warning, spoilers exist:I saw this little gem in 1981 or so,on the late nite MOVIE GREATS network,I believe on channel 5 Chicago.I can remember that my high school years were,at times, filled with brief periods of extreme alienation,along with a sense of i-wanna-be-anywhere-but-here.The main character is sick of high school and wants to spend his second semester of senior year in Europe.He has a profound sense of alienation,similar to the rebellious teens led by the Christian Slater character in PUMP UP THE VOLUME.I also vividly recall the brutal gym-class paddling scene.A 17 year old boy is not only humiliated by a public spanking,but howls because of the pain,which is real and intense.Having witnessed such spectacles at a Catholic high school,MID-'70S,I can attest to the grim reality of the scene,which is "played for real" and not sugar-coated or done in a nostalgic way at all.
Review of Cutting Loose
