Flashback

This was a great movie. Dennis Hopper brought to life Huey Walker, an outdated hippy who came out of hiding from the feds for over twenty years. Kiefer Sutherland also did a great job as the strict, stick up the rear fed John Buckner, but has a buried secret of from his past.

This is a very funny movie, but at the same time keeps a solid plot, making this a very enjoyable movie. This is the first movie that Hopper has both played a hippy that isn't stoned on and off the screen. I really liked this movie. It's not for everyone, but for those of us who don't mind a comedy with dirty cops, foul mouthed aging hippies, a surly fed with a secret, and a whole lot of plot twists, than this is the movie for you. Also, Carol Kane was hilarious as Buckner's aunt. 10/10

For the most part, this is an enjoyable "flashback" for most folks, a look back at the wild and crazy late 1960s. I would have enjoyed it more without all the blasphemous exclamations out of Keifer Sutherland's mouth.

For those who loved the '60s and its hippie-far Left political and cultural stances, this will be a nostalgic remembrance of those days. For those who think that period was the beginning of the end, morally and culturally for the U.S., this film will demonstrate that, too.

Regardless of where one is politically, the film moves very fast, is very entertaining, and has almost no credibility. In parts, it's just embarrassing it is so ludicrous.

Dennis Hopper is very believable as the ex-"hippie" and Carol Kane is a hoot as the "flower child." The rest of the cast, led by Sutherland, is nothing but irritating.

Also, the soundtrack of '60s songs is excellent.

Huey Walker(Hopper) is an hysterical character to watch in this film as a hippie who is very Abby Hoffman like. He is arrested by John Buckner (Sutherland), a tight-assed, republican, FBI agent. What is supposed to be a simple task of transporting a prisoner turns out a harder job than expected for Buckner. As they make their way from San Francisco to Spokane, they encounter many obstacles. From a kind hearted prostitute to a crooked sheriff to a Haight Ashbury leftover played brilliantly by the ever wonderful Carol Kane (Scrooged, Taxi). Watching Walker and Buckner try to out smart each other is fuuny as hell, and chemistry between Sutherland and Hopper is great. You see the geninue friendship between them. The funniest scene, of which there are many, is when Walker is down on his knees, covering his face in mud. Buckner instucts him to then put one hand in the air and one on his heart and sing "Mammy". The humor however is nothing more than a vehicle for the true meaning of this film : You Can't Change Who You Are or Where You Come From. That message is perhaps best expressed in the lines:

Buckner:So you're a phony? Walker:Yeah so? Buckner:Just like me.

I give this movie my highest rating: 10 stars!

* * * * * * * * * *

Second that emotion

`Flashback' is not a great film. It has a good plot with some nice twists along the way, and top-notch performances by Dennis Hopper, Kiefer Sutherland (perhaps his best work yet), Carol Kane, Paul Dooley, Richard Masur and Michael McKean. But there is too much violence and profanity for this type of film, and the ending seems unbelievable and wrong.

What makes me recommend "Flashback" is that it did something that only one other film has done for me. It took me back in time emotionally. `American Graffiti" made me feel like I felt when I was in high school in the early 1960s, cruising the local drive-in restaurant with friends and trying to navigate unfamiliar romantic waters.

There is a scene in `Flashback' when the Masur and McKean characters are listening to a tape of a speech delivered 20 years earlier by Hopper. At that moment I was transformed back to the late 1960s, a recent college grad trying to find my way in a confusing and rapidly-changing culture. It was a chilling moment for me, one I don't know if I'll ever feel again. And I'm grateful to Director Franco Amurri and the actors for giving it to me.

This is one of those all around great films that anyone can enjoy. When I was young I thought it was really funny. Now I get all the deeper messages and plot details, and like the movie all the more for it. This is also one of the two movies that can make me cry. The other is Grave of the Fireflies. The other aspects of the film, besides plot, are great too. The characters play off each other really well. The filming is good, and the comedy doesn't compromise the more serious nature of the film.