, a motivation as old as time. In a manner similar to the Beatles own try at comic film making this movie seems to be an endless stream of people knocking each other over and running from the authorities. Now this film is not without heart, in fact it has a lot. It’s refreshing to see a teen oriented flick that can be off the wall without reverting to the puerile sex and destruction common today. The film is just plain old enjoyable to watch, I enjoyed it from start to finish. I could basically disconnect the brain for an hour and half and have fun. For those of my age this movie will call to mind those wild days, girls amassed in the thousands screaming at the top of their lungs. Boys, resentful of the attention the girls are paying these long haired singers doing anything to regain the fair gender’s affections. Yes, the film is often predicable, contains too many coincidences but it will make you laugh.

The cast here is excellent. Nancy Allen gives some depth to her character as she rides the story arc from a girl looking forward to marriage to one whose encounter with the Beatle’s hotel room opens her eyes that she is after all just a young girl with plenty of time ahead of her. Theresa Saldana also displays not only a keen sense of comic timing but emotes well in the slower scenes. Eddie Deezen has made a career of playing the nerd; he did it in Grease and does it again here. His spastic flaying about is great, he is built for slapstick and uses his gangly frame to full advantage. Wendie Jo Sperber is one of those talented character actors that show up in the least expected places. From films like Back to the Future to odd ball television shows like Bosom Buddies she is there giving just the right balance between comedy and empathy. This one cast worked like a fine ensemble comedy troupe here, no one over shadowed anyone else, each supporting the others.

This was one of the first films by now famous director Robert Zemeckis and his writing partner Bob Gale. The capture the frenzy of this weekend in New York perfectly. I remember well the news reports of young girls fainting and being rushed to the hospital after a mere glimpse of the Beatles. Zemeckis and Gale went on to the Back to the Future trilogy and in many ways this was their test run in setting a film in the past, also they get to experiment a bit with the use of lightning for a climatic moment. While they tend to tie up the loose ends a little too easily in order the get a series of happy endings, they pace they film in fine manner. The excited throngs of fans punctuate the comic action but never overwhelm it. Each of the various story arcs are provided with just the right amount of screen time, flowing from one to the others, sometimes overlapping. With a fast comedy like this you have to give the audience a chance to catch their breath, here Zemeckis accomplishes this goal without sacrificing the all important comedic timing or introducing distractions. Not only does the cast display chemistry in working together this film marks the beginning of the successful working relationship of Zemeckis and Gale. While their later collaborations where tighter this one was an incredible freshman effort for the pair. Having this in mind added a lot for me as I could catch little foreshadowing of their careers in embryo here.

Even though this is considered by many to be a ‘lesser’ release Universal once again gives it their best. The Dolby 5.1 audio may not provide the best use of the rear speakers and sub woofer but it gives a nice ambient sound stage and a great new way to hear the original Beatles songs used in the soundtrack. The anamorphic 1.85:1 video has some slight evidence to the age of the film but nothing that distracted in any way from watching and enjoying the movie. The only real extra is a commentary track with Zemeckis and Gale looking back at this early work. At times it sounds like too old friends recalling their school days. Other times is silence as they enjoy a particular moment. This is really good movie for the whole family to sit watch together.

Posted 9/23/04