Alice's Restaurant.

Review #995: Alice's Restaurant.

Cast: 
Arlo Guthrie (Himself), Pat Quinn (Alice Brock), James Broderick (Ray Brock), Pete Seeger (Himself), Lee Hays (Himself – Reverend), Michael McClanathan (Shelly), Geoff Outlaw (Roger Crowther), Tina Chen (Mari-chan), Kathleen Dabney (Karin), William Obanhein (Himself – Officer Obie), and James Hannon (Himself – the blind judge) Directed by Arthur Penn (#981 - Bonnie and Clyde)

Review: 
The enjoyment of the film may rely on what you feel about the culture or the style that the film bases itself around, and while I might not call it a masterpiece (or anything too great), I did find that this was a fairly useful movie experience. This is an adaptation of the folk song "Alice's Restaurant Massacree", that had been written and sung by Guthrie two years prior (along with having a length of 18 minutes), based on a true incident that had happened to Guthrie, in which he had been arrested for littering, with some liberties being taken. Guthrie himself is a capable lead who seems to have the right sense of presence and timing for the film, being fairly interesting to watch on screen. There is a casual but fairly entertaining atmosphere to all of this. Quinn and Broderick also pull capable performances, though the film is more an expression of the times than a developed plot, which may attract or repel audiences from it. If one considered it to be an extended music video, it may actually play better, but it doesn't hold much of a candle to something like Tommy (#687). The ending scene is an interesting one, mostly because of how it lingers on one particular image (while having a part from the song playing), which certainly makes for an enduring image that sticks out. Whether your view of the film is domineered by nostalgia or (in my case) curiosity, this is a movie that has as much appeal as the song it is adapted from that aims to show the spirit of the time - for better or for worse. I can't say this is a really good movie, but I can see the appeal for others, and I guess that is all for the best.

Here we are, five to go. On to October.

Overall, I give it 7 out of 10 stars.