Review of Easy Rider (1969) by Pat B — 14 Apr 2010
What a piece of shit. This 95 minute long 'film' feels like a four hour torture fest.
Not only does this movie lack any semblance of a plot, but the only thread of character development happens in the 15 seconds in which Jack Nicholson's character decides to change from an alcoholic lawyer to an alcoholic biker companion.
The characters are flat and lame and the film reeks of hippie pretentiousness. One scene that sticks out in my mind is when Hopper and Fonda are on a hippie commune talking (for what seems like the 100th time) about how people need to escape society, man. Wow...overt, bludgeoning social commentary, how insightful!
Later in the scene we are treated to shots of hippies planting seeds in the desert. Supposedly to represent the difficulty of the hippies' struggle against society, the only statement this scene makes is how fucking pretentious it is.
The rapid zoom-in-zoom-out camera sequences also suck and were annoying.
I would give this film a 0% however, a few things saved it for me which brings it to a 20%. The first was the Phil Spector as a cocaine buyer cameo which I thought was hilarious. Next was the FIRST time the duo drove down the road in their motorcycles with "Born to Be Wild" playing in the background. Pretty cool the first time, but WAY overused to the point where every time I heard a guitar riff, I wanted to slit my wrists. As a guitar player, that's quite a feat to accomplish. Thanks Easy Rider.
The third good thing about this film was Nicholson. Prior to the introduction of his character, this film was up Shit Creek with no paddle. Nicholson, for a while anyway, was that paddle.
Fuck this movie, it sucked. If you liked it, you are most likely a baby-boomer with a weight problem, midlife crisis, and male pattern baldness who desperately wants to relive the days of his imagined youth before the boring day to day struggle of life is squeezed from your hardening veins by that last Big Mac. You might also be a teenager who thinks this film sums up your 'rebellious nature.' Bullshit. First of all you are most likely a pussy. Secondly, no. Just no. This movie sucked and I hate it.
To quote UMB's review of Blade Runner, "Some of you may disagree, most of you can fuck off.".
This review of Easy Rider (1969) was written by Pat B on 14 Apr 2010.
Easy Rider has generally received very positive reviews.
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