Stanley Sweetheart

Robert T. Westbrook adapted his own acclaimed, semi-autobiographical novel about a Columbia University student in his third year who drops out (a fashionable way of expressing yourself in 1970). The protagonist, Stanley Sweetheart (hailed by literary critics at the time as a successor to Holden Caulfield), is played in the film by a young, high-voiced Don Johnson, whose performance failed to impress Village Voice critic Molly Haskell (she remarked, "The only thing that stands out about Don Johnson is the black roots of his blond hair."). Self-assured, sex-obsessed Stanley lives off-campus in his own apartment: he makes 16mm films; he hates the noise of construction-ridden New York City; he swats at bugs on the carpet; he disgustedly wads up a letter from his woebegone mother, who wonders if he'll ever have a productive life. So far, so good (except for the Michel Legrand/Alan and Marilyn Bergman-composed opening song--some woozy thing that asks if a tree falls in a forest...). There's a lot of talk about pot smoking, decadent materialism, "being free to really be free", masturbation, getting laid, also an attempted homosexual pickup (which freaks our hero out). Westbrook and director Robert Horn want their movie to connect with the kids but not in a direct way (that might be too square). Instead, Horn and his editor give us a somewhat fragmented look at a young man's life in 1970; however, Stanley's day-to-day non-routine doesn't really require this kind of jagged treatment (for instance: when Stanley deflowers the pretty girl in his linguistics class, the moment is extra tender, followed by a bubblegum-music montage of boy-girl coupling with 'cute' nudity). It isn't much of a picture--and one that MGM apparently had no invested interest in--but Johnson is a definite presence (especially in his scenes with Holly Near as his girlfriend's roommate and Michael Greer as a former student at Juilliard). The milieu, now dated, is interesting as a time capsule (including a cameo by Candy Darling at a drug orgy); but "Magic Garden" isn't a magical character study--it's stunted by its overall narrow view of life. When kids try to act like grown-ups but realize they're really just dumb kids, the audience is apt to respond, "What else is new?" ** from ****

Freak-out anything-goes flick from 1970, does a great job of capturing east-coast hippie scene. Some of the scenes from this movie must have been very shocking to the few who saw it upon its initial release, as it pulls no punches in its depiction of nudity and sex and sex and nudity. More or less, this movie seems to have been made to reflect the emerging sexual openness and promiscuity of the time. Not much of a story line, but entertaining to watch, i would recommend it for those looking for a fix of late '60's/early '70's underground culture. A definite drug movie. Do not watch while operating heavy machinery...

A lot of big name actors have started their careers in some risque material (Sylvester Stallone, Ellen Burnstyn, Shannon Elizabeth), but I was surprised to see Don Johnson's name. I thought The Harrad Experiment (1973) was the furthest he got, but this one is more adult than that one. Don is Stanley Sweethart, a Columbia student, and the movie is about his lovelife in the "Free Love era" of the 60's. When not making love to the various women he charms or two-times, he makes a career of filming Russ Meyeresque epics. The acting is a hell of a lot better than an Andy Warhol production; Don still had that distinctive voice coming out of his mouth even then, but there are some pointless scenes. Yes, there's a lot of skin, Don included, but at the time, he didn't know he'd make it big. A curiosity piece, probably impossible to rent on video, but it should be shown on Canadian T.V. on occasion.

This is an interesting movie with an early Don Johnson, pre-dating A Boy And His Dog by a couple of years. He is a drop-out schoolkid/junky who lives on his own, but is mad about a girl at his college. He chases her/gets her/goes mad on drugs and then drops out. A great fun movie. Stanley Sweetheart is an excellent character with lots of quotable lines for you and your friends. He makes his own (hilarious) movies. Most recommended when bored late at night

This could be the definitive film of Andy Warhol's New York sub-culture...and a rare one to find at that! It captures the decadence, the confusion, the drugs, the music and the 'boredom' of this underground world, and it all revolves around the character of Stanley Sweetheart. Don Johnson, in his first film role, plays this character brilliantly, capturing all of this insatiable desire for sensation in this beautifully androgynous performance. There also seems to be an underlying text of hidden homosexual desires, which Stanley continually suppresses, although he seems drawn to Danny character. It's a fascinating work of decadence and decay, and you can just feel Andy Warhol overlooking the whole world of Stanley's decline.