Review of Easy Rider (1969) by Stephen S — 05 Mar 2017

A defining movie from one of the most famous and revolutionary eras of our history, Easy Rider embodies the hedonism and free spiritedness of the hippie movement, as well as its paranoia and fear of authoritarianism, i.

E., 'The Man'. It may have been a marvel at the time, but today it's age definitely shows. About half of the runtime consists of our 2 heroes riding their bikes through the America South West while a contemporary soundtrack plays.

I can't imagine anybody watching it today who wasn't alive in the sixties and actually getting anything out of it. It moves slowly, the actors stoned out of their minds and uttering vague declarations of government control and the end of their way of life, or whatever it was.

The editing is bizarre, and the show is stolen by Jack Nicholson's madcap performance, completely overshadowing the relatively sedate turns by Hopper and especially Fonda, who mostly looks like he couldn't care less about what is happening around him.

That might be the point, the idea that he's tapped into some kind of higher consciousness, like many a stoner has claimed to have done, but it doesn't make for entertaining viewing. It's a product of time through and through, and while it may have captured the ethos of its day, it leaves a lot to be desired all these decades later.