This film grabbed me from the start with a glorious Jim Steinman score and views of the Harvard campus circa 1969. Immediately you are taken into the world of college students during the Vietnam War, showing their glee that President Johnson will not be seeking a second elected term, tossing a roped Johnson dummy over a balcony in celebration. The story of three friends from the beginning of their friendship to 20 years later is funny and moving and sweet yet filled with historical references and the anti-war stance of Harvard's finest.
While you may question the casting of the three leads (they are older than the characters they play as the movie starts), Jameson Parker, Brad Davis (post "Midnight Express") and Karen Allen (pre-"Raiders of the Lost Ark") are all excellent as are the supporting cast which includes a young Shelley Long and character actors you'll recognize instantly from primetime TV guest appearances. The passion of their hatred against the war is highlighted by a memorial scene for Harvard students drafted then killed. A bit of late 60's feminism is thrown in with a play where Allen and Long act out a heterosexual sex act that disturbs Davis because it's a repeat of a date he had with Allen.
Long has an ironic comment concerning a Vietnam draft lottery which results in screams being heard as birthdates are announced, revealing that they know that they are on their way to a certain death. Coming right after a slew anti-Vietnam War films made after the war ended, this is a sad moment where the profound music really touches the emotions. You will really feel like you have gone back in time where the actors feel like they are completely real and not just characters inside a script. The chemistry with the three leads makes the moments of conflict very realistic, and after a while you will forget that they are about a decade older than the characters they are playing.
While you may question the casting of the three leads (they are older than the characters they play as the movie starts), Jameson Parker, Brad Davis (post "Midnight Express") and Karen Allen (pre-"Raiders of the Lost Ark") are all excellent as are the supporting cast which includes a young Shelley Long and character actors you'll recognize instantly from primetime TV guest appearances. The passion of their hatred against the war is highlighted by a memorial scene for Harvard students drafted then killed. A bit of late 60's feminism is thrown in with a play where Allen and Long act out a heterosexual sex act that disturbs Davis because it's a repeat of a date he had with Allen.
Long has an ironic comment concerning a Vietnam draft lottery which results in screams being heard as birthdates are announced, revealing that they know that they are on their way to a certain death. Coming right after a slew anti-Vietnam War films made after the war ended, this is a sad moment where the profound music really touches the emotions. You will really feel like you have gone back in time where the actors feel like they are completely real and not just characters inside a script. The chemistry with the three leads makes the moments of conflict very realistic, and after a while you will forget that they are about a decade older than the characters they are playing.