Review of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1978) by Danielle F — 30 Mar 2012

Yes, this movie is awful. Like, really bad. The story (?) is about a small town band facing the corruption of media production and society as a whole. The logic makes no sense (keeping the instruments in the town preserves its integrity), and, since the talking is mostly just the narrator, the acting is mostly pantomime and therefore quite over the top for a film.

It is a bad sign when there are subtitles to kind of explain what's going on. The music isn't bad in itself, its just that rather than having the music drive and compliment the movie, the movie is situational with the purpose of showcasing the songs, and in some cases it comes off rather desperate.

I can imagine the brainstorming session naming Billy's girlfriend. "Yes! He has a girlfriend, and, uh, um, her name! Let's see, what's a popular Beatles song, uh, Strawberry Fields! And she can sing Strawberry Fields Forever!" I actually find Steve Martin somewhat enjoyable, reminding me of his performance in Little Shop of Horrors.

So, overall this is a horrible film. However, I find it to be the kind of awful that is still enjoyable to watch and laugh at. I think I will personally file this as a guilty pleasure for when I need a ridiculous movie to cheer me up.