Review of The Last Picture Show (1971) by Ryan H — 13 Sep 2010

I wasn't really sure at first if I was connecting to The Last Picture Show, but by the end I found myself crying and waiting for everything else. Bogdanovich creates this special connection with the audience that is unbelievable. I could definitely relate to everything seeing as this is based around people getting out of high school and looking for where to go next in life. But it's so much more than that. It's the nostalgia that anyone can feel for their hometown while watching this. It's remembering your first love. The awkward first moments you have. The scene in the car when his girlfriend takes off her shirt and bra is so great because most movies would have just jumped on a lustful moment, but that's not how it is in small towns. I loved the scene when Jacy takes off her clothes on the diving board. She is so nervous that she even throws away her clothes, but once she's in the water she discovers her expensive watch from Duane is broken and she doesn't care. In stead she flirts with the other guy in the pool. She is finally seen all the way by people and they accept her. She is no longer the good Christian girl that she pretended to be before (how many small home towns have this girl?). Timothy Bottoms is perfect as Sonny, a young man in a small town trying to find his way in life. In parts he reminded me of Benjamin in The Graduate, and no it's not just because he has an affair with an older woman. They both don't know where to go to discover themselves. They are getting deceived by lust and what they hope is love.

*SPOILERS*.

I was torn apart when Sam died. Then when Ruth goes to visit Sonny in the hospital and he denies her visit. Even though it was awful for Ruth to cheat on her husband I still hated to see her treated so badly. And I really couldn't hold in the tears anymore when Billy dies. Sonny rushes out to his body and they all are just making rude comments about Billy. I just wanted to punch them all. But the movie isn't just dramatic, it also has it's funny moments. I thought it was hilarious when Duane tries to have sex with Jacy for the first time but he can't get hard. "That tickles and you know I hate to be tickled!" And the beginning when everyone in town gives them crap for not being able to tackle, then it comes back in the end. So great. Really, this might be the best teen movie ever made.