Alice's Restaurant
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Movie Reviews of Alice's Restaurant
Movie Review: Hollywood Hippies
Summary: 3 Stars
I re-visited this film the other night (on Thanksgiving) after not having seen it for some years. I remember when it first came out that I had mixed feelings about it and I still do. It's an interesting film (almost too interesting) but not really what I would call enjoyable. As portrayed in the film, Alice's Restaurant was not a particularly fun place to be.
Part of the problem seems to the director's insistence on making the film "relevant" and "meaningful" in the heavy-handed manner that too many Sixties films did. The movie is most successful when following the mood and theme of the song on which it is supposed to be based; much less so when trying to pad out the plot. The Woody hospital scenes are a nice poignant touch, but the bike races are boring and the character of Shelly is just plain annoying. The acting throughout is inconsistent. Arlo Guthrie is likeable but lightweight and flashes his toothy grin once too often. Pat Quinn as Alice comes off best. Officer Obie is a nice touch but many of the rest of the cast seem to be Hollywood versions of very clean hippies wearing the latest fashions straight off the costume rack.
The biggest problem in the film for me is the character of Ray who I find rather sinister. His background is never really explained and he comes across as a kind of cult leader, always going on about "our kids". His source of income is a mystery - he buys the church and sets up the restaurant but has to borrow $80 from Arlo. He's not very nice to Alice but she seems drawn to him. The hippies follow him without question, apparently happy to trade one establishment for another. The film seems unnecessarily dark whenever Ray is on the scene.
I suppose it's interesting to see this film every once in a while, if only because it provides a kind of snapshot of the times. Perhaps not a totally accurate snapshot, but then memories have a way of improving on reality. For me, I think Alice's Restaurant would have been better with more comedy and less forced dramatics. But, after reading some of the other opinions on here, that is obviously a minority view and I expect the usual "unhelpful" votes for stating it. Peace, man!
Movie Review: Question
Summary: 3 Stars
This isn't so much a review, but just a question - what's the deal with the "Special R rated version" advertised under "Special features" at the back of the dvd case? When I played the dvd, there was no special r rated version in the features menu. Is this some kind of joke? The irony really struck home when I listened to Arlo's commentary about the limited nature of the sex scenes - "that's all you could show at that time". Anyway, I would have bought the dvd regardless of the bogus extra feature. I wouldn't say its a great movie, but it does really capture the essence and atmosphere of the late sixties (even though Arlo manages to point out some of the inaccuracies of the director's presentation of the hippie life style). Also has some nice autumn scenery of Stockbridge, Mass. And an interesting jam session with Pete Seeger. All in all, a keeper.Movie Review: With the sixties coming back...
Summary: 3 Stars
I did like this movie, although it isn't as much of a masterpiece as they want you to think. With the talk of the draft coming back, this movie gives this new generation of hippies (my generation, a.k.a. the young "kids" into politics and against the current war) a reason to feel there are backed by the older hippie generation. I know the music of Arlo, and enjoy it a lot. Like others have said, the song is a bit better, for it isn't as dramatic. I like to compare this movie to the Graduate, for that is a much more light hearted, 60s drama, though not about the war. All in all, I'd say I may come to own the movie, if I watch it a few more times and enjoy more and more, but I may just keep it in my head to rent again sometime in the future.Movie Review: Probably Get Slammed
Summary: 3 Stars
I didn't like this film. I heard the song every Thanksgiving and even bought myself a copy. So when I found out about this film I rented it. It is an interesting cultural movie, but the acting is horrid throughout. This isn't a bad film, but for me the actors brought down my enjoyment. It obviously has a lot of fans who enjoy it. My dvd copy was not very clean, a number of pops and crackles in the sound and grainy film stock. I think that they should produce a nice version for the fans.Movie Review: I did not remener it right
Summary: 3 Stars
I saw this film for the first time 24 years ago when I was a boy. I remembered it as a fantastic film. Now I have seen it again.There are no head and tail in the story. It starts fine, but it never leaves the start. However, it does have a few nice shots and surely the music is really good. So, the two stars are really for the music, and the one star is for the film.