Alice's Restaurant
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Movie Reviews of Alice's Restaurant
Movie Review: Brings back a lot of memories
Summary: 4 Stars
I was in high school when this movie was released and watching it now brought back a lot of memories about a very mixed-up time in our country. This movie was pretty special when it was released, and it looks even more special today, now that most Hollywood films rarely concentrate on human emotions (particularly tenderness) and adult relationships. I was a bit disappointed in the quality of the print transfer to DVD, but the commentary is a big plus. I wish Arthur Penn had directed more films. I bought the DVD before reading Arlo Guthrie's comments or I would have waited.Movie Review: read Arlo's review and do what's right for you
Summary: 4 Stars
It's a great movie and is my primary Thanksgiving tradition, but I'm not buying this DVD until the artist is happy with the whole package, artistic AND business presentation. I will just play my old VHS copy again this year and wait this one out. For those of you who want something tasty while you wait, check out the Arlo Guthrie/Pete Seeger double CD "Together in Concert," because it's full of good feelings and great songs.Movie Review: Alice's restaurant
Summary: 4 Stars
An old movies that I saw way back in the late sixties and recently thought that I would like to see it again but had a lot of trouble getting it until a friend suggested I look on amazon......there it was.
A good movie,certainly not a classic but a great memory from many years ago.
Movie Review: Lots of fun
Summary: 4 Stars
This is a great look into the crazy world of the late 60's and the life and times of Alro Guthrie. A must have if you enjoy the song.Movie Review: Free Love and Freaky Hippies...
Summary: 3 Stars
I was one year old when this movie came out. Growing up I had all the influences of the 60's and none of the benefits. So I can understand how someone in their early 20s during the late 60's could identify with this movie, but I really can't relate to the lifestyle. Some of the "free spirit" attitudes just made no sense to me. The hippies seemed to have no sense of responsibility or accountability; maybe that was the point, but certain scenes didn't really stress the negative aspects of this attitude. The young mother dragging on a joint holding a newborn, or Alice hooking-up with the junkie behind Ray's back. These scenes were at the parts meant to accentuating the positive side of free spirits, not the negative; but I can?t see anyone in any decade thinking a woman getting stoned holding a baby is cool. Also, the hippies seemed a little over the top in begin jerks to poor Officer Obie. Chill out, the guy's only doing his job. After all, for being hippies, Arlo WAS littering up nature. And I couldn't really get over the fact that a bunch of kids who have no jobs (Alice seemed to fail miserably at the Restaurant) could afford a huge Thanksgiving dinner or that megaparty-wedding. Where'd they get the money? Since this movie in part idealizes hippie life, I can only wonder about the reality of hippie life.
I guess I really didn't know what to expect when I rented the movie. Since the song is satirical and a little caustic, I expected the movie to be the same; but it bounced back and forth all over the place. The song ''Alice's Restaurant'' is fantastic as a biting commentary on the draft and the establishment, but the movie jumps from enacting the song, to showcasing the free hippie life, to a drug overdose death (which is distinctly NOT funny), to slapping women and becoming an ugly drunk. Nor was there any character development, not even with Arlo, who at the end makes the comment "I've got a lot of hard traveling to do" (like, what have you been doing so far?). The director's many messages were ultimately muddied and lost. Other period movies with much the same themes (MASH, Catch 22, Harold and Maude, Easy Rider) were more successful in getting their underlying messages across.
Ok, maybe I'm overanalyzing. It would have been pretty cool to be at that Thanksgiving dinner (although I wouldn't have wanted to deal with the War). And there are some absolutely great aspects to this movie. Probably the best is Arlo's commentary. I saw the movie a second time with the commentary on and it is an absolute riot. 35 years later that guy is STILL a crackup. The music is really very good too, especially the folk music with Pete Seeger. Arlo is a great musician. And Tina Chen is gorgeous - she's worth renting the DVD alone (kudos to the director for hiring an Asian-American to play the girlfriend at the height of the Vietnam War). So I give the DVD a solid 3 stars. It's worth a view if you have any interest in the 60's scene, and I'm sure many people will love it and want to own it.