Un destin pour deux

The time:1965. The place:Phiuladelphia. The movie:The In Crowd. A fun and enjoyable timepiece about the time when Americans enjoyed and loved seeing and participating in dance shows in their various local cities. You see this when the movie ,cleverly, shows the beginnings of several dance TV shows from across the country and the hosts of these TV shows (Sam Riddle in Los Angeles, Wink Markindale in Memphis among others).

The movie centers on three stories. One having the movie's star, Donovan Leitch playing a character called Del. A bright young man with a bright future ahead of him but he wants to be a dancer on the local TV dance program, "Perry Parker's Dance Party". Del doesn't know it but he has nothing in common with the dancers on Perry Parker's show , except that he is a fine dancer himself which gets him a chance to be on the show.

The second part of the movie deals with Perry Parker himself, played by that great actor Joe Pantoliano. Parker .like most people in Philadelphia, feel betrayed that Dick Clark took American Bandstand away from Philaelphia and moved it to Los Angeles.He tries to tell his dancers that if Dick Clark fails the network may want to look for a replacement, like his own show for instance. Parker is like a lot of TV hosts of local shows of that era, hoping to be the next Ed Sullivan, the next Steve Allen, the next Dick Clark, the next Johnnny Carson. Hoping the networks will take him in a make him a big star on network television.

The third part deals with Del and his short love affair with Vicky (Jennifer Runyon). Vicky is pretty but is too lowbrow even for Del. This is one movie where the pretty girl fails to meet the expectations of the supposed geek in the film rather than the other way around. In the end Del tries to help Vicky leave Philadelphia and join her Fonzie like boyfriend Dugan (Scott Plank) as they head for Hollywood.

The In Crowd has great music using some good soul music in the film that is true to the era and not just the same old music you might have heard over and over again in other films about the early 1960's. The choreography is great and inspired and it makes for a good musical and that is what The In Crowd pretty much is. A musical. The living room dance duel between Del and Dugan is proof of that.

The movie told a true tale of how things were changing in America without getting highhanded and clumsy in how they did it. Perry Parker is a prime example of this. An associate producer tells him the show is getting low ratings and that the type of music he has on his show won't work. He should try Mitch Miller instead says the producer. The station manager(Blake Soper) has no use for Parker or his dance show and wants something else. When he brings along a British Invasion like group ,longhair and all to the TV studio and wants Paker to put them on the show, Parker says no saying that,thanks to the long hair, he can't tell if they are boys or girls. He was right, the group was all wrong for his dance show but Perry Parker's days on TV are numbered anyway.

Pantoliano is his usual great self here. As with all of his roles he makes Perry Parker his own. The film is a nice timepiece just before everything came apart in the US.The music, the dance numbers, and some decent acting make this a decent movie if you really wanted to know what America was like back in 1965.

It is the type of tale that Dick Clark tried to tell himself through the American Dreams TV series but failed miserably because the show was all over the map. It wasn't overwrought and overrated like the NBC mini series about the sixties called The 60's. The In Crowd is a good film that wasn't all that appreciated when in came out in theaters in 1988. Hopefully people shall take a better liking to it when they see it again in the future.

The first time I watched this movie, I knew from the beginning's great vintage clips of local dance programs that this movie was going to convey the fun feel of the early 60's. The "In Crowd" must have been written by people who really grew up in early 60's Philadelphia. Instead of a generic Hollywood "retro" feel, I saw a more distinctive, local atmosphere to this film. Joe Pantoliano's "Perry Parker" character is a dead-on reference to Philly's own Jerry Blavat (a local radio legend) from his looks right down to his jive patter. The old Philly Dances (Mickey's Monkey, the Soul Street) are performed fantastically by the dancers to overlooked soul/dance classics that would be considered obscure anywhere else. Even the local "clash of classes" is well-represented in the characters' respective areas; Del and Gail from Cheltenham's conservative, upper-middle-class area, and the gritty, streetwise but lovable characters from the urban Philly areas (the tv station scenes were shot in and around Upper Darby's Tower Theatre). One of my favorite scenes is when Del is upstairs in his typical 60's teenage boy's room, attempting to pick up Philly's "WIBG Radio 99" on his little transistor radio. You can even hear classic dj Hy Lit's famous "Hyski O'Roonie McVoughty O'Zoot" jingle amidst the static. And what Philadelphia native doesn't remember the old Wildwood radio record hops "down the shore" in the 60's? And lots of kids snuck out of school early then, to try to get on the local dance programs. Ok, so this film may not have been Oscar material, but it truly makes me feel good every time I see it; it brings back so many good feelings from that era, and showcases great 60's Philly music.

Many of my friends and i were extras in this when they filmed it in Wildwood. The film company took a bunch of high school kids from the nearby high schools. It was the beginning of my sophomore year in 1986 and quite a way to start it. It is a great campy movie and a much overlooked one, too. Altho i think my personal scene was cut (so much for my 15 minutes of fame), i know many dear friends...who i am still close to this day...do appear in it. The experience of being put in hair, makeup and costume resonates with me to this day. My gang and I still talk about it when we get together. For a brief 15 seconds, i was able to meet some of the stars. Joey P. really took his career to big heights, in spite of this flick. Regardless, this reviewer's very biased opinion: give it a roll!

This coming-of-age movie is sort of a male version of "Dirty Dancing" with a young man from a wealthy suburb falling for a tough city girl. The best thing about it is the soundtrack, which is packed with undeservedly overlooked R & B from the '60s--great songs like the Marvelows' "I Do," Tina Britt's "The Real Thing," the Majors' "A Wonderful Dream" and the Marvelettes' "When You're Young And In Love." It's a refreshing change from the typical '60s movie with songs you've already heard a million times. The dancing is terrific, Donovan Leitch and Jennifer Runyon are appealing as the young lovers, and Joe Pantoliano is outstanding as DJ Perry Parker.

I caught this one while channel searching. At first I simply took a look and then moved on but I found myself coming back and by about the third trip back I was hooked. Yeah it's a little campy and it is a dance movie but I found myself wanting to watch and even dance a little. It is a heartfelt coming of age movie for a young man growing up in the 50 - 60's. Teen love, angst, peer pressure, and the desire to find out who we really are; this movie has it all. I even tried to find it 2nd-hand to buy. I recomend it to anyone who remembers what teen life is all about.