As art, 1978's 'Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band' certainly deserves a 0/10. Because it is so unbelievably, terrifically atrocious, however, the movie is a joy to watch.
In lieu of dialogue (except for narration by George Burns), 'Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band' uses various songs by The Beatles to drive and dictate the plot. Oh, and what a plot it is. The Bee Gees and Peter Frampton star as the title band, who become world superstars a week after being discovered by a record company executive. They then set out on a mission to retrieve magical instruments stolen by Mr. Mustard and his evil robot posse and restore joy to the world (and take a bit of time out to catch an Earth Wind and Fire concert). Throughout, 1970's musicians and minor celebrities play a slew of characters based on songs by the Beatles. Alice Cooper is the Sun King, Billy Preston is Sergeant Pepper, and Steve Martin - in by far the worst performance of his career - plays Dr. Maxwell.
To say that the performances don't do The Beatles' songs justice is a negligent understatement. With the exception of a relatively amazing 'Come Together' by Aerosmith, the songs are neutered at best and raped and left for dead in the worst cases. Imagine George Burns singing 'Fixin' A Hole.' Then imagine two six year old girls as his back-up singers. Now imagine that this isn't the most cringeworthy performance in the film.
Thankfully, no one here seems to take it all too seriously (though when his girlfriend, Strawberry Fields, is killed, Peter Frampton's obviously thinking about his Oscar chances). Props are oversized, facial expressions are exaggerated, and the special effects aren't special at all, even by the day's standards. The 'actors' seem to be having a good time instead of trying to convey a story, and this lack of pretension may be what ultimately saves the film.
Saving the film means, of course, making it merely the butt of a joke that is enjoyable to endure. You can't turn crackers into cake by covering them with cheese, and 'Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band' is a 'No' any way you look at it.
NO (3/10)
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