In 1965, Ruth Anson, a teenage-reporter for ABC-TV News was covering the “teen-beat” and had the opportunity to interview the Beatles — namely a super young Paul McCartney, whom she asked if he had any plans for marriage.
His response, “Only if you’ll marry me.”
Ruth’s acting career didn’t go far after that, with a few A-list interviews for ABC and then a couple guest spots on The Brady Bunch. The half-documentary, half-reality show mockumentary Desperately Seeking Paul McCartney has Ruth seeking closure from that proposal 40 years later.
While I understand writer/producer/director Marc Cushman had very limited material to work with (most of Ruth’s other famous interviewees — Bob Hope, Lana Turner, Dwight Eisenhower — are dead), bringing in a Beatles cover band, faking a psychologist interview and staging door knocking at Hollywood mansions is a bit too real and less Spinal Tap to be believable.
At the 34 minute mark I checked the display to see how much time was left (an hour) and started skipping through chapters. A makeover, crashing the Grammys and setting up an interview with Ruth and Ron Jeremy.
SPOILER ALERT: The film ends after she interviews the porn star, and no, she never found Paul McCartney. I’m glad I fast forwarded through that last 50 minutes.
Desperately Seeking Paul McCartney will be available on DVD from MVD Visual on September 2.
