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I watched this for the first time last night, in order to prep for my eventual "80's List" submission. I sought it out because I thought I had read a poster in the 80's thread (thought, because now I can't find it) say he enjoyed it more than Levinson's "Diner". Tarantino also calls it one the best film writer/director debuts ever.

Now, I wouldn't go that far (on either statement; "Diner" is a better directorial debut). But it is a fairly enjoyable on-the-road/coming-of-age film bolstered by an ensemble cast including Kevin Costner, Sam Robards, Judd Nelson, and Chuck Bush as college grads on one last road trip before the 1971 Draft. There's some other dude that is asleep/nursing a hangover with them the whole time, but I honestly forgot about him for most the movie.

The use of this cast and how they frame them is what I enjoyed most about the film. Costner is in full swagger mode , Robards' character is the one who makes bad decisions, and Nelson is the whiny one who must learn to toughen up. They all have to mature and it's fairly typical, but what saves it are:

A great understated performance by Chuck Bush as "Dorman". He's the fourth of the four/five (yeah, that sleeping kid who's not in the poster. He's five, right?) guys taking the road trip and has no back story compared to Costner, Robards, and Nelson. He's just around to read Sartre and Gibran, and help out physically. He just barely has more of a character arc than the sleeping hangover kid. Which is too bad, because I enjoyed him the most. More so than the whininess of Robards and Nelson. This movie came out the same year Nelson was in "The Breakfast Club" and "St. Elmos Fire" (which I haven't seen in forever), which now looks like kind of a peak year for the Brat Packer.

I found a website dedicated to the film, and I learned that a plane/helicopter sequence was filmed above the highways of my old hometown of Tulsa, Oklahoma! Alot of the movie was filmed around Marfa, Texas ("Giant" is referenced in the film), the same location as recent films "No Country For Old Men" and "There Will Be Blood". I swear a gas station the Groovers stop at looks like one that Anton Sugur does.

The film is set in 1971, but really has that eighties feel to it. I can't really explain it any better than to point out it is produced by Amblin, at which point I feel like they were at a high point. Maybe it's Costner's mullet in a flashback/dream(?) sequence, or Robards' fiancee having crimped hair at one point...the airplane pilot goes to pick up Robards' fiancee in a big-house suburban type nighborhood...

But I digress; I enjoyed this film and was wondering who else has seen it. I don't think it adds anything new to it's genre(s), but is a great lazy afternoon hangout type flick to put on. I may be giving it a special pass because I enjoyed these types of films popping up on HBO, growing up in the eighties. I completely missed this one back then.

Reynolds went on to "Prince Of Thieves" and "Waterword", but I've heard that "The Beast" is worth watching. Has anyone seen it? I also read that Reynolds wrote the original script for "Red Dawn" which John Milius rewrote(re-Righted).

I really like Fandango too. It's possibly Costner's best performance after Bull Durham, done before he became a big star and developed a big ego. I think what I like most about it is how it starts off as this freewheeling road movie but as reality of their situation (the looming specter of being drafted and fighting in 'Nam) catches up to the Groovers, the film begins to take a slightly serious tone and by the film's end, with the wedding, it actually becomes quite affectingly melancholic which I really like and elevates from other '80s teen comedies of the time.

Fletch F. Fletch wrote:I think what I like most about it is how it starts off as this freewheeling road movie but as reality of their situation (the looming specter of being drafted and fighting in 'Nam) catches up to the Groovers, the film begins to take a slightly serious tone and by the film's end, with the wedding, it actually becomes quite affectingly melancholic which I really like and elevates from other '80s teen comedies of the time.

I agree, Fletch, and I think the ending really nails that too. With so many movies having trouble with their endings these days, I was honestly suprised that Reynolds ended the film like he did. Affectingly melancholic indeed. And no "Where Are They Now" title cards at the end!

Zumpano wrote:[With so many movies having trouble with their endings these days, I was honestly suprised that Reynolds ended the film like he did. Affectingly melancholic indeed. And no "Where Are They Now" title cards at the end!

I agree. The absence of those title cards allows us to imagine our own thoughts about what happens to the characters after the film ends. I'd rather it be left to my imagination then spelled out.

Gardner Barnes is one of the great american characters of the last 50 years,Costner's performance is nothing short of brilliant and the ending of the movie is one of the greatest marriages of film and music i've ever seen (the final fade-out with Blind Faith's "Can't Find My Way Home")..Probably my most beloved movie of all time..Which isn't to say it doesn't have some major problems,i've just come to love them as much as anything else in it...

i love the wedding scene w/ the lines of lights above everything and the mariachi, it's a fantastic movie to drink alone while watching if you're so inclined like i was when i saw it

The best thing pat metheny's ever done too,that music.Except maybe his "noise" record from '92-Zero Tolerance For Silence...That overhead shot of Suzy Amis' dress spinning while she's dancing with Gardner...Spinning,spinning and then she puts her arm down to stop herself and whoosh...Gorgeous shot...

Because Googe ads has no creativity.

Agree with the overall praise for this one. After all these years I still can't believe its so underrated...perhaps its because most of the other actors never made it "big" like Costner? One of the great road movies of all time.
As an aside, the story goes that Steven Spielberg whose Amblin Entertainment produced the movie, actually commissioned Reynolds to expand his short student film into a full length feature, and then ended up not liking the final product and removing his name from the credits. No accounting for taste.

Something that also befell his followup, The Beast of War, which was produced during David Puttnam's short reign at Columbia, but dumped by the studio after Coca-Cola fired him. Really good film.

I always confuse him with Roger Christian, another director of some talent and promise, who nonetheless have done a good job of making films that makes me question whether that was ever so. Both got a helping hand from the most prosperous of the Movie Brats (Spielberg, Lucas), both became scapegoats for flops caused by movie-star vanity (Waterworld, Battlefield Earth).

As an aside, the story goes that Steven Spielberg whose Amblin Entertainment produced the movie, actually commissioned Reynolds to expand his short student film into a full length feature, and then ended up not liking the final product and removing his name from the credits. No accounting for taste.

I've always wondered why Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall were in the credits and Spielberg wasn't.I mean Amblin is Spielberg's company.i'd love to hear more of the story behind that...

FWIW-the scene in The Master when Freddie helps L.Dobbs dig up the crate in the desert totally seemed like an homage to the exhuming of "Dom" in Fandango...

Spielberg also went sans producing credit on another USC film grad's debut feature: Phil Joanou's truly excellent THREE O'CLOCK HIGH (1987). According to Joanou, he enjoyed his film, although it's very dark tone somewhat surprised him. I wonder if he had his name removed so that their movies could be judged more on their own merits rather than as a result of his involvement with them.

Mel Brooks did that w/ Elephant Man too, so his name wouldn't mislead people that it was a comedy. Maybe Spielberg didn't want to scare off the adult audience for these?

Love 3 O'clock High!! Never knew Spielberg had his mitts on that...I can see your point about him wanting to lay low on these but since when has Spielberg been known for his restraint? Like ever?And maybe if the company's logo didn't have the bicycle floating past the moon from E.T. featured so prominently it could've snuck under some people's radar.But as it was/is i think everyone knows who's company it is and that he had something to do with both films...

No I believe Reynolds confirmed in interviews that Spielberg sort of quietly removed himself from the movie because he basically didn't like it. I believe the USC short film was the parachuting scene only and Spielberg caught that and asked Reynolds to expand it to a feature. Then he was disappointed in the end result.

No I believe Reynolds confirmed in interviews that Spielberg sort of quietly removed himself from the movie because he basically didn't like it. I believe the USC short film was the parachuting scene only and Spielberg caught that and asked Reynolds to expand it to a feature. Then he was disappointed in the end result.

I can buy that...I've always assumed the reason it hasn't shown up on dvd yet is because of music rights issues with Steppenwolf but i have no solid proof on that.Anyone know anything?

In R1 it came out a few years ago and it's still in print. Reynolds has a longer cut of the film in his possession, and I hope it'll eventually be commercially available.

??? I could've sworn i scoured the internet looking for it not too long ago but i'm obviously thinking of a different movie as there are about 15 copies of it on ebay.Thanks for the heads up and i would love to see an extended cut as well...

thanks to this thread, watched this and LOVED it. what a beautiful last 15 minutes. thanks all!