B-MOVIE OF THE MONTH - THE DEATH OF RITCHIE (TV 1977)

Looks like a lot of fun to me, I don't know. Seriously and for those that don't know, The Death Of Ritchie is one of the most iconic TV movies of the entire '70's decade. I was roughly 15 when it aired and i can tell you that both Robby Benson and teens taking drugs were very hot topics at the time. The film is based on a true story where a father who couldn't control his teen's behavior from drug abuse was forced to take the law into his own hands. The father here is good ole Ben Gazzara and he is at his Gazzara best with a ferocious intensity, his scenes with Benson as father and son a perfect chemistry. At the time more emphasis was on Benson as a model but his performance here is really amazing. Streams free on Tubi, Freevee, Roku and Plex, if this was being rated on the standard scale I would give it five stars, 'nuff said. 2.75 stars/2.75

Thursday, September 15, 2022

ANTHONY MICHAEL HALL IS AN IOWA FARMBOY WHO FINDS HIMSELF ON THE RUN IN THE LOS ANGELES UNDERGROUND NEW WAVE MUSIC SCENE, HE'S WAY "OUT OF BOUNDS" (1986)

 
 

No longer the geeky and frail looking Breakfast Club boy, Anthony Michael Hall must have found himself in a sort of no-man's land for actors in 1986. No longer able to be cast as a leading teen but not yet having found his footing for adult roles. Enter the action thriller vehicle "Out Of Bounds," a misfire of sorts but in the same way 1988's Bright Lights, Big City was for Michael J Fox, there's good and bad here. Fox, however, has always been capable of carrying a whole picture by himself - Hall, I'm not so sure.

The bad - a overly familiar eighties story about a misplaced bag at LAX, the good guys spend the rest of the film running from the bad guys who want their drugs, jewelry, whatever, back. Hall just doesn't have that appeal factor in this and there's a palatable disconnect between him and the other actors as well as crew. So the story goes he was such a dick on set that the crew nicknamed him "the brat."

The good - some awesome LA locations, lots of em from downtown to Silverlake to Hollywood and more. A good deal of the chase takes place in the underground new wave scene at the time and a cameo by the now legendary Siouxsie & The Banshees band totally makes the backdrop of this film one of the big pluses. Not a bad one, worth at least one watch, Out Of Bounds just entered the streaming world and is on Tubi currently.  2.75 stars/2.75

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