This buddy movie/road trip flick is one of a type of movie that I automatically have a soft spot for and always cut serious slack to. It's one of those early 70's oddities that has a bit of a mild counter-culture feel and has an overall vibe that I am a bit of a sucker for. It's about two male friends, both not long out of the army after serving in Vietnam. They now find themselves moving in different directions in life. One wants to settle down, while the other still wishes to remain a free spirit, not only that but he is jealous and unhappy to be losing his friend to a domestic life with his fiancé and so tries ever increasingly dangerous ways to break up their relationship. Events play out on a road trip where these young men travel in a camper-van with their girlfriends in the American south west.
Released by Crown International Pictures who were known for releasing low budget B-movies, this film is decidedly different from most of the films in their catalogue. For one thing, it isn't really a genre flick and instead is a psychological drama about friendship, relationships and growing up. It's only in its final act that it enters territory more closely associated with a traditional genre picture. In all honesty it is quite a strange movie and its very unpredictability makes it oddly compelling. It's also very nicely photographed too with some beautiful shots that capture the vast desert landscape. I also have a strange weakness for 70's films that have folk pop soundtracks and this one sure has its fair share of that too, with an assortment of laid-back soft rock complimenting events. In terms of a story-line, it's not particularly strong, with its strengths lying more as a character driven piece as opposed to a bit of narrative film-making. Sequences come and go in a fairly casual manner, I quite like this and, in any case, some scenes are somewhat distinctive, such as an oddball sequence that plays out in a Native American strip bar of all places.
This is one of those flicks that is either going to connect with the viewer or it isn't. However, if you appreciate a certain kind of oddball, low-key 70's American movie then I reckon this could be up your alley.
