7/10
Poor title for well intentioned 1960s set picture
13 July 2015
Although there was several scenes of casual drug use here, the title seems off putting. The story concerns itself with teen Brian Kerwin being one last chance by going to a strict military school. Of course, a lot of his fellow students are more interested in goofing off than in discipline, setting up the comic scenes, including an elaborate scene of the boys trying to get high by smoking bananas. It's obvious influence is "Animal House"-it has Stephen Furst as the overweight loser-with added crudity and toilet humour, which are drawbacks. But where it scores is in the creation of the last 1960s. The treat of Vietnam is brought up a few times, and the general feeling of discontent is evident, personified in the hippie girl Kerwin befriends. She and her far our pals provide a tie-dyed contrast to the straitlaced academy. And then there's the music. Beginning with "For What It's Worth", every tune is a classic. Even the live band at a party have soundalikes for Grace Slick and Janis Joplin. Will a little more care, this could have been a winner. One clunker of a scene involves a cruel joke about a dog in a microwave, totally incongruous and unfunny. Apart from that, this has many worthy scenes, and a pretty good cast
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