Change Your Image
billj78-484-195399
Ratings
Most Recently Rated
Reviews
Roadside Prophets (1992)
It's no "Easy Rider," but then, it wasn't meant to be!
As a biker and film fan, I consider "Roadside Prophets" an unheralded gem.
Perhaps that's because I recognize myself in John Doe's Joe Mosley. Heck, even our motorcycles look alike! More importantly, though, Joe is a working stiff with a sense of honor, who tries to do the right thing even when he makes mistakes along the way. As Joe leaves work one afternoon he meets another Harley rider, Dave Coleman (David Anthony Marshall, in an all-too-brief performance). What follows is one of the greatest riding sequences of any motorcycle movie I've ever scene, neatly underscored by John Doe's own song: "Beer, Gas, Ride Forever". What I'd give to have that segment of the film, sans titles, as a separate video! A quick stop for beer ends in tragedy when Joe's new friend is electrocuted by a pinball machine. A biker knows you never leave your fellow riders behind, so it's no mystery to me that Joe embarks on an epic journey to deliver this virtual stranger's ashes to his Eldorado of memory, the one place Dave ever felt loved and accepted.
Early in his trek Joe encounters the excitable Sam (Beastie Boy Adam Horovitz), who reminds me of any number of novice riders I've known, with a puppy-like energy that is a perfect foil for Joe's dogged, world-weary determination. Sam procures a battered Triumph, and the mismatched duo hit the road in search of the elusive Eldorado...
...and the perfect night at a Motel 9, of course.
Along the way the duo come upon the titular roadside prophets - Timothy Leary, Arlo Guthrie, et al - and from each they gain a Zen-like insight which contributes to the arc of their journey, as motorcyclists AND as men. By the time the travelers reach Eldorado (craftily disguised as a wind-swept gambling town in the Nevada desert) both have learned enough to shed the skin of their old selves, and move on to the next adventure in their lives.
Although Joe's seemingly devastating loss came as a shock and affront to everything I hold dear (I get a little queasy still, just thinking about it), both the character and I ultimately realize that this leg of our heroes' journey has ended in triumph, and the next leg begun. To quote Robert Earl Keen: "The road goes on forever...."
A previous review mentioned "Easy Rider"; hence the title of this review. Comparing the two would seem appropriate, in that both are road movies about a pair of motorcyclists making their way across the desert Southwest, but in my opinion that is where comparison ends. "Easy Rider" may rightly be considered a classic - it certainly broke new ground on its release in 1969, and upended the power structure of Hollywood during the '70s and early '80s - but "Roadside Prophets" is a less nihilistic, far more coherent and fully-realized vision, which ages far better than "Easy Rider". I would recommend "Roadside Prophets" to anyone who loves motorcycles, road movies, a solid soundtrack, and/or GREAT "non-Hollywood" storytelling.
Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man (1991)
Hey, kids! It's a live-action cartoon!
What's not to love? This is a live-action cartoon; an homage to the classic oater of yesteryear that absolutely refuses to take itself seriously; a fun frantic buddy flick replete with motorcycles, guns, an explosion or two, a disgraced former Miss America, an army of villains gunning for our heroes, and a sleazy, wealthy, powerfully-connected bad guy directing the nefarious doings from the safety of his well-secured office. Hmmm.... Come to think of it, that bad guy has a lot in common with our last president....
But I digress. Seriously, for all those who whine about the script, the chemistry, or the "unbelievability" of the scenario: carefully untwist your panties, butter your popcorn, and put your brain in low gear for an hour and a half. You might shock yourself and end up having a good time with a rompin', stompin' shoot-'em-up cowboy picture.
And anyone should know, within the first five minutes of viewing, that a rompin', stompin' shoot-'em-up cowboy picture is what they've got. This is not the pretentious drop-your-Rolex-in-the-sand "artiness" of Easy Rider, or the heart-rending After School Special sob-story of Mask (the Sam Elliott and Cher Mask, not the Jim Carrey version). It isn't even the high-concept hi-jinks of my favorite road movie of all time, Roadside Prophets. Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man is nothing more than FUN; escapist and cathartic fun with a couple of wise-crackin' rough riders ready to do battle against big corporate baddies. Come along for the ride!
Hells Angels Forever (1983)
After years of lies and misconceptions about them, the Angels decided to tell their side of the story
The Hells Angels rose to national prominence in the mid-1960s, due in large part to Hunter Thompson's reporting on the club in The Nation, which he later expanded into the book that made him famous. What followed was a deluge of negative press, police harassment, and God knows how many cheap biker exploitation movies (most with some variation on the club's name, i.e.: Satan's Angels and such) that cast bikers - all of us - in the worst possible light. By the 1980s the Angels were reportedly fed up with all that, so when NYC chapter president Sandy Alexander suggested telling the club's side of the story, his brothers got on board.
The result is not high art, but it is an interesting slice-of-life look at a subculture a lot of people only THINK they know about, and a valuable historical resource for those interested in understanding this authentically and unabashedly American subculture. Not that it's to be taken as gospel, but anyone with even a passing interest in the subject would do well to see this film.
And it must be noted that, in spite of the fact that this is a propaganda piece, the Angels, to their credit, did not shy away from some of the grittier aspects of their brotherhood and lifestyle. I'm thinking of the prominent face time given to club spokesmen like Vinny (RIP), who didn't exactly come across as goodwill ambassador to the world, or the interview with Jerry Garcia and his "violent spaces" remark. The Angels could have cut all of that and presented a squeaky-clean image of themselves. They chose not to, and I say "Good on 'em!"
And while the film suffers technical faults - poor-quality audio in places, and jittery hand-held cameras - it's actually fairly well made. It has a pretty good soundtrack and some great footage of the club on the road, partying, hanging out at the annual Laconia NH rally and such. It's a documentary, but it's also entertaining. I'm glad I have my copy - a passing fair transfer of the original VHS - but I'd love to see the film properly released on DVD, and I bet I'm not alone in that.