Breaking Out - Gegen alle Regeln

This movie held my attention but the story line was a little plastic and had the classic anit-drug message. Tara Reid played a cool little hippie chick wonderfully though... a damn cute one too. The story was just very cliche; a young man plagued by the death of his mother rebels, falls in love with hot blond, gets into drugs, and ends up in rehab... I mean how many times are people going to use that plot?

The real shortcoming to this movie however, was not the plot. The story could have been a realistic inside look at hippie culture if it were only made to be realistic. Whoever directed this movie has obviously never been to anything more than a Kenny G concert. Throwing 15 or so extras in make-up and tie-dyed shirts in a field to recreate a Grateful Dead show is a horrifically commercialized and pathetic attempt to portray hippie culture.

Anyway, this movie did hold my attention but mostly because I was fascinated that Hollywood could make such a cheap, pitiful attempt to revitalize a beat to death plot. There were some interesting moments and hey I watched the whole thing, but there are much better movies out there. And remember kids, drugs are bad!

I was reading all the negative comments and I have to disagree! Around the fire is in my eyes an original film that may be an eye opener for young adults. There is nothing cheesy about it at all. As for the acting, it was very good, especially Devon's role. Although he can act like a geek at times, it's part of his style, I still think he did an excellent job!

"Around the Fire", a feauture length Anti-Drug commercial (watch any of them on TV as a hint to the globs of cheesiness in this film), is about an average white-boy from a rich family who gets sucked into the alluring world of psychedelic drugs, music, and the lot scene, ending up in rehab (wow, now that is an original concept, NOT).

If this film were made in the style of a docudrama and the re-creation of the lot scene had been somewhat realistic, and by someone who, heaven forbid, has ever toured or even seen the Grateful Dead before, it could have been quite good. But instead, we get a low budget, poorly directed, horribly acted, and absolutely phony adaptation of a lot scene, which is laughable to anyone who has ever been to a show before. The film makers try to be cool and realistic by offering as many cliches about the lot scene as possible, from ganja gooballs to tye dye vendors, but it doesn't work. The problem is the actors are obvious phonies, wearing brand new tye dyes and looking way too clean. If these phonies were on a dead lot they would be instantly considered tourists, if not cops by the tour-heads. No deadheads on tour even remotely resembled the "hippies" in this film. If you don't believe me then go rent "Tye-Dyed", which is an actual documentary of life on the road with the Dead, and see for yourself. Also, the films set that is supposed to resemble a deadlot is pathetically unrealistic and cheesy.

I saw this film a month ago on late night and figured I would give it a chance, but was highly disappointed. For people that have never experienced the lot-scene of the Grateful Dead, or on a lesser note, Phish, go and rent "Tye-Dyed", at least it does some justice and you see real dead heads on a real lot. For those who are experienced, watch "Around the Fire" just so you can get a good laugh out of your system. Otherwise, stay far and away, because this film is an absolute stinker.

Probably the best thing about Around the Fire is Devon Sawa's performance. He plays a college bound teen who meets a group of new friends who quickly turn him on to drugs and a counter culture that is intriguing but ultimately leads to his downfall, as he uses it to escape the tragic loss of his mother and the family problems that surround it.

Although the story is heartfelt and unfolds well, it is also derivative and highly uneven. The director is careful not to use any real names of people or places in portraying the hippie/druggie sub-culture that the Sawa character falls prey to. This has a twin effect of leaving things a little vague, yet, bringing us into a real and hypnotically dazzling world.

However, the performances shine, elevating the film to a much more credible level. Sawa has grown into an actor of considerable depth and range and proves that he's at home as much here as he is in any number of his earlier, more emotionally shallow films.

I really liked the movie. Doing the dead show thing for many years during the late 80's and throughout the 90's I can distinguish between complete fiction and what experiences may have wanted to be conveyed. The movie has some good music, pretty decent acting and a point to make. Tara looks really cute doing the hippy thing and the girl/boy thing really does remind me of some great times and rocky roads. I can personally relate to the balancing act of school/shows/girls/drugs. All in all, it is a bit corny, but real life can be, most scripts are, and I find it to be much better than most the crap I see being made. I bought the DVD with a stack of others and actually kept it and have enjoyed watching it more than once. Worth checking out.