SnoReptilePlenty Memorable, crazy movie

Marketic It's no definitive masterpiece but it's damn close.

FeistyUpper If you don't like this, we can't be friends.

FuzzyTagz If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

moonspinner55 Half-serious drive-in flick has two teen girls, driving up the coast from Southern California, picking up a handsome hitchhiker, a soldier who is experiencing bad flashbacks from his time in the Army; meanwhile, the police are searching for a serial killer who targets female hippies. May be one of the earliest movies of the Vietnam-era to imply that killing for the military leads to the damaged mental states of the veterans here at home--but even so, the movie is so pedestrian and amateurish that no underlying message can rescue it. Michael Ontkean proves to be a self-assured young actor, and Ralph Waite amusingly turns up as a hippie guru with mutton chops, but the young ladies are vapid and unlikable. Cinematography is by David M. Walsh, who quickly became the go-to director of photography on some of the most popular films of the decade (his wavy, green-tinted flashbacks would be witty under different circumstances). * from ****

Woodyanders Uptight nerdette Karen (cute Diane Hull) and her more uninhibited gal pal Debbie (the equally adorable Kathleen Cody) are a couple of teenage gals who decide to hit the road in search of fun, boys, and thrills. The ladies visit a hippie encounter group on the beach and give a lift to troubled Vietnam veteran Will (a solid and credible performance by Michael Ontkean), who might just be the serial killer who's been terrorizing the area.Director Thomas J. Schmidt keeps the engrossing story moving along at a brisk pace, nicely captures the breezy'n'easy carefree mindset of the main adolescent protagonists, and pulls off a surprising tonal shift halfway through the picture, with things starting out pretty light and merry before becoming more increasingly dark and serious as the narrative unfolds towards a startlingly violent and ambiguous conclusion. Hull and Cody register as fetching and appealing leads; they receive sturdy support from Ralph Waite as charismatic guru John (who comes on to the underage Karen!), John McMurty as loopy oddball The Maker, Pamela Serpe as far-out chick Frances, Richard Grayling as a killjoy motorcycle cop, and Rigg Kennedy as laid-back guitar player Chip. Look fast for Uschi Digard as a bikini-clad babe on the beach. David M. Walsh's bright cinematography gives this film an attractive sunny look and makes the most out of the picturesque locations. Tom McIntosh's groovy score does the right-on harmonic trick. A nifty little time capsule of the early 1970's.

lazarillo I'm not sure why, but I kind of liked this. It's very tame--aside from some brief nudity it could have been a TV movie. (The presence of sexploitation star Uschi Digardt might suggest a much racier movie, but she is literally only in a single brief shot in the opening credits). The plot is randomly weird, and the ending is infuriatingly ambiguous. Then there is the title song which. . . well, let me put it this way: if you went up to anybody on the street and asked them to make up a 70's-style song on the spot and sing it a capella, it would probably sound better than the one in this movie.Two girls who have just graduated from high school take a trip out to the California beach. After causing an accident by flashing a passing motorist and getting rousted by the police, they pick up a hitch-hiker (Michael Ontkean) who is suffering from traumatic flashbacks caused by his time in Vietnam. The hitchhiker brings them to a commune headed by a guru (played by the guy who went on to become TV's "Papa Walton")and a drug-addled crazy who calls himself "the Creator". Meanwhile, someone is going around strangling young women. . .This movie manages to capture some of the strange ambiance of this era, but not in the annoyingly self-reflexive way most later movies would (the music may be terrible, but at least it's not the usual overused cues for collective Baby-Boomer nostalgia). The two girls are pretty and appealing, and surprisingly innocent--this may be the first movie where young protagonists vow to lose their virginity and then completely fail to do so. (The brunette ALMOST gets it on with Papa Walton, which in itself is worth the price of admission). This is not very good, but it's an interesting time-capsule piece from the era kind of like "Last Summer", "Runaway, Runaway", "The Todd Killings", or "Welcome to Arrow Beach"

chet19 Seeing Ralph waite, the father on The Waltons, play a hippie who runs a commune and hits on 17-year-olds is worth the price of this baby! Plus, you gotta see his sideburns! The plot is no worse than any other road movie, and this is one of many, many female road movies that came before Thelma and Louise and gets no credit.