The Spirit of '76

I'd love to be able to say that 'Spirit of 76' is a forgotten comedy classic that desperately needs to be re-evaluated in these post-'Wayne's World'/'Austin Powers'/'That 70s Show' times, but sadly it really isn't all that funny. Still, I own a copy and watch it occasionally and get a few laughs out of it, so it isn't TOTALLY useless.

People who will enjoy it the most will be Redd Kross fans, as the fabulous McDonald brothers co-star. Perhaps the movie would have been better if they'd contributed to the script as well? They certainly know the territory better than most!

Anyway, you've got some silly clothes, a few obvious digs at the fads of the era, some enjoyable disco and metal on the soundtrack, and best of all a really eclectic supporting cast (Devo!). Maybe that's enough. Sometimes you just need some dumb fun...

As someone who grew up in the seventies, it was refreshing to see the 70s depicted as strangely as it really was. Some anachronisms exist, such as the exploding Pinto. thjat didn't come to light til the early 80s, but the movies hearts in the right place. Any one who was growing up then, or has even heard of the 70s will love it. Great Music, Great Clothes, and of course the hair brings back frighting nightmares.

My wife and I saw this movie on cable TV shortly after it came out and shortly before it disappeared into oblivion, and since we both were little kids in the 70s we both found the movie to be pretty funny. It has its share of really bad jokes (like people slipping on a picture of bananas), but it's not supposed to be intellectual humor. It's supposed to be a campy, cheesy movie that (fondly) makes fun of a decade that contains a lot to make fun of. And it certainly succeeds on that level.

The movie was clearly a very low budget affair, yet the film makers managed to nail little details like the red, white and blue-painted fire hydrant outside the main character's home (there was one of those across the street from the house I grew up in). Everyone involved in the movie seems to have done their homework, but are having fun with it and not taking it too seriously.

I recently discovered that this movie has finally come out on DVD, and at a bargain basement price, so I ordered a copy. My 14 year old daughter watched it with me and loved it - she described it as "stupidly beautiful" and immediately put the soundtrack on her iPod.

So if you're feeling nostalgic for the 70s and think you'd like a low-budget comedy that doesn't pretend to be masterpiece theater, look no further. On the other hand, if 80 minutes of disco music, cameo roles and jokes about bongs and pop rocks doesn't sound like your cup of tea, then avoid.

Whoever came up with this concept deserves an award of some kind. Time travelers from the future need to visit 1776 to learn vital information about the founding of the nation. Unfortunately, something goes wrong, and the explorers wind up in 1976 instead -- without realizing it! Something didn't quite make it in the implementation, though. Maybe it is the obviously rock-bottom budget. Throughout the movie, you are acutely aware that you are watching a movie set with a few Gremlins and Pintos parked here and there. Also, the decision to cast some 70's heartthrobs (Cassidy and Garrett) as major characters was interesting, but these guys are not exactly Academy Award material, if you know what I mean. However, there are some pretty entertaining scenes, including Rob Reiner as the insane leader of an "est"-like cult.

Founding USA documents have descended to tee-shirt decorations and ornamental kitsch. The draft and political oppression are in full swing. The one person who can explain things to a time-traveler works in a peep show. The great ideas on which this country were founded have become mere commercial garbage to cash in on, not principles to live by.

I thought it was brilliant satire. A similar point is made in "Time After Time" (1979) where HG Wells pursues Jack the Ripper to modern San Francisco and is astonished to see some ideas he had written about brought to life. The nearly magical technology of telephones for example, has been reduced to a toy in the form of a Mickey Mouse telephone. That difference between ideas and actual practice is what drives this movie, which is far more than a comedy, successful or otherwise.