The Rutles 2: Can't Buy Me Lunch

*The Rutles 2: Can't Buy Me Lunch*
The Rutles 2: Can't Buy Me Lunch
Written by	Eric Idle
Directed by	Eric Idle
Starring	Eric Idle; Neil Innes; Ricky Fataar; John Halsey;
Narrated by	Eric Idle
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language	English
Production
Producers	Eric Idle; Lorne Michaels;
Running time	56 minutes
Original release
Release	16 August 2003
Related
	All You Need Is Cash

The Rutles 2: Can't Buy Me Lunch (also known as Rutles: Evolution) is a re-telling of the 1978 mockumentary All You Need Is Cash, in a modern setting. It was premiered at the Don't Knock the Rock film festival on August 16, 2003. ^[1]

Plot

Twenty-four years after the original, documentarist Melvin Hall (Eric Idle) interviews musicians, actors, and other entertainment figures about the days of the popular band The Rutles.

Cast

Eric Idle as Melvin Hall / Dirk McQuickly / Lady Beth Mouse-Peddler
Neil Innes as Ron Nasty
Ricky Fataar as Stig O'Hara
John Halsey as Barry Wom
Terence Baylor as Leggy Mountbatten
Mariela Comitini as Jennifer Lopez
Peter Crabbe as Police Officer
Jimmy Fallon as Melvin's Son
Samantha Harris as The Jogger
Lily Idle as Rutles Fan
Bianca Jagger as Martini (archive footage)
Bill Murray as Bill Murray the K
Kevin Nealon as Kevin Wongle
Catherine O'Hara as Astro Glide
Jim Piddock as Troy Nixon
Gwen Taylor as Chastity (archive footage)
Carinthia West as Carinthia (archive footage)
Robin Williams as Hans Hänkie
Henry Woolf as Arthur Sultan
April Adams as Groupie Interviewee (scenes deleted)

as themselves:

Background

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.

Reception

The Rutles 2: Can't Buy Me Lunch received mainly negative reviews, with many complaining that it was simply an update for modern audiences. Idle did not ask for the participation of Fataar, Halsey, Weis or Innes for the making of the film, viewing it as a solo project.^[2] It contained no new interviews with the Rutles; Rutle footage consisted of outtakes and unused film produced for the original 1978 mockumentary. Idle did new interviews with Hanks, Raitt, Williams, Shandling and Rushdie. Though he had declined to participate in the 1996 release of Archaeology, Idle used songs from the album in the film.