Rude Awakening

I cannot understand why this movie is not rated higher. I have seen this movie several times and it gets funnier and better each time. It is unique and if you are a Baby Boomer that attended university during the 70's, it will bring back some beautiful and nostalgic memories of period of youthful innocence and curiosity that so quickly came and then disappeared. It was an age of new thoughts and philosophies that were lost to our Boomer generation during the oncoming greed and corruption that arose in the selfish "Yuppie" 80's. If you have not seen it ... I recommend you watch it with someone who lived through this time period. Further, if you have seen it before and failed to take it in and appreciate its a unique capturing of a special time in our Boomer generation, try it a second time and perhaps you will get it...because it is definitely there and worth a second chance.

This appeared at a convenient point in time for pop culture self-examination through the movies; the narrative intent is that we can review the 1980s through the lens of 1960s thinking.

It starts off with a 'reprogramming' of a dropout via LSD and movie indoctrination. This could have been something clever...instead it deteriorates by hallucinating through "Up In Smoke" and Leone westerns.

The 'ideal world' is depicted as "Woodstock", with the main characters stolen out of "Easy Rider". They take an excursion through "Salvador" and "The Mosquito Coast".

The whole thing, production-wise, staggers about in a manner as clumsy as "Where the Buffalo Roam" and "Animal House". It resolves through "Deer Hunter", "Stripes" and the Beatles' 'Revolution'.

The point of all this is to tear down the detached, colorless, sexless, 'boozh-wa' 1980s and reindoctrinate the audience to 'the truth' with the 'romantic' drug of the movie. An audience is assembled in the movie to first provoke (in us)the intended feeling of 'guilt', and the second time to sublimate into 'activism'.

As I wrote earlier, it's just not clever. The problem is, it doesn't know how to target the comedic center. Everything ends up as a target, including Roberts because he doesn't know how to play this in a smart way -- there's no winking at the viewer. The producers thought this was 'affirming', oblivious to the joke on themselves.

In 1969, peace loving hippies Eric Roberts (as Fred) and Cheech Marin (as Hesus) flee to Central America, to avoid being drafted into Vietnam War service. Why the US government believes Mr. Marin would be of any real use during warfare is never explained; but, Mr. Roberts looks like a major Commie-killing loss. Anyway, they spend the next 20 years hiding in the jungle, smoking marijuana, and enjoying peace. Their hippie friends, Julie Hagerty (as Petra) and Robert Carradine (as Sammy), remain behind. While in Central America, Roberts and Marin learn about a US invasion plan, and decide to return to New York, and stop the war. They are in for a rude awakening...

In 1989, the peace movement appears dead. Roberts and Marin try to adapt to the changes in American society. They try to re-connect with Ms. Hagerty and Mr. Carradine, who have become materialistic yuppies. How can they erase their friends' 1980s brainwashing, avoid capture by perseverating FBI man Cliff De Young (as Brubaker), and stop the war?

Aaron Russo and Neil Levy's underrated "Rude Awakening" certainly doesn't always work; but, it's funny more often than not. Roberts and Marin are almost a satirical casting in-joke (sixties, meet the eighties). One of the film's most obvious misses is that the main attempt to transcend a 20-year-gap is an unconvincing pair of pasted-on beards. Although, to answer Roberts' later, more general question, "How's my hair?" Great. It's impossible to hold back laughing at Marin's first meeting with the "fish". But, they should have used Don Knotts voice. Of the four "hippie" friends, Carradine's is, performance-wise, most convincing. Check out Louise Lasser (as Ronnie)'s customers!

The highlight of the film is a terrific "cocktail party" hosted by Carradine and uptight wife Cindy Williams (as June). They are visited by the "Stools", Buck Henry (as Lloyd) and Andrea Martin (as April). A cocktail party attended by Cheech Marin, Eric Roberts, Robert Carradine, Buck Henry, Cindy Williams, and Andrea Martin is every bit as funny as it sounds. If only they could have figured out how to get Lasser there (and the overhead mike out). There are enough funny moments, all around; but, the hilarious supporting characterizations by Martin and Williams, alone, make this well worth watching.

****** Rude Awakening (1989) Aaron Russo ~ Eric Roberts, Cheech Marin, Andrea Martin

A very good example that it's not enough to have a great actor (in this case, Eric Roberts), to get a very good movie. You also have to have a great story. And, in this case, the story is stupid, banal, boring. We have a handful of some good actors, Julie Hagerty, Robert Carradine, Cindy Williams, Andrea Martin, Buck Henry, Cliff De Young, who worked hard: in vain, the result, a failed film. With such a cast, I thought I would see a particularly good movie: great disappointment! Watching this you'll probably fall asleep and you'll have a dull and boring awaking.

Classic tale of two stoners dropping out to have a good time in the jungle for twenty years and then coming back to find the whole world has been taken over by a terrible sickness known as the eighties - yup, they all wear stupid clothes and talk and do a load of rubbish, while the real men from the sixties have all kiinds of trouble fitting in and showing people the value of slobbing around, caning it and having fun without dressing up like Rebecca DeMornay in Weird Science. This film carries a very important message for us all about avoiding eighties style and values, but, like the other guy said, don't watch it in a serious mood, this is a hilarious comedy classic NOT a horror flick, after all.