From the seventies comes another seventies flick that has a lot to do with drugs and junkies. The main character played by George Segal, JJ, is a junkie whose main goal in life is to get fixed everyday. As a result, everything else is secondly important. His relationship with his girlfriend, and in a surreal way, even the fact that he has children, which is only mentioned in the film two times, and briefly.
From the way it starts, we are almost tricked into believing this will be a comedy. Then, from then on, it becomes the tragic portrayal of life on the streets. The footage we see on the screen seem dirty, and the gritty look of the film is meant to add to the brutality of the film. It's too bad that the part of George Segal is not so believable as a junkie, because it's not written well. There's too much emphasis on interaction and not enough emphasis on the characters themselves. The only times when we really see JJ break down is when we don't know what is going to happen to him. Drugs have driven him to a selfishness that is hard to side with. We don't pity him, but we literally hate what he has become.
The editing is horrible, hard to believe that it came from the same guy that did the editing for Annie Hall. The direction is careless and throws whatever good there was in the screenplay as of secondary importance, focusing the film around a plot that doesn't exist, and oversthetching the bit in the middle, in making us think that there is a plain plot. The actors are also scattered around loose. Robert DeNiro's presence does nothing for the standards of the cast, he too in fact doesn't know what he is doing. While Segal cannot get away with playing a junkie, possibly because he isn't bony enough, Karen Black as his girlfriend is adorable, but her part is not well written. We know nothing of her.
There is no good guy in this movie, and all in all there is little reason to watch it. There are parts that might have an impact, but all in all, there are better movies that deal with the same issues. It was certainly rushed.
WATCH FOR THE MOMENT - A charming scene that shows the film had ideas. Karen Black and George Segal meeting the first time as he tries to steal her car.
From the way it starts, we are almost tricked into believing this will be a comedy. Then, from then on, it becomes the tragic portrayal of life on the streets. The footage we see on the screen seem dirty, and the gritty look of the film is meant to add to the brutality of the film. It's too bad that the part of George Segal is not so believable as a junkie, because it's not written well. There's too much emphasis on interaction and not enough emphasis on the characters themselves. The only times when we really see JJ break down is when we don't know what is going to happen to him. Drugs have driven him to a selfishness that is hard to side with. We don't pity him, but we literally hate what he has become.
The editing is horrible, hard to believe that it came from the same guy that did the editing for Annie Hall. The direction is careless and throws whatever good there was in the screenplay as of secondary importance, focusing the film around a plot that doesn't exist, and oversthetching the bit in the middle, in making us think that there is a plain plot. The actors are also scattered around loose. Robert DeNiro's presence does nothing for the standards of the cast, he too in fact doesn't know what he is doing. While Segal cannot get away with playing a junkie, possibly because he isn't bony enough, Karen Black as his girlfriend is adorable, but her part is not well written. We know nothing of her.
There is no good guy in this movie, and all in all there is little reason to watch it. There are parts that might have an impact, but all in all, there are better movies that deal with the same issues. It was certainly rushed.
WATCH FOR THE MOMENT - A charming scene that shows the film had ideas. Karen Black and George Segal meeting the first time as he tries to steal her car.