I recently saw Easy Rider again after a 25 year gap. I'm afraid what stood out in my mind as THE defining movie of the late 1960's hasn't aged well. To be frank: on a technical level, the movie is horrible. The production values are lousy (I realize it was a low budget job at the time), the script is lame and the photography is, at best, so-so. The acting, aside from the breakout performance of Jack Nicholson, is horrendous... everyone is portrayed as a cliché (OK, so Phil Spector might be dead on, but he's likely playing himself). Easy Rider has a few things that will ensure it's iconic place in movie history: 1) a classic soundtrack 2) Jack Nicholson 3) the 2 principal actors are out shined--and out acted-- by their choppers. Unfortunately, these bright spots are wrapped up in a production that looks like a freshman film school final. A better use of your time is to dump the soundtrack into your iPod--- or if you see the movie, watch the first 5 minutes, skip to Jack Nicholson's all-too-brief appearance then skip to the final 30 seconds... you'll think it's great. The whole thing? 3/10.
Review of Easy Rider
