The Death of Richie

Ben Gazzara and Robby Benson are solid as battling father and son in this true story about a teenage boy, rebellious and prone to joy-riding all night, who gets involved with drugs. His hard-working, long-suffering parents try to stop the downward spiral, but nothing can break through to their angry, apathetic kid, who seems intent on destroying himself. Despite dated trappings and an overemphasis on parents of addicts who cop out or turn a blind eye (designed to show all sides), the film still packs a small punch. John McGreevey's teleplay, adapted from the book "Richie" by Thomas Thompson, is a bit thick with writer's ink, and the pretensions show through (particularly in an early scene with the father giving a speech in his son's bedroom at two in the morning). However, director Paul Wendkos does a good job at steering us through the tragic circumstances, and the family's plight is certainly a heart-rending one.

There were many anti-drug made for TV movies in the 1970s. This is probably the best one of the lot (outside of "Go Ask Alice"). Robbie Benson was excellent in the role of a troubled teen who is caught up in drug addiction. There was a scene where he was in his room, crying after a particularly bad day at high school. Benson did an exemplary job of showing the kid's isolation and loneliness. Ben Gazarra was also excellent in the role of the father who ultimately has to made a hard decision concerning his son. I remember being outraged at the ending, but looking back on it, I understand why it had to come to that conclusion. I have noticed that some made for TV films have been released on video and DVD. This one should be released as well.

A movie I remember when I was a kid that made me scared to death to use drugs.

"The Death Of Richie", more than thirty-five years later, remains a pretty effective made-for-television movie. It is fairly tough going at times, for several reasons. The main reason is that it portrays drug addiction in a pretty realistic fashion, showing that there is no easy way out of the situation for both the addict and his loved ones. Another reason is with the character of Richie. He is a pretty unlikable fellow, though after some time I realized that may have been the point, to show that drugs can make anyone into a repulsive sort of person. Benson gives an excellent performance as Richie, though Ben Gazarra also deserves kudos portraying the struggling father who is not completely sympathetic. If there is a flaw in the movie, it may be that it does not illustrate how Richie got into drugs in the first place - the movie starts in the middle of his addiction. Though I do realize that movies don't always have the time to show every detail of a situation.

RELEASED TO TV IN early 1977 and directed by Paul Wendkos, "The Death of Richie" is a drama about a teen, Richie Werner (Robby Benson), who turns to drugs and increasingly troubles his family to the point that his father (Ben Gazzara) is compelled to take extreme measures in solving the problem. Eileen Brennan plays the mother. The movie is based on the real-life account detailed in the book "Richie" by Thomas Thompson about the 1972 death of George Richard "Richie" Diener Jr. from Long Island at the hands of his father, George Diener, who was not charged with a crime.

The drug culture was still relatively new in the 70s and so parents were generally ignorant of the pitfalls thereof, which explains why the parents wait too long to tackle Richie's drug problem by sending him to rehab or whatever. The movie illustrates how teens are drawn into the druggie lifestyle via hanging around the wrong crowd and the corresponding peer pressure. As they say: "Bad company corrupts good character." Mr. Werner should have banned Richie's drug-inclined buddies from his property WAY before he does, not to mention get him hooked-in with a serious counseling program.

Of course not everyone who turns to drugs for recreation turns out like Richie and the movie never suggests this, but it does convey that the misuse of chemicals is a generally negative road and SOME personalities, for whatever reason, can't handle them because they have no sense of moderation and in some cases morph into psychos, like Richie. It's like alcohol: I rarely drink but, when I do, it makes me happy and pleasant. Yet I know people who become meaner than a junkyard dog when they drink. It depends on the personality in question. These types have to stay away from recreational drinking & drugs altogether.

"The Death of Richie" isn't as good as "Go Ask Alice" (1973), but it's still a potent 70's anti-drug flick. The movie shows Richie's potential and how he was actually a nice, respectful boy when he was sober. There are coming-of-age elements but, unfortunately, this is a story about coming-of-death and it's just grueling and sad.

In real-life, the father, George Diener, died of cancer about 9 years after he killed Richie in April, 1981, at the too-young age of 52. Richie's friend Brick in the movie was Lenny Langone in real life; he died on August 25, 2010. He was with Richie 15 minutes before the killing and to his dying day defended Richie as "too effed up" to be a threat to anyone and insisted that his father was a cold bastage looking for the right moment to kill Richie and legally get away with it. What he doesn't tell you is that Richie came at his dad with a friggin' ice pick and Lenny wasn't present during the encounter. It's easy to defend a drug-addled wacko with an ice pick when you're not the one being threatened.

THE MOVIE RUNS 1 hour, 37 minutes and was shot at Warner Brothers Burbank Studios, California. WRITERS: John McGreevey wrote the teleplay based on Thomas Thompson's book.

GRADE: B-/C+