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A moment in the life of a folk singer, Arlo(Arlo Guthrie)who spends time trying to make it in the music biz by doing the bar scene while also frequenting at a hippie commune/restaurant derived from a former Catholic church. His many numerous acquaintances are a major part of this story as we get to know those who hang around the commune. Arlo also pays visits to his ailing father, Woody. We see the humor, tragedy, and response towards living the hippie lifestyle.
Alice(Pat Quinn, who is simply delightful)runs the kitchen at the commune often tired of her man, Ray's(James Broderick)constant decisions to bring more and more off the street for her to cook for. She's the surrogate mother for those that choose this way of living, but often yearns for more. The tragic element of the film is Shelly(Michael McClanathan), a young man trying endlessly to kick a nasty drug habit and loved almost as a son by Ray & Alice. We see in a love-making scene that Alice also cares for him sexually. They try their damnedest to keep him off the pipe, but seeing the agony of that decision leads us to believe it's only a matter of time before he caves in.
Through Arlo's narration, we get some witty interludes such as the "littering" sequence where Deputy Obie(William Obanhein)obsessively goes completely by the rules in exact, hilarious detail. The sequence where Arlo goes in for his numerous tests to see if he's fit for Vietnam is also quite funny(in that sequence, there's a hilarious cameo from a young E Emmet Walsh as a fast-talking test-giver).
But, the film depicts the characters and dialogue with such richness, intelligence, and heart..there isn't a false note amongst the cast. The film's subject matter and portrait of this lifestyle rings true. The narration is marvelous and the film keeps that tone pretty much throughout.
score 9/10
Scarecrow-88 10 April 2007
Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw1635160/ |
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1-4-2021 00:08:12