I suppose there's something to be said for the fact that this was a creation entirely of The Beatles' own doing, and accordingly working completely on an improvisational basis. In at least some measure one has to admire the gumption, as well as the idea of effectively just pulling people off the street for a couple weeks on a lark. Golly, do I wish I had something else to praise here. As one-quarter of the abbreviated runtime has elapsed, it's not just that the TV movie has failed to inspire laughter, or a smile, or so much as a single happy neuron to fire off. It's that the presentation has been emphatically unfunny, and altogether aggravating, with no sign of improvement forthcoming. (Indeed, there is not.) If the folks involved had fun making this, then I am glad for them, but the feeling is not passed on to the audience. Of everything the "Fab Four" have done, or that has been done in their name, 'Magical Mystery Tour' might genuinely be the worst of it all.
We're given one scene after another of silliness without any connective threads or through-lines, no particular wit or intelligence behind it, nor any rhyme or reason. Like the most abstruse of performance art, we're supposed to appreciate what is presented to us simply because it Is. True, this is part and parcel of how the production came about, with people just volunteering ideas willy-nilly, whatever whim came to mind, and in they went. Even if deliberately flimsy and meager, however, the one thing that any picture requires is at least the merest glimmer of order, progression, or a unified vision to tie it together. Of all the ideas that were advanced for MMT, I can't believe that no one said "how about a story?" This is to say nothing of moments that are actively vexing, such as the military officer speaking gibberish who is supposed to be a caricature or parody or some such, but instead is just boorish, boring bluster. In other instances, we are shown a sequence of images that directly correlate to words being sung or spoken; I guess someone thought this was clever?
Every now and again there's a thought laid before us that has the potential of being entertaining. Unfortunately, such examples either weren't developed, or they're adjoined with other notions that are reliably tired, dull, and uninteresting, if not also obnoxious. Moreover, while The Beatles demonstrated many capabilities over the course of their careers, "filmmakers" they were not. It seems Ringo Starr himself is being credited with the camerawork for this feature - though I don't know if "given credit" is the appropriate term so much as "held responsible" given some of the choices here of cinematography. Editing duties are said to have been handed off to Roy Benson to assemble the movie as we see it, but many of his decisions in that capacity are likewise questionable, if not pointedly irritating.
In the greatest possible spirit of generosity, one might say that MMT comes off as loose sketch comedy, or maybe the type of free-wheeling nonsense that any group of friends might get together to film just for kicks. If we're calling it sketch comedy, however, it's not funny (or enjoyable on any level), and there's too little thought put into any of the inclusions to lend credence to the label. This holds true even if we draw comparison to comedy that aims to elicit reactions not with especial humor, but out of sheer bewilderment for the dryness and outlandishness of the material. And as for the comparison to "home movie" projects among friends, well, I think there tends to be more robust consideration given to such affairs than is the case here. There are facets of this picture dotted throughout that clearly benefited from some degree of earnest effort, such as the grandiosity of the final sequence. Imagine what this might have been if such effort were applied to each bit being filmed.
There are folks who will watch this and love it not just because "It's The Beatles!" but because they derive sincere entertainment from the experience. I'm happy for them. I, personally, am mystified that this hasn't been shoved into the same memory hole as 'The day the clown cried.' Just because the people involved in the "production" of a movie had a good time doesn't mean it's deserving as anything other then a souvenir, a memento, a fond memory for those who shared the experience. I'm of the mind that for anyone who comes upon this to watch as a detached viewer, whatever their expectations, it's all but anathema. Check out 'Magical Mystery Tour' if you want, but in my opinion this something that only enthusiasts of all manner of cinematic dreck could actually find worth exploring as a curious misstep in cultural history.
