The Rutles 2: Can't Buy Me Lunch
Encyclopedia
The Rutles 2: Can't Buy Me Lunch is a 2002 re-telling of the 1978 mockumentary All You Need Is Cash
, in a modern setting.
) interviews mainstream artists, actors, and musicians about the days of the popular band The Rutles
, though mostly ending up in the wrong country. The film ends with Melvin and the interviewees laughing.
In the interviews with David Bowie
, he is seen holding a copy of the vinyl album The Rutles 1, calling it a "piece of marketing extravagance". The interview in the film shows the cover of the album with a black circle that has the words "27 No. 1 Songs On One LP". In the DVD extras, the circle on the album cover says "27 No. 1 Songs On 1 CD", even though this is a vinyl record album. Either way, this was the only time that a Rutles album was practically identical to a Beatles
album in both album cover and title.
The plot remains the same to its 1978 counterpart, with a new introduction and conclusion with Idle's character, Melvin Hall.
, he used songs from the album in the film.
All You Need Is Cash
All You Need Is Cash is a 1978 television film that traces the career of a fictitious British rock group called The Rutles...
, in a modern setting.
Plot
Twenty three years after the original, documentarist Melvin Hall (Eric IdleEric Idle
Eric Idle is an English comedian, actor, author, singer, writer, and comedic composer. He was as a member of the British comedy group Monty Python, a member of the The Rutles on Saturday Night Live and author of the play, Spamalot....
) interviews mainstream artists, actors, and musicians about the days of the popular band The Rutles
The Rutles
The Rutles are a band that are known for their visual and aural pastiches and parodies of The Beatles. Originally created by Eric Idle and Neil Innes as a fictional band to be featured as part of various 1970s television programming, the group recorded, toured, and released two UK chart hits in...
, though mostly ending up in the wrong country. The film ends with Melvin and the interviewees laughing.
In the interviews with David Bowie
David Bowie
David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...
, he is seen holding a copy of the vinyl album The Rutles 1, calling it a "piece of marketing extravagance". The interview in the film shows the cover of the album with a black circle that has the words "27 No. 1 Songs On One LP". In the DVD extras, the circle on the album cover says "27 No. 1 Songs On 1 CD", even though this is a vinyl record album. Either way, this was the only time that a Rutles album was practically identical to a Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
album in both album cover and title.
The plot remains the same to its 1978 counterpart, with a new introduction and conclusion with Idle's character, Melvin Hall.
Cast
- Eric Idle as Narrator / Dirk McQuickly / Lady Beth Mouse-Peddler
- Neil InnesNeil InnesNeil James Innes is an English writer and performer of comic songs, best known for his collaborative work with Monty Python, and for playing in the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band and later The Rutles.-Personal life:...
as Ron Nasty - Ricky FataarRicky FataarRicky Fataar is a South African multi-instrumentalist of Malay descent, who has performed as both a drummer, and a guitarist. He gained fame as an actor in the comedic television movie, The Rutles: All You Need Is Cash, a spoof on the actual history of The Beatles, and for his performance as a...
as Stig O'Hara - John HalseyJohn Halsey (musician)John Halsey is a rock drummer, best known for his appearance as "Barry" in The Rutles, leading to his playing with Neil Innes's band Fatso and appearing in the film All You Need is Cash ....
as Barry Wom - David BowieDavid BowieDavid Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...
as Himself - Interviewee - Billy ConnollyBilly ConnollyWilliam "Billy" Connolly, Jr., CBE is a Scottish comedian, musician, presenter and actor. He is sometimes known, especially in his native Scotland, by the nickname The Big Yin...
as Interviewee - Carrie FisherCarrie FisherCarrie Frances Fisher is an American actress, novelist, screenwriter, and lecturer. She is most famous for her portrayal of Princess Leia in the original Star Wars trilogy, her bestselling novel Postcards from the Edge, for which she wrote the screenplay to the film of the same name, and her...
as Interviewee - Jewel Kilcher as Interviewee (as Jewel)
- Steve MartinSteve MartinStephen Glenn "Steve" Martin is an American actor, comedian, writer, playwright, producer, musician and composer....
as Interviewee - Mike NicholsMike NicholsMike Nichols is a German-born American television, stage and film director, writer, producer and comedian. He began his career in the 1950s as one half of the comedy duo Nichols and May, along with Elaine May. In 1968 he won the Academy Award for Best Director for the film The Graduate...
as Interviewee - Conan O'BrienConan O'BrienConan Christopher O'Brien is an American television host, comedian, writer, producer and performer. Since November 2010 he has hosted Conan, a late-night talk show that airs on the American cable television station TBS....
as Interviewee - Salman Rushdie as Interviewee
- Garry ShandlingGarry ShandlingGarry Emmanuel Shandling is an American comedian, actor and writer. He is best known for his work in It's Garry Shandling's Show and The Larry Sanders Show....
as Interviewee - Robin WilliamsRobin WilliamsRobin McLaurin Williams is an American actor and comedian. Rising to fame with his role as the alien Mork in the TV series Mork and Mindy, and later stand-up comedy work, Williams has performed in many feature films since 1980. He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance...
as Hans Hänkie - April Adams as Groupie Interviewee (scenes deleted)
- Clint BlackClint BlackClint Patrick Black is an American country music singer-songwriter, record producer, multi-instrumentalist and occasional actor. Signed to RCA Records in 1989, Black made his debut with his Killin' Time album, which produced four straight Number One singles on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country...
as Interviewee - Jimmy FallonJimmy FallonJames Thomas "Jimmy" Fallon, Jr. is an American actor, comedian, singer, musician and television host. He currently hosts Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, a late-night talk show that airs Monday through Friday on NBC...
as Reporter - Tom HanksTom HanksThomas Jeffrey "Tom" Hanks is an American actor, producer, writer, and director. Hanks worked in television and family-friendly comedies, gaining wide notice in 1988's Big, before achieving success as a dramatic actor in several notable roles, including Andrew Beckett in Philadelphia, the title...
as Interviewee - Bill MurrayBill MurrayWilliam James "Bill" Murray is an American actor and comedian. He first gained national exposure on Saturday Night Live in which he earned an Emmy Award and later went on to star in a number of critically and commercially successful comedic films, including Caddyshack , Ghostbusters , and...
as Bill Murray "The K" (archive footage) - Graham NashGraham NashGraham William Nash, OBE is an English singer-songwriter known for his light tenor vocals and for his songwriting contributions with the British pop group The Hollies, and with the folk-rock band Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. Nash is a photography collector and a published photographer...
as Interviewee - Kevin NealonKevin NealonKevin Nealon is an American actor and comedian, best known as a cast member on Saturday Night Live from 1986 to 1995, acting in several of the Happy Madison films, for playing Doug Wilson on the Showtime series Weeds, and providing the voice of the title character, Glenn Martin on Glenn Martin,...
as Kevin Wongle - Catherine O'HaraCatherine O'HaraCatherine Anne O'Hara is a Canadian-American actress and comedienne. She is well known for her comedy work on SCTV, and her roles in the films After Hours, Beetlejuice, Home Alone, and The Nightmare Before Christmas, and also in the mockumentary films written and directed by Christopher Guest...
as Astro Glide - Jim PiddockJim PiddockJames Anthony "Jim" Piddock is an English actor, writer, and producer who began his career on the stage in England, before emigrating to the U.S. in 1981.-Life and career:...
as Troy Nixon - Bonnie RaittBonnie RaittBonnie Lynn Raitt is an American blues singer-songwriter and a renowned slide guitar player. During the 1970s, Raitt released a series of acclaimed roots-influenced albums which incorporated elements of blues, rock, folk and country, but she is perhaps best known for her more commercially...
as Interviewee - David A. StewartDavid A. StewartDavid Allan Stewart , often known as Dave Stewart, is an English musician, songwriter and record producer, best known for his work with Eurythmics. He is usually credited as David A. Stewart, to avoid confusion with other musicians named "Dave Stewart".-Early life:Stewart was born in Sunderland,...
as Interviewee - James TaylorJames TaylorJames Vernon Taylor is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. A five-time Grammy Award winner, Taylor was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2000....
as Interviewee - Jann WennerJann WennerJann Simon Wenner is the co-founder and publisher of the music and politics biweekly Rolling Stone, as well as the owner of Men's Journal and Us Weekly magazines.-Childhood:...
as Interviewee
Release
The film was made by Eric Idle in 2002, but was shelved and released later.Reception
The Rutles 2: Can't Buy Me Lunch received mainly negative reviews. Most critics argue it was simply a retelling installment to modern audiences. Idle did not ask for the participation of Fataar, Halsey or Innes for the making of the film, viewing it as more a solo project. It contained no new interviews with the Rutles; Rutle footage consisted of outtakes and unused film produced for the original 1978 documentary. Though Idle had opposed the 1996 release of The Rutles ArchaeologyThe Rutles Archaeology
The Rutles Archaeology is an album by the comedy band The Rutles. Like their previous release, the album contains pastiches of Beatles' songs....
, he used songs from the album in the film.