Harper Valley P.T.A.

Back during my youth in the 70s, the town I lived it was very conservative and tightly wound. Parents cringed at the thought of James Bond movies shown on TV, as the locals thought of them as hardcore porn. Strict standards were expected from everyone.

As teens, the local kids started to realize how overflowing with hypocrisy the town was, and when this movie came along, we rejoiced.

Stella Johnson is a freespirited widow in a conservative town who gets a nastygram from a disapproving PTA. Getting an earful from her friend who runs the local beauty parlor (they weren't called "salons" back then!), she confronts them at a meeting with their own failings (alcoholism, promiscuity, gambling, etc.), but after they don't back down, she engages in a series of pranks to expose and humiliate them. In the meantime she makes over her daughter, falls in love, runs for PTA president herself, and uncovers real corruption.

Yes, it's creaky material, done a jillion times before and probably done better. But Barbara Eden is an energetic and sympathetic heroine, and is believable as the dishy nonconformist mom. Nanette Fabray is also a hoot as her friend Alice. And a bunch of old pros do their best.

But we loved it in our town because so many of the younger set were disgusted with the self-righteousness and hypocrisy we saw in our teachers, in the town government, in the church leaders, and frequently in our own parents. We relished our daydreams of exposing their foibles and confronting them, but too often never did. (Unfortunately, the truly self-righteous view these as simple malice and never truly realize they brought it on themselves.) So even if this movie isn't all that, it appeals to the downtrodden teen who still lives in me and is still disgusted with the self-righteous, it's-OK-if-I-do-it establishment. And I STILL need to expose my sticky-fingered mother about her larcenous habits...

I thought this was an excellent statement that exemplified the saying that "those who live in glass houses should not throw stones." A great movie that made one feel that maybe, just perhaps, we can all come out on top sometimes with our dignity intact.

Again this was one of those movies I added to my Netflix queue just to see if it was as good as I remembered. It was well worth watching again.

It's another small town movie, actually filmed in Lebanon Ohio according to the end credits.

A great send up of small town politics and social cliques that try to be something more than they really are. Yes, It's based on the song and one of the few C&W hits I will listen to.

I noticed in the movie that Barbara Eden appeared to have aged and did some research. She was 44 when the movie came out. Too bad all 44 year old women don't hold up that well. I found myself wondering more than once how she got in those tight pants though. :-) The movie appeals to the lecher in every man because of her looks but in reality she was just trying to be a good single mother and had the right to enjoy herself as well. The innocent romantic scenes with Will will please most women.

The high school scenes were realistic and as I remembered them from my high school years. Typical stuff, popular athlete won't hardly speak to anyone except the cheerleader type.

I like older movies like this because they were funny and didn't rely on a lot of vulgar language and car crashes to grab your attention. Just good wholesome humor with enough adult themes to keep you from being bored.

The hay truck dumping barn waste in the board members car and the credit of "Manure supplied by Seattle Slew" were about as adult as it got. That and the ubiquitous high school sex education film clips. (Did everybody have to sit through those in high school?) Probably not a movie you should let your five year old watch and most teenagers would think it was lame.

Well worth another look just to see how Hollywood has forgotten how to make a lightweight comedy.

Why don't they make 'em like this any more? HARPER VALLEY P.T.A is one of a handful of flicks from the late 70s and early 80s that mixed social satire with hilarity(9 TO 5 and HOW TO BEAT THE HIGH COST OF LIVING were two others). Barbara Edan is Stella Johnson, a hard-working single mother who attracts the ire of the self-righteous town Parent-Teacher Association. As those of you who remember how the country song this film was based on goes, Stella gets a not-too-tolerant letter cataloging her many indiscretions(which are merely rumors)and responds by giving the members what-for at a public meeting. When this results in public rejection(not to mention rocks through the Johnson house windows)Stella takes action, setting in motion a series of elaborate revenges against the P.T.A members that not only even the score but show up each person's hypocrisies. It's great to see beautiful Barbara Eden fight the stuck-up blue-bloods, pompous elected officials, and self-righteous educators who make up the P.T.A., because everyone can see a little of their own communities in Harper Valley.

This was a surprise. I really wasn't expecting something quite so unhinged and full of gags. I guess I thought I was going into something more conversational, more plot driven. This had some conversation, but it was more about the gags.

A lot of revenge plot. Done for laughs.

Not bad, but not my thing generally.

The most shocking part of this film is the closing credits, which lists where the manure from one of the gags came from. I am stunned! They use real manure!! I feel so bad for the actress or tunable who had to have manure dumped on them!! This movie lost to half star because of that.

A plus for the movie though is that in the opening credits, JJ is listed as one of the actors, which is my Joan's nickname and initials. And right after that, Joan is listed as one of the producers. Once I saw that, I knew there had to be an Alice in the movie somewhere. And sure enough, The main characters best friend in this film is named Alice! Where there is Joan, there is Alice! I love that!

I watched this movie because I was on an old sitcom kick, which is sort of a lifelong thing. Sitcom from the 1950s and 1960s - somewhat of the 70s, they mean more to me than all TV shows. So I was really getting into "The Dick Van Dyke Show and "Bewitched". Still am. And we all know Barbara Eden, the star of this film, was also the star of the "Bewitched@ rival show, "I Dream of Jeannie". So, if you're a classic TV show fan like I am, and you especially favor it comes from the 1950s through the 1970s, you will find this of interest. It was also adapted into a sitcom of its own.

Not my thing, but not bad. The opening credit song is the best part of it though. It's amazing that a movie can be made just from a song, and for that, it is definitely worth seeing.