In 1964, a group of New Jersey teenagers make it their mission to travel to New York City in order to catch the Beatles' very first performance on 'The Ed Sullivan Show.' Along the way, they learn new things about friendship and growing up.
If there's a tray full of food within camera range, rest assured that somebody will knock it over. If a stuck-in-the-elevator-on-the-eve-of-an-important-event routine presents itself, rest assured that its staging will be tried and true.
Film4
May 24, 2003
There are a few good moments (particularly for people who know the show's host and enjoy the spoof), but it seems an over heavy trip to the uninitiated.
Delightful sleeper pic about obsessed Beatles fans
Time Out
February 09, 2006
In the best scenes, Zemeckis suggests how the Beatles' blend of irreverence, romance and innocence encouraged a kind of youthful rebellion that was almost completely sanctioned.
A film about the joy of being young and a little bit crazy, ruled by the organizing principle of all Zemeckis and Gale's early work: barely controlled chaos.
I Wanna Hold Your Hand re-creates precisely the excitement the Beatles let loose 14 years ago; it transports the audience back to the eye of a phenomenal social hurricane.