Having a Wild Weekend / Catch Us If You Can (1965)

Having a Wild Weekend / Catch Us If You Can (1965)

“Kinky.”

Synopsis:
A young stuntman (Dave Clark) and a model (Barbara Ferris) run away from their commercial shoot and take a trip across England. Their zany adventures include getting involved in war games, visiting a dude ranch, and being chased by police during a costume ball.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

  • John Boorman Films
  • Models
  • Musicals
  • Road Trip
  • Rock ‘n Roll
  • Runaways

Response to Peary’s Review:
As Peary notes, this musical road trip adventure starring the Dave Clark Five — the first film directed by John Boorman — “has some of the spirit of youthful rebellion present in A Hard Day’s Night, but in style and theme it is existential rather than anarchical, strange rather than surreal, more pointed in its satire, more downbeat, more working-class.” Unfortunately, it’s a bit of a dated disappointment: the film’s ridicule of consumerism and advertising is heavy-handed; the kids’ “zany adventures” (except for the costume ball) are boring; and the songs are less than memorable. With that said, the movie remains a vivid snapshot of a certain time and youthful energy in history, and may be worth a one-time look for this reason alone.

Redeeming Qualities:

  • A time-capsule glimpse of the zany ’60s

Must See?
No; this one is only must-see viewing for fans of the Dave Clark Five.

Links:

One thought on “Having a Wild Weekend / Catch Us If You Can (1965)

  1. First and last viewing.

    Clearly designed to cash in on the wild success of ‘A Hard Day’s Night’, yet it fails with every frame and is forgettable with each passing, dreary moment.

    Nothing works here at all. In their limited brush with fame, the DC5 did have at least a few songs that were, understandably, hit singles. With the mild exception of ‘Catch Us If You Can’, none of them are used in this film.

    Just awful and unwatchable, really.

Leave a Reply