Rip-Off

One of my all time favourite Canadian movies. Four young men in the last year of high school figuring out what they want to do with their lives. Filmed in Toronto and northern Ontario. My favourite coming-of-age movie. I saw it when I was in high school and thought it was the most realistic portrayal of people my age I had ever seen. I still think this. Very hard to find.

Yeah, they could play a little----it looked and sounded like fun----the decrepit house on the piece of property was depressing----they struck me as an average bunch, none of whom was remarkable and was going to do something big in the world---another movie might show a group of kids who make their plan of a commune happen. this movie shows failure and that makes it realistic. they tried to do stuff but they didn't have it. not enough talent for the band, and didn't have the wherewithal to fix up the property. so they left those desires behind, graduated high school, then, who knows what? Each of the friends just goes on and does whatever he does---could be anything. They were only 18 and plenty of 18-year-olds don't have a clear idea of what they should do to make a living and a life. None of these guys did, and that is the point of this movie.

Rip-Off is a nice little coming of age movie about 4 soon-to-graduate high school students in suburban Toronto in 1971. It has the images of the early 70's, tied-dye shirts, the "ecology trip", and the trip to the country in a beat up van. The guys want to start up a commune on some land one of them (Don Scardino) has inherited. The subsequent trip and disillusionment is the overriding theme of the movie. It is something someone growing up in that time can relate to. The world has changed a lot since then but it is a nostalgic trip back in time. This is not a big blockbuster movie, but it is a worthwhile "little" movie. The director Don Shebib is best known for the classic Canadian movie "Goin' Down the Road".