The People Next Door

Sadly Eli's overacting and completely preposterous reactions to every single thing that happened wore extremely thin pretty rapidly. It's too bad because there's many things that work in this film. The music is very good and there's some very powerful scenes of confrontation and honesty. Seems to lose it's direction from time to time but eventually finds it's way back on track. It's easy to say these are messed up people, and maybe they are. But it was common and new and there was no frame of reference for people to cope with these issues. The neighbor's weren't any better. Parents are rarely ever portrayed realistically in movie throughout the decades. In this film the fathers were more over the top in their knee jerk reactions. The mothers were sympathetic and I did feel for them. The young adults were all excellent and once again I should say that the music was appropriate and absorbing. I can see why it garnered the praise it did and it's not nearly as dated as others from this era. This could have been a solid 6 or even a 7 if it wasn't for Eli's dundering incompetence. He should stick to westerns where his stilted dialogue delivery is easier to overlook. Editing was okay and the mood was consistent for the most part.

Seemed like one of those after school special on troubled teens, preoccupied parents, and anti-drugs turned all the way up to 11. Wasn't in the mood for it.

Theatrical remake of a well-regarded 1968 "CBS Playhouse" special for television about the secret drug-life of today's suburban teenagers was directed both times by David Greene, who practically disowned this franker, R-rated version. The problem could be in the central casting: Eli Wallach pushes far too hard as the clueless father of a tripping 16-year-old girl while mom Julie Harris smokes and looks distraught (when her daughter tells her she's on the Pill, Harris hilariously responds, "I think I'm losing my mind!"). The original rock songs (performed by The Bead Game and The Glass Bottle) are dreadfully pedagogic--hoping to 'inform' us with their lyrics--but, since nobody can reach this alienated girl, what good is it probing her inner-thoughts to music? Generation Gap tale has a solid cast (including Hal Holbrook, Cloris Leachman, Rue McClanahan, Stephen McHattie, Don Scardino, newcomer Deborah Winters, and Rutanya Alda as a pixilated nurse), yet the pitch of the film is off, hysterical instead of riveting. ** from ****

Don't judge a book by its cover, or so the saying goes. Bloody good advice to tell you the truth! Is the same principle advised for movies? Well yes to some degree but much less so. After all, its only gonna take 90mins of your time to watch a movie. So what, right? Today's film is one I watched on account of its poster which I found in an exploitation movie art book, it depicted a somewhat haunting image of a white silhouette of a girl grabbing onto a tree in the dead of night; a distorted image that suggests something is not quite right. So, an eye-grabbing and odd poster, what about the film? Its about a dysfunctional family who experience serious problems when the teenage daughter develops a serious drug problem. Its an effective addiction drama, with a nice cast which includes Eli Wallach as the father. It does have melodramatic tendencies which anti-drug movies often have but that's okay in this case, as its never less than involving. So, a big yay to movie poster art - it makes you check out movies you never otherwise would.

unfortunately, the only treasured memory I have of this film is the fully nude hairy biker descending the stairs...I saw the SNEAK PREVIEW Of this movie in 1970, when I was ten, accompanied by my parents and my mother's 84 year old childhood governess. I can say that it was electrifying to me at that age to see a middle-class home thrown into chaos by naked tripping hippies. The governess did not have any comment, but what she must have been thinking...I always wondered if the male nude scene was later cut for general release, and if so was I privileged enough to see the DIRECTOR'S CUT with my parents and the governess...this would still be a fairly shocking film if seen today. needs a DVD release.