I was only five years-old when this film debuted, so the 60s don't hold quite the same magical nostalgic hold on me that they hold for some older folks. I'm sure for many of them, this film was a nice little stroll down memory lane--but for me I mostly found it slow and annoying, though there were many bits and pieces that I liked. Additionally, as an American History teacher, I did appreciate how this was all like a time capsule--with both the good and bad of the era all rolled into one package.
The movie purports to be based on real-life situations that occurred to Arlo Guthrie when he was 18. How close to the truth his song "Alice's Restauran" and this movie are is anyone's guess. However, I did appreciate that the film was not a whitewash of the era. While there was a lot of idealism, free love and self-expression, the film also had a very dark side that particularly came out at the end--and was a great way to show that the idealism of the 60s was starting to die a slow death. I know that the Leonard Maltin Guide disliked this downbeat ending, but I liked it--making the movie, in a way, like "Paradise Lost" meets the 1960s. The only problem I had with the ending is that it seemed to drag on way too long and could have benefited from a slight trimming to keep it focused and make it end a bit stronger.
As for the funny moments, everything about the littering arrest was pretty funny. Making stacks of police photos of the "horrible crime scene" and then giving all this to the blind judge was pretty absurd! Also how this minor incident resulted in Guthrie's being rejected from the draft was kind of cute (though I wonder just how true that was--if it was, then that's nuts!).
Other than the funny and poignant parts at the end about the dark side of the 60s, there wasn't a whole lot I liked about the film. It really seemed more like an aimless home movie--something crowds in the 60s liked (with the success of this film and EASY RIDER, it's pretty self-evident). But today--in the 21st century--I just can't see it making much of a positive impact on most younger viewers and will probably just elicit boredom as well as questions such as "who are Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger?".
By the way, for a guy who was no actor, I was impressed with Arlo Guthrie's performance. It was better than you might expect considering he was a folk singer and not an actor. Too bad he didn't have too many credits after this film.
The movie purports to be based on real-life situations that occurred to Arlo Guthrie when he was 18. How close to the truth his song "Alice's Restauran" and this movie are is anyone's guess. However, I did appreciate that the film was not a whitewash of the era. While there was a lot of idealism, free love and self-expression, the film also had a very dark side that particularly came out at the end--and was a great way to show that the idealism of the 60s was starting to die a slow death. I know that the Leonard Maltin Guide disliked this downbeat ending, but I liked it--making the movie, in a way, like "Paradise Lost" meets the 1960s. The only problem I had with the ending is that it seemed to drag on way too long and could have benefited from a slight trimming to keep it focused and make it end a bit stronger.
As for the funny moments, everything about the littering arrest was pretty funny. Making stacks of police photos of the "horrible crime scene" and then giving all this to the blind judge was pretty absurd! Also how this minor incident resulted in Guthrie's being rejected from the draft was kind of cute (though I wonder just how true that was--if it was, then that's nuts!).
Other than the funny and poignant parts at the end about the dark side of the 60s, there wasn't a whole lot I liked about the film. It really seemed more like an aimless home movie--something crowds in the 60s liked (with the success of this film and EASY RIDER, it's pretty self-evident). But today--in the 21st century--I just can't see it making much of a positive impact on most younger viewers and will probably just elicit boredom as well as questions such as "who are Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger?".
By the way, for a guy who was no actor, I was impressed with Arlo Guthrie's performance. It was better than you might expect considering he was a folk singer and not an actor. Too bad he didn't have too many credits after this film.