Van Nuys Blvd.

This is a nostalgic movie about cruising your car on a popular strip in the late 1970's. This particular strip is Van Nuys Blvd., north of Los Angeles, California. Cruising Van Nuys Blvd. was a cultural phenomenon that didn't last long - only a couple of years. As cruising takes hold of a local culture, each community creates new laws and police find creative ways to discourage young people from congregating. When people on the streets outnumber the total available police force, local residence get scared - even if there has been no significant rise in crime.

I was a part of a cruising culture in the mid to late 1990's on Lindbergh Blvd. in Saint Louis, Missouri. From Hooters Restaurant to Ronnie's Movie Theater, the 4 mile strip was packed with bumper-to-bumper automobiles, Thursday through Saturday nights. At the peak of the local cruising popularity, heavy traffic could be seen every night, and weekends brought people from all over the country. Vendors would set up in parking lots and sell cool stuff - no permits, but no police available to enforce permit laws. Street lights were useless on weekends after dark - the steady, slow moving traffic would rarely completely stop for a red light. Public fights and public sex were commonplace. Bass speakers blared, low riders with ground effects lights lit up the pavement, and it seemed like a lawless carnival for a teenager. It was an amazing time and place. I took it for granted because I was young; I couldn't appreciate how lucky I was to be a part of it, or how quickly it would all be over.

Most of the reviews of 'Van Nuys Blvd.' (1979) complain that there is no plot. I guess I can understand that complaint, but they don't understand cruising. Sometimes when you go cruising, nothing happens. Sometimes, it seems like a boring night of driving in a circle, until you take one more lap and meet the right girl. Sometimes, you get chased by cops. And, sometimes it just feels like being stuck in traffic.

So, yeah, this movie might leave some people feeling like it was a pointless waste of 90 minutes... like aimlessly driving around with no destination... But, maybe it was supposed to feel that way. As for me, I can dig it.

RealReview Posting Scoring Criteria: Acting - 0.5/1; Casting - 1/1; Directing - 1/1; Story - 0.5/1; Writing/Screenplay - 0.5/1;

Total Base Score = 3.5

Modifiers (+ or -): Authentic Location Shooting: 0.5 (It really isn't anywhere special, but it feels very authentic.);

Music Score/Soundtrack: 0.5 (I downloaded the title track. Seriously, I did.);

Cultural Significance: 0.5 (This film captures a moment in time, that will be relevant to a niche group of cruisers for as long as automobiles are driven by young people.);

Total RealReview Rating: 5

VAN NUYS BLVD is another Crown International teen film that shows what a different place America was in the 1970's. Kids cruise around for sex, drugs and bad disco music. They also get to go to jail and then go to Magic Mountain the next day. Why I live for these movies I'll never know. Lots of drag racing, cool cars and hot chicks round out a film about doing nothing that totally makes a movie-watching SESSION a memorable experience. Recommended for the right people.

Not content with living in a small town a young man named "Bobby" (Bill Adler) decides to get in his van and drive to Van Nuys Boulevard where he hopes to find plenty of action. Along the way he meets people of a similar mindset which includes regulars on the drag racing circuit by the names of "Chooch" (David Hayward) and "Greg" (Dennis Bowen). He also meets a young woman named "Moon" (Cynthia Wood) who enjoys racing almost as much as he does. Unfortunately, neither of them like to lose and that is where the difficulty begins. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that this low-budget comedy-action film started off pretty good but seemed to run out of gas after the first 20 minutes or so. There just wasn't enough comedy or high-quality action to keep things interesting. Likewise, the romantic scenes lacked passion and the drama needed significant improvement as well. That being the case, I have rated this movie accordingly. Slightly below average.

The film footage at the beginning and end of Van Nuys Boulevard accurately portrays the action and excitement of what life was like cruising the boulevard. By the time I cruised there in 1981 there were plenty of college and high school students hanging out, cruising and racing. Car clubs gathered in parking lots. I was 22 attending college and my dad bought me a 1978 Corvette. I cruised there in the summer and I will never forget the adventure. It truly was just like in the movie and better. You made friends easily and there were always street races. In the fall of 1981 the LAPD began barricading off the boulevard and closing off traffic. This killed the adventure and those times are gone forever. Having been there, Van Nuys Boulevard is a nostalgic return to the past and a memorable way of remembering a great time of American youth.

I watched VAN NUYS BLVD as part of BCI Eclipse' Drive-in Cult Classics (featuring Crown International Pictures releases) on DVD.

As a teenager growing up in the 70s the only thing I remember about the movie is my friend telling me about the mooning scene during the opening of the film.

I had never seen the film until now, so it seems tame; and, in the director's words "almost innocent." That is certainly true by today's standards; but I am sure it was quite scandalous for the times.

VAN NUYS BLVD is about Wednesday night's cruise scene in Los Angeles, on the boulevard of the same name. It packs in a lot of drag racing, super cool cars, dumb cops; and, hot chicks, with a side trip to Magic Mountain, to boot!

The musical score features a pulsating disco beat; and, the opening song is fun and funky!

VAN NUYS BLVD is very much in the same vein of the more famous (and better movie), "American Graffiti" released two years earlier.

My friend and I ended up in LA in 1986; but by then the cruise scene was gone forever. Nevertheless, for those that have been there, VAN NUYS BLVD is a nice bit of nostalgia for 1970s California living.