Movie Review: Good Ol’ Freda

I’m two years behind on watching Good Ol’ Freda, the story of Freda Kelly who was the Beatles Fan Club President from the very beginning and up until the very end.  Until the making of this film, Freda willingly remained a silent and loyal figure in the background of the mayhem that was Beatlemania.

Good Ol’ Freda was the brainchild of Kathy McCabe and Ryan White who began a Kickstarter campaign on October 11, 2011 in hopes of raising $50,000 to make a movie telling the story of a young, naive, seventeen year old girl who fell in love with a local band in Liverpool and ended up the secretary of the greatest band the world would every know.  Within one month, Kathy and Ryan were able to raise $58,000 for this project and in 2013 they release this documentary.

Maybe it was all the hype and hullabaloo that has been made about this film over the past two years, but I didn’t find it to be ‘all that’.  I felt as if I spent at least 25% of the time listening to Freda, her family, friends and colleagues tell me how loyal, devoted and honest she was/is and that she would never spill any dirt about the Beatles.  Hmm, so what was this movie about?  From the magazine clippings about Ms. Kelly that appeared in this film, it doesn’t seem as if we were learning anything about her that hadn’t already been told during her years working for them.

This film left me a little confused as to why it was made and it’s purpose.  Near the end of the movie, Freda says she finally decided to tell her story for her grand-children so they would know what she did with her life.  Uh…they probably could have learned that from the four boxes of memorabilia and scrapbooks in her attic that we get to see her rifle through throughout the film.

Now don’t get me wrong…Freda is fun to watch and listen to for the 87 minutes of this film as she giggles like a young girl as she reflects back on her years with Eppy, Richie, John, Paul and George.  And there is no doubt in my mind that she’s a lovely lady to meet and spend time with over tea or such, but I’m glad this movie wasn’t much longer than it already is.

If you’re a die-hard Beatles fan that has to know absolutely everything about the Fab Four, than this movie is for you and you should buy it and add it to your collection.  If you’re just curious about Freda Kelly and her story, you can rent Good Ol’ Freda on Amazon for $2.99 and watch it on your laptop.

You can buy Good Ol’ Freda at Amazon.com.

Or you can purchase from the Good Ol’ Freda website.

I rate this movie: 3 out of 4 Beetles!