This Southern fried take on the coming of age in the fab 50s genre popularized by American Graffiti will keep your attention---barely. The film relies on a generous selection of rock and roll classics to help prop up its extremely thin story, but commits a major faux pas in the very first scene: as protagonist Rodent (geeky beyond belief Gary Springer) announces the story's 1958 setting, what should blare over the opening credits but Betty Everett's sublime 1964 hit The Shoop Shoop Song. As one would expect from a '70s era slice of Happy Days nostalgia, the film wavers considerably in its attention to period detail, though the location work and cars are excellent and co-star Brian Kerwin has the correct James Dean coif. Nothing terribly special, Hometown USA is yet another spin around the block with some dimbulb lads with plans for a night of illicit sex.
Review of Hometown U.S.A.
