4/10
I didn’t get this movie. It tells the story of a pair of high school seniors in a run-down city in Texas in the 1950s, and their journey with girls, sex, and the future. I found that the story, much like the town in which it was set, was monotonous—which I assume was intentional, but didn’t appeal to me. Likewise, the film being shot in black and white added both to the setting and the tone of the overall movie.
I think the part that really just bothered me was the treatment of sex and relationships in this movie. The two main characters, Sonny (Timothy Bottoms) and Duane (Jeff Bridges), both have weird relationships throughout the film. Sonny has an affair with his football coach’s depressed, older wife (Cloris Leachman), and Duane has a dysfunctional relationship with the beautiful Jacy (Cybill Shepherd). Many of the characters in this film are lonely, and they often turn to older (and creepier) lovers for company. I didn’t love the treatment of virginity in this film, whether that’s when the disabled boy Billy is forced to have humiliating sex with a prostitute or when the boy that Jacy likes says he won’t be with her until she is no longer a virgin. These weird relationships were just… weird, and I didn’t enjoy watching them. It wasn’t the sex part or even the creepiness (read: pedophilia?) of it—both Midnight Cowboy and Blue Velvet have disturbing sexual themes—but the way it was treated so casually, almost boringly like the vibe of the rest of the film.
In terms of historical context, I do get the hopelessness of the town and the depressing tone of the film. As the Korean War looms over the town and its inhabitants, we see businesses failing, like the local movie theater. With the Vietnam War and all of the political turmoil of the late 1960s and early 1970s in mind, it’s interesting to think about why this story was told in 1971. Were audiences interested in the sex? The relatability of hopelessness? The escapism, even to dull, monotonous lives?
Overall, I wouldn’t recommend this movie. I usually enjoy weird, teen movies, but this one was slow and uneventful, in my opinion.
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