The Spirit of '76

I never got to experience the 70's myself (I was born in '84), but this movie really makes me long for that bygone era. The first time I saw this film, I was just a kid, maybe 5 or 6, and I loved it from the start. Now that I'm older, I realize this movie is about the campiest thing I've ever seen, but it's still just as fun to watch. The platform shoes, 8-track cassettes, AMC Pacers, and bicentennial bongs will all serve to transport you into that beloved decade of excess and extravagance. This movie is packed with nutty, over-the-top characters who serve as caricatures for all of the diverse lifeforms the 70's produced. Smarmy science fare nerds, early mallrats, happy stoners, middle-aged yuppies seeking self-improvement, and those poor, restless creatures perpetually afflicted with Boogie Fever. This is a movie John Waters could have and should have had a hand in. A clever, skewed portrait of life in the 70's. Gee, I REALLY missed out on a lot!!!

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.

In the future, civilization has really declined. The fashions are U.S.S.R. retro, don't you know. Not only that, no one is flourishing. Therefore, when a man named Adam 11 (David Cassidy) insists he has made a time machine, the U.S. government asks him to go back to 1776 and study the founding fathers and the making of the constitution. It is hoped that he and his co-horts, Chanel 6 (Olivia D'Abo) and Heinz 57 will learn how to make society worth living again. The time machine takes off but lands in 1976 instead. Not realizing their mistake, the three interlopers try their best to find out how to revitalize their country with the lessons from the seventies. Amid Pacers and learning the hustle, can they succeed? This movie is a fast and fun look at the much maligned seventies. Things were more colorful then, that's for sure, and people did seem to be having a great time, despite the tight pants and floral shirts. Cassidy, D'Abo and company do a nice job of keeping the spirit of discovery alive. If you lived through the seventies, this movie is made for you. It has so many seventies icons that will make you laugh and remember. The younger crowd, too, would be entertained in seeing what they only know from history books. Don't hesitate to pop this movie in the VCR some evening in the near future. It was made, as the Bay City Rollers croon, for a fun, fun "Saturday Night".

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.

One day I had a hangover and I was lying on my friends couch DYING. He put on cable and this was on. Now...I was in a poor state...but I laughed my a** off. I have been trying to find an affordable copy of this movie so I can watch it again. If your like me and love 70s fads, style and culture you'll really like this movie. Stars David Cassidy.