dave s
Sadly, Four Friends is one of director Arthur Penn's lesser-known efforts, which is a shame considering how good it is. Set during the tumultuous 60s, three high school friends find themselves in love with the same girl, a free-spirited eccentric who believes that she's the reincarnation of dancer Isidore Duncan. It is a film about the American Dream, the immigrant experience, friendship, unrequited love, and the joy and anguish of being young. The film owes its success to writer Steve Tesich (Breaking Away, The World According to Garp), who proved over the course of his short career his ability to capture the ebullience of youth. Four Friends is equal parts inspiring and tragic (one particularly shocking turn of events changes the entire narrative) and always engaging.
Rated 4.5/5 Stars •
Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars
03/30/23
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Audience Member
Yugoslavian-born Danilo Prozor (Craig Wasson), who arrived in America at the age of twelve and ever since has been trying to distinguish between the reality of his adopted homeland and the idealistic vision of it he brought with him; overweight, Jewish mama's boy David (Michael Huddleston); Tom (Jim Metzler), the attractive WASP jock who has a way with the ladies; and free-spirited, self-assured Georgia (Jodi Thelen), who fancies herself the reincarnation of Isadora Duncan, dreams of a successful career as a dancer, and is loved in turn by each of her three friends. Danilo is facing conflicts with his father, struggles with his heritage, his courtship and thwarted marriage to Long Island debutante Adrienne Carnahan and his lingering relationship with Georgia...
In his review in The New York Times, Vincent Canby called it "the best film yet made about the sixties" and added, "It has the quality of legend, a fable remembered . . . [It] is one of Mr. Penn's most deeply felt achievements, ranking alongside Bonnie and Clyde, Alice's Restaurant, and Little Big Man. For Mr. Tesich, it is another original work by one of our best young screenwriters." Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times described it as "a very good movie" and commented, "The wonder is not that Four Friends covers so much ground, but that it makes many of its scenes so memorable that we learn more even about the supporting characters than we expect to." TV Guide rates the film three out of a possible four stars, saying it "attempts to cover so much ground that at times the film becomes frustratingly muddled", and adding, "Though [it] runs out of gas toward the end, it's filmed with obvious love for the characters and features outstanding performances from the underrated Wasson, Thelen and Simon. Well worth seeing." Time Out New York says, "Although its episodic narrative entails a certain lack of unity, it's nevertheless an ambitious and impressive work . . . A dense but never pretentious film that manages to convey the atmosphere of the '50s and '60s succinctly, it offers delights galore, not least a light, perceptive wit and an unsentimental ability to touch the emotions." Channel 4 calls it a "stodgy, sentimental brew" and "a well-meaning film that doesn't really amount to much in the long run."
This semi-autobiographical screenplay by Steve Tesich and coming of age story is based on four characters, the Yugoslavian-born Danilo Prozor, the overweight Jewish mama's boy David, the attractive WASP jock Tom and the free-spirited, self-assured Georgia is a scattered and disjointed story in my book. The storyline has no flow and it jumps back and forth with to many extreme happenings that feels forced and not fully believable. Penn´s attempt to cover the development of the 60s is a failure I think. And what is supposed to be dramatic, becomes slightly humorous instead. Vincent Canby from The New York Times called it "the best film yet made about the sixties" and added, "It has the quality of legend, a fable remembered . . . It is one of Mr. Penn's most deeply felt achievements, ranking alongside Bonnie and Clyde, Alice's Restaurant, and Little Big Man." I couldn´t disagree more.
Trivia: The film was a commercial failure and Penn did not make another film for four years.
Rated 2.5/5 Stars •
Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars
02/21/23
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Audience Member
This was one of those movies I saw on tv years ago because it sounded boring and I wanted to see if the idea could be made interesting. I can't remember many details now, but it certainly left an impression.
Rated 4/5 Stars •
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
01/16/23
Full Review
laurent b
Un film superbe, touchant, beau et magnifiquement interprété. Si j'ai juste un petit bémol, c'est à cause de la chanson "Georgia" qui revient un peu trop souvent à mon goût, sinon ce film est un chef-d'oeuvre.
Rated 4/5 Stars •
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
03/31/23
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Scott W
Many people will probably not care for this... Buts it a good movie...
Rated 4.5/5 Stars •
Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars
10/30/12
Full Review
Audience Member
Inserts major cultural events of the 60s as if it's found a way to relate them to a set of friends' illogical/implausible/pointless travails. In one character's words, "Why must things take so long?"
Rated 1.5/5 Stars •
Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars
02/20/23
Full Review
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