Alice's Restaurant

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Alec B It meanders and Arlo Guthrie is a bit of a dull lead but it's one of the least insufferable, even somewhat enduring at times, movies from the late 60s that directly addressed the cultural climate of the time. Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/10/24 Full Review dave s Director Arthur Penn made some great films during his career. Sandwiched between two of his most iconic movies, Bonne and Clyde and Little Big Man, you'll find the irritating Alice's Restaurant, proof that songs should never be made into movies. It's never really worked and never will. Arlo Guthrie's song, an anti-establishment ditty that quietly rages against the draft, is funny and touching and really quite wonderful. The movie? Not so much. The problems? Guthrie, playing himself, proves not to be much of an actor. The story thread of the song only makes up a small portion of the movie, with the rest being pointless filler that detracts from the theme. Penn's direction feels erratic and aimless. Other than the final shot, which is wonderful, there's nothing to see here. In a nutshell, save yourself a couple of hours and just listen to the song. Rated 1.5/5 Stars •  Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars 03/30/23 Full Review Audience Member Unlike the music videos began by the Beatles and the Monkees, the whole movie is Arlo Guthrie's "Alice's Restaurant" album forming the basis for the movie's story, and is loosely based on a real life Alice who opened a restaurant in a converted church. The movie reenacts the story about how a small town makes a big fuss about Arlo Guthrie's dumping garbage down a ravine and putting him in jail for it (things were too quiet then I guess), and how it would cause Arlo to be rejected for military service-the theme of the album's title song. Hippie life in general is covered, but not a Pollyannaish manner. Alice finally gets sick of hippies living off her hospitality and blows her top at them, a man dies from drug use, a Vietnam Veteran comes home wounded. The movie does work very well as a period piece and is recommended for understanding the 1960's. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/22/23 Full Review Audience Member It meanders and Arlo Guthrie is a bit of a dull lead but it's one of the least insufferable, even somewhat enduring at times, movies from the late 60s that directly addressed the cultural climate of the time. Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/13/23 Full Review Jimbo P Gotta understand social norms of the time and the movie was made about a song written as a memoir. A classic in its own right Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 04/24/21 Full Review robert m Thanksgiving tradition? Gimme a break. Privileged kids are surprised to discover that town dumps are often closed on Thanksgiving Day. So they throw bags of trash into public places and they get caught by a local cop who's trying to protect the community from littering. If you want to understand why much of the country hated the hippies, start with this story. What's the message? I dunno. Who cares? Rated 2/5 Stars •  Rated 2 out of 5 stars 03/30/23 Full Review Read all reviews

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