devastating

dtucker86

I used to watch Siskel and Ebert a lot. I remember that on one of their shows that Gene Siskel made some very unkind comments about Robby Benson. He said that he was a very untalented actor who made every performance the same. I think Robby Benson gave a great performance in this film as a boy who was destroyed by drugs. I read Thomas Thompsons excellent book Ritchie. I think that it should be required reading for all kids who are tempted by drugs. People still downplay marijuana and say it is such an innocent drug! Bull! Ritchie Diener started on marijuana and then got into pep pills and heroin. It just snowballed and got worse and worse and worse until finally he snapped and attacked his father with a butcher knife and he shot him and killed him. Ben Gazzara also gives a great performance in this film. There is one scene where he breaks down and weeps listening to his son talk about how he is unloved. What is so sad to me is the end of this film where they say that the grand jury did not indict Ritchie's father for shooting him and ruled that the killing was done in self defense. George Diener is a free man today. My God what irony! He is free in the sense he didn't got to jail, but he killed his own son! I thought that poor man will never have a happy day as long as he lives. This is what drugs do and every kid needs to hear Ritchies story to learn a lesson.

score /10

dtucker86 6 April 2002

Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw0152639/