Easy Rider
3.5/4 stars

"Easy Rider" is really a great film when judged by the typical standards used to evaluate movies. The direction by Dennis Hopper is often times sloppy and drenched with the era's pretentiousness. Its admirable and original that he wanted to bring the nouvelle vogue style associated with Jean-Luc Goddard to a counterculture film, but he isn't really able to pull it off. To be honest, his overlooked "Out of the Blue" is a much more satisfactory effort from him and proves he had a great deal of directorial talent. Also, with the exception of Jack Nicholson's revelatory turn, the acting is pretty weak as well. Peter Fonda was an icon to be sure, but hes often wooden and his character comes across as annoyingly self-righteous. Hopper is even worse, often comically over-the-top as the paranoid stoner.

You know what though? All this hardly matters. Despite not being a film brimming with technical brilliance, its easy to see why this is regarded as a classic and effected a whole generation (not to mention Hollywood). It perfectly captures the ennui of the hippie era, its idealism and its depression due to the state of chaos the world was in. The deconstruction of the American dream here remains very powerful and sticks with the viewer. Years after you've forgotten the fact that "Easy Rider" isn't expertly made, its central themes stay with you. The film's more downbeat moments also counteract some of the endless and shallow idealism of the era. In addition to that, its still a very cool and enjoyable film to watch with a great soundtrack. "Easy Rider", despite its technical shortcomings, is a highly recommended and important film.

Review by Wolfman