Grade: C
Synopsis: Two anti-establishment bikers (Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper) set out on a cross-country trip to Mardi Gras after completing a drug deal.
Much of Easy Rider doesn’t age well. The counter-culture rhetoric, the fashions, the hippie commune, all seem alien to generations that didn’t live through them. In fact, the whole film has a certain disconnected feeling until Jack Nicholson’s character shows up. Then the film really picks up.
Unlike leads Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper, who are true outsiders, Nicholson’s alcoholic lawyer George Hanson is an everyman relatable to viewers even today. He’s the outsider in Fonda and Hopper’s character’s world.
Easy Rider doesn’t have much of a story, really. Fonda and Hopper do a drug deal and score some cash, and then take off for Mardi Gras. That’s about the extent of it. Much of the film revolves around imagery and symbolism, but out of the 1960’s context, a lot of it fails to resonate. While the film’s central themes—namely, the persecution of outsiders and the meaning of the American dream—are still relevant, the way they’re presented is tied so inextricably to 1969, that Easy Rider is regulated to antique status, appreciated best by those who saw it when it was new.
One Response on “Easy Rider (1969)”:
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daily dwayne said:
Grade: B
i have to agree with the not aging very well sentiment. thing is, does a movie really have to age to be good? i think as long as the viewer knows enough about the period of time when the film was made, it can be relevant in that scope. granted, i’m a child of the 80s. not the 60s, but i’ve read enough and watched enough hippie and political documentaries from that era to get a sense of how things were.
that being said, it is completely an “imagery” piece in my book. the mardi gras scene is proof enough for that…which BTW was all shot as a proof of concept prior to the actual filming of the movie (read the wikipedia page and watch the making of). but i think it succeeds as an imagery piece. they show some of the most beautiful scenery during their rides and convey some of life’s darkest sides without much dialogue.
i would have liked more jack nicholson though…his character made up for fonda and hopper’s lack of charisma.
KIND OF SPOILER: the ending, in my opinion, was a bit over the top. i mean c’mon it almost seemed like they weren’t sure how to end it. enter southern gentlemen in pickup truck…[ending]…movie over.
all in all, if you like motorcycles and/or the 60s, watch it. otherwise, i doubt today’s viewers would give it the praise it deserves.
