I Wanna Hold Your Hand

Screened on Criterion blu-ray.

I Wanna Hold Your Hand, the 1978 comedy named after one of The Beatles' countless legendary songs, only recently became a curiosity for me after realizing it was neither a concert film, or a Monkees-style adventure with The Beatles instead of Davy Jones and his crew. My bad! Essentially, I thought it was another Yellow Submarine, and, well, no thank you. No offense.

As it turns out, this was the first film from Robert Zemeckis, previewing much of the magic he perfected just a few years later in 1985's Back to the Future, which I basically consider a perfect film, if not the best ever made. There's a reason Zemeckis and Steven Spielberg have been long-time friends and working partners, both possessing a clear cinematic sensibility for the sense of wonder and curiosity experienced during childhood, the optimism of youth and the hope of suburbia in all its facets. The Beatles certainly harnessed a lot of that via their groundbreaking music, and that is what's at play here, the story of a young woman obsessed with the Fab Four and revolving her entire world around them.

It was a treat to see a film with Wendie Jo Sperber in what is basically a lead role here. Probably most famous for her role on the television show Boson Buddies with Tom Hanks, she later had comedic roles including as the sister of Marty McFly in the aforementioned Back to the Future. In fact, this film was her time to shine, including being front and center of the theatrical poster (instead of The Beatles) in her very first film role, along with 80s comedic staple Eddie Deezen of WarGames, Grease 1 & 2, Surf II, Million Dollar Mystery and so many others.

So much to be curious about here, and it's definitely worth a watch. But somehow when all is said and done, they somehow make the appeal of The Beatles and their music to be rather niche to be exploring it through the eyes of an obsessive fan, instead of your everyday fan. For that reason, in my opinion, this failed to find the broader audience they were seeking, and thus this cabinet of curiosities feels after nearly 50 years, to be mostly a curiosity. Cautiously recommended.