Why do this musical in the late ‘70s? It was probably dated then and it sure is dated today. Claude Bukowski (John Savage, TV’s CARNIVALE) rides into New York on a bus from the Mid-West. He meets up with hippies George Berger (Treat Williams, THE DEVIL’S OWN), Jeannie (Annie Golden, IT RUNS IN THE FAMILY), Hud (Dorsey Wright, THE WARRIORS) and Woof (Don Dacus, only feature film). Claude is headed into the Army and the band of hippies tries to show him a drug-filled good time. George makes an effort to get Claude to meet rich girl Sheila (Beverly D’Angelo, NATIONAL LAMPOON’S VACATION), who is wooed by the group’s style.
The musical embraces the carefree, rebellious attitude of the 1960s. However, the film seems to play more juvenile than thought provoking. The characters are bums, who don’t work and cheese off their parents when they get in trouble. If that’s not hypocrisy, then what is? I really think that the same exact material could be used as a damning critique of the hippie movement. It never sold the flower power message in a positive light for me.
Then we come to the songs, which are dated and often silly. The ones that are supposed to be edgy seem like they were written by a sex-obsessed teen. However, some songs do work and Treat Williams’ performance is quite good. By the end I began to like the characters even if I didn’t like their choices. The film segment even makes an interesting point about the draft. However, I can’t say I liked the film as a whole. I think it fails to a degree because it argues a pro-hippie point of view, but I felt its characters supported an anti-hippie point of view. I recommend the film to fans of the musical and people curious to see how an icon from the 1960s was brought to the screen.
Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
Creator of Rick's Flicks Picks
