The Rutles 2: Can't Buy Me Lunch (2002) (TV)

User Rating:

5.8/10   

Director:

Eric Idle

Writer:

Eric Idle (writer)

Genre:

Comedy

Plot:

Twenty-three years after the release of the original Rutles documentary, famous artists, actors and musicians speak out on how the Rutles influenced them.

Plot Keywords:

Sequel | Second Part | TV Special | Fake Documentary | Number In Title

Cast

Eric Idle	...	Narrator / Dirk McQuickly / Lady Beth Mouse-Peddler
Neil Innes	...	Ron Nasty
Ricky Fataar	...	Stig O'Hara
David Bowie	...	Himself - Interviewee
Billy Connolly	...	Himself - Interviewee
Carrie Fisher	...	Interviewee
Jewel Kilcher	...	Interviewee (as Jewel)
Steve Martin	...	Interviewee
Mike Nichols	...	Interviewee
Conan O'Brien	...	Interviewee
Salman Rushdie	...	Interviewee
Garry Shandling	...	Interviewee
Robin Williams	...	Hans Hänkie
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
April Adams	...	Groupie Interviewee (scenes deleted)
Clint Black	...	Interviewee
Jimmy Fallon	...	Reporter
Tom Hanks	...	Interviewee
Samantha Harris	...	Jogger
Bill Murray	...	Bill Murray "The K" (archive footage)
Graham Nash	...	Interviewee
Kevin Nealon	...	Kevin Wongle
Catherine O'Hara	...	Astro Glide
Jim Piddock	...	Troy Nixon
Bonnie Raitt	...	Interviewee
David A. Stewart	...	Interviewee
James Taylor	...	Interviewee
Jann Wenner	...	Interviewee

Runtime:

USA:84 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

USA:PG-13 | Singapore:NC-16

Filming Locations:

Liverpool, Merseyside, England, UK

Company:

Above Average Productions Inc.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in What the Pythons Did Next... (2007) (TV)

A total waste of time

This complete waste of time seems to be rather badly patched together out of out-takes from the first film, new footage of Eric Idle and a bunch of talking head celebrity interviews.

The new Eric Idle footage scores the best and has the most laughs. However, jokes about tight trousers being the reason for the group's success get old and tiresome rather quickly.

Much of the celebrity interviews are inexplicable. Jewel fares the worst, seeming like she's not sure if she understands the joke, or if there even is one. Even if the Rutles were a real band I don't see how they could have possibly inspired people like Gary Shandling and Steve Martin. The problem here is that the musicians interviewed aren't funny and the comedians interviewed are out of place. Tom Hanks and Conan O' Brian fare best in gamely trying to play along, but the result is awkward, forced and quite often unfunny.

Like another person here mentioned I would like to have seen an update of the Rutles today, but with the Lennon assassination, it would be in poor taste to parody the Beatles post-breakup years. Much of this film feels like it's unfinished, and I wonder if Eric Idle was considering filming new footage and then scaling down the celebrity interviews. In it's current state, it's a sorry mess and it's not hard to see why it sat on the shelf for a couple of years.

Stick to the original, and forget this exists.