Aloha Bobby and Rose

Paul Le Mat, hot off of "American Graffiti", is our male lead in this story by writer / director Floyd Mutrux ("American Hot Wax", "The Hollywood Knights"). Le Mat plays Bobby Eckert, an amiable employee of a car repair shop who likes to set his own hours. One day, he meets a customer, the sweet Rose (Dianne Hull, "The Onion Field", "You Better Watch Out"). It doesn't take a long time for them to start falling for each other. However, one night, while in a liquor store, some thoughtlessness on his part and a bad reaction on hers lead to a death. Bobby is of the mind that NOBODY is likely to believe their version of events, so they take it on the lam.

"Aloha, Bobby and Rose" is not bad for this sort of thing. Ultimately, the story is pretty trite, but the movie gets by on engaging performances by our leads. Bobby and Rose do make for an appealing couple. There are other nice performances, too: Robert Carradine as Bobby's friend / co-worker Moxey, Martine Bartlett as Roses' mom, and the great Southern fried character actor Noble Willingham as Bobby's amiable uncle Charlie. Still, the movie doesn't quite hit its stride until Tim McIntire (who played real life DJ Alan Freed for Mutrux in "American Hot Wax") shows up. Cast as a colorful country boy named Buford, he lights up the screen playing a "life of the party" kind of guy. Leigh French is his gal pal Donna Sue, and other familiar faces like Edward James Olmos, Mario Gallo, and Cliff Emmich turn up as well.

The real value in this flick is the way it gives you a snapshot of California in the mid-70s: its car culture, its sights and sounds, everything. The soundtrack is just PACKED with pop hits of the day, and leads especially heavily on Elton John, using some of his classics like "Your Song", "Tiny Dancer", and "Benny and the Jets".

A fairly entertaining flick that, fortunately, does have some impact after it's over.

Seven out of 10.

I know that Elton John's "Tiny Dancer" had a re-introduction and re-awakening to the masses after 2000's "Almost Famous." But I know that "Tiny Dancer" was introduced to me in 1975 when this movie came out. But since this film didn't have the impact of "Almost Famous," that's why "Tiny Dancer" stayed pretty much unknown to the general public until 2000.

The film itself is OK. What makes it memorable is the music of that period, which besides "Tiny Dancer," we hear "Bennie and the Jets" during one of the film climaxes, and also "Karn Evil 9" from Emerson Lake and Palmer.

Bobby and Rose are each leading dead-end lives in Los Angeles. He works in a gas station, she is a young stay-at-home mom. They team up and decide to live out a few fantasies, the major one being a carefree journey to Hawaii. Their goal is never reached. Bobby and Rose wander aimlessly around southern California and the Mexican border, making casual acquaintances and encountering casual violence. The dream starts to go wrong almost from the very start, and the young lovers are left with something less than an idyll.

This is a road movie in the great American tradition, a poetic kaleidoscope of images of Americana - radio music merging with advertising hoardings and neon signs in a dreamy, meaningless pot-pourri of LA, a sort of Metro-Goldwyn-melange. For all the colour and style, appearance and reality are at odds. Rose has her fantasy, but her reality is that she has committed herself to a two-bit punk. Under the surface of the stream of images, we see the jagged edges of society's faultlines ... auto wrecks and liquor store hold-ups.

Bobby inhabits a live-now-pay-later youth fantasy of pool games against chicano hoods, hotrod races and getting chased by the cops. The trouble is, Bobby is running on empty and the fantasy cannot last.

On their travels, Bobby and Rose meet a Texan couple, the irrepressible Buford (if only we could have seen more of him!) and the dim but good-natured Donna Sue, played by Tim McIntire and Leigh French. Buford is an amusing drinking-buddy whose presence in any bar guarantees at least one outrageous incident, and Donna Sue is all heart, but their relentless cheerfulness becomes claustrophobic, especially for Rose.

Paul Le Mat as Bobby is appropriately good-looking and vacuous. Diane Hull invests Rose with a little more substance. The story of their spontaneous elopement is, in truth, the tale of Rose's tragedy.

Verdict - Serviceable road movie which makes effective use of contemporary soundtrack.

We saw this film four or five times, always as the second film of a double program. It was one of our "film-culte". Not a masterpiece at all, just a little film, really simple, with no stars... but it has something, don't know what... It's one of these films you'll remember for the rest of your life and you don't really know why! The songs of Elton John, "Benny and the Jets" and "Your Song" are exactly where they were made for. I saw for the last time about 20 years ago but I know I'll see it again one day. I'm not sure this kind of film exists anymore.

I caught the last 10-15 minutes of this movie on its network premiere back in 77--- its haunted me all this time, now the DVD is out and I enjoyed it on a number of different levels--This is one of those heart- string pullers that does a great job of encapsulating the mid-70s LA car-youth culture and all those now scarce, classic neon signs! The plot and character development are transparent which gives the whole thing a strange, ethereal vibe heightened by the then hip rock and roll soundtrack. Its almost one long Elton John video in a way. Bobby and Rose are sensitively played, and if the acting and dialog aren't always the best well so what, the actors have heart and are good to look at and don't disturb the zen experience a movie like this can bring about. Mid 70s LA is ancient history and "Aloha, Bobby and Rose" serves as a surprisingly good time capsule for that era. The couple are doomed from the start and this film is depressing for the most part. A lot like "Midnight Cowboy" in many respects, tho not as good. Still AB@R is a cult classic and I think a lot of young folks would enjoy it.