At the time The Young Ones was made, what passed for rock music was often the watered down variety from the likes of James Darren and Fabian. A couple of songs hint at Richard's claim of being the British Elvis Presley. At least on screen Richards seems more of a rock singer than Tommy Steele in The Dream Maker, but both were from a time when British rock stars were concerned with reassuring the parents that the kids were alright. The Young Ones is actually better when it doesn't try to be about rock music, and plays like a lower budget MGM musical from the Fifties, only shot in England in the early Sixties.

What makes The Young Ones watchable more than thirty-five years later is not the bland presence of Cliff Richard or the forgettable songs. What Furie did right was cast the film full of talented character actors, chiefly Robert Morley. Has Robert Morley ever given a bad performance, or not been fun to watch no matter what film his was in? Even the love interest in the film, Carole Gray, hints at talent that seems to have been underutilized since her debut here. Based on her brief filmography, Gray may have been passed over due to her unusual looks, marked by very full lips that suggests she was Joan Crawford and Mick Jagger's secret love child. Had they been born earlier, Richard O'Sullivan and Melvyn Hayes might have been part of the "Carry On" team.

Furie also points out in his commentary how he collaborated with Ross in filming the dances. A duet of Richard and Gray to a song titled "Nothing is Impossible" has the two dancing against a wall, and making a flying leap over a fence. The strings are visible. It isn't Fred Astaire dancing on the ceiling in Royal Wedding, but it charms nonetheless. The opening number with cast members singing about Friday night recalls Stanley Donen's forays into the urban based musicals such as On the Town. An extended musical number will remind most of half a dozen such pieces in any number of MGM musicals with a show biz setting. The dance numbers are alone worth seeing The Young Ones. While Rob Marshall and Christopher Columbus strain to prove how cinematic they can render their musical numbers, Furie and Ross get it right by placing the widescreen camera just far enough away to allow the performance to speak for itself.