Verano del 76

My wife and I saw this movie on cable TV shortly after it came out and shortly before it disappeared into oblivion, and since we both were little kids in the 70s we both found the movie to be pretty funny. It has its share of really bad jokes (like people slipping on a picture of bananas), but it's not supposed to be intellectual humor. It's supposed to be a campy, cheesy movie that (fondly) makes fun of a decade that contains a lot to make fun of. And it certainly succeeds on that level.

The movie was clearly a very low budget affair, yet the film makers managed to nail little details like the red, white and blue-painted fire hydrant outside the main character's home (there was one of those across the street from the house I grew up in). Everyone involved in the movie seems to have done their homework, but are having fun with it and not taking it too seriously.

I recently discovered that this movie has finally come out on DVD, and at a bargain basement price, so I ordered a copy. My 14 year old daughter watched it with me and loved it - she described it as "stupidly beautiful" and immediately put the soundtrack on her iPod.

So if you're feeling nostalgic for the 70s and think you'd like a low-budget comedy that doesn't pretend to be masterpiece theater, look no further. On the other hand, if 80 minutes of disco music, cameo roles and jokes about bongs and pop rocks doesn't sound like your cup of tea, then avoid.

Whoever came up with this concept deserves an award of some kind. Time travelers from the future need to visit 1776 to learn vital information about the founding of the nation. Unfortunately, something goes wrong, and the explorers wind up in 1976 instead -- without realizing it! Something didn't quite make it in the implementation, though. Maybe it is the obviously rock-bottom budget. Throughout the movie, you are acutely aware that you are watching a movie set with a few Gremlins and Pintos parked here and there. Also, the decision to cast some 70's heartthrobs (Cassidy and Garrett) as major characters was interesting, but these guys are not exactly Academy Award material, if you know what I mean. However, there are some pretty entertaining scenes, including Rob Reiner as the insane leader of an "est"-like cult.

As someone who grew up in the seventies, it was refreshing to see the 70s depicted as strangely as it really was. Some anachronisms exist, such as the exploding Pinto. thjat didn't come to light til the early 80s, but the movies hearts in the right place. Any one who was growing up then, or has even heard of the 70s will love it. Great Music, Great Clothes, and of course the hair brings back frighting nightmares.

In the future, civilization has really declined. The fashions are U.S.S.R. retro, don't you know. Not only that, no one is flourishing. Therefore, when a man named Adam 11 (David Cassidy) insists he has made a time machine, the U.S. government asks him to go back to 1776 and study the founding fathers and the making of the constitution. It is hoped that he and his co-horts, Chanel 6 (Olivia D'Abo) and Heinz 57 will learn how to make society worth living again. The time machine takes off but lands in 1976 instead. Not realizing their mistake, the three interlopers try their best to find out how to revitalize their country with the lessons from the seventies. Amid Pacers and learning the hustle, can they succeed? This movie is a fast and fun look at the much maligned seventies. Things were more colorful then, that's for sure, and people did seem to be having a great time, despite the tight pants and floral shirts. Cassidy, D'Abo and company do a nice job of keeping the spirit of discovery alive. If you lived through the seventies, this movie is made for you. It has so many seventies icons that will make you laugh and remember. The younger crowd, too, would be entertained in seeing what they only know from history books. Don't hesitate to pop this movie in the VCR some evening in the near future. It was made, as the Bay City Rollers croon, for a fun, fun "Saturday Night".

I'd love to be able to say that 'Spirit of 76' is a forgotten comedy classic that desperately needs to be re-evaluated in these post-'Wayne's World'/'Austin Powers'/'That 70s Show' times, but sadly it really isn't all that funny. Still, I own a copy and watch it occasionally and get a few laughs out of it, so it isn't TOTALLY useless.

People who will enjoy it the most will be Redd Kross fans, as the fabulous McDonald brothers co-star. Perhaps the movie would have been better if they'd contributed to the script as well? They certainly know the territory better than most!

Anyway, you've got some silly clothes, a few obvious digs at the fads of the era, some enjoyable disco and metal on the soundtrack, and best of all a really eclectic supporting cast (Devo!). Maybe that's enough. Sometimes you just need some dumb fun...