Lachlan Coulson
This is a gorgeous movie made by a gorgeous spirit.
Mandeep Tyson
The acting in this movie is really good.
Fatma Suarez
The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful
dougdoepke
Satire trades on exaggeration in order to make a point. In my book, a key element of successful satire is an ability to cleverly exaggerate while providing humorous insight, otherwise the comedic part can devolve into boredom or silliness. The trouble with this lame satire on the 60's is an almost complete absence of cleverness. Instead, the screenplay simply pounds over and over in obvious fashion on the voting age theme, showing neither depth nor telling wit. At the same time, the upshot can be spotted a mile away. Thus there's precious little insight amidst all the flash. On the other hand, as a vet of the 60's political battles, I like Hal Holbrook's role as a political opportunist seeking to co-opt the youth movement. Too bad there's not more of that and less showcasing of the new James Dean. The overall result strikes me as coming not from an insightful skeptic, but from the commercial establishment. In short, despite cult status, the movie's little more than empty flash.
Scott LeBrun
The prevailing youth culture of America in the 1960s certainly had tremendous impact, as noted in this interesting social / political satire courtesy of writer Robert Thom. Christopher Jones plays a young man who yearned to break free of his strict upbringing, and became a leading rock star and counterculture figure, rechristening himself "Max Frost". He becomes a voice for the kids of the nation, and youthful looking career politician Johnny Fergus (Hal Holbrook) figures to capitalize on this. Fergus reasons that any person old enough to be drafted into military service is at least old enough to deserve the right to vote. Their relationship bears some strange fruit, with Frost letting power completely go to his head.While very much a film of its time, "Wild in the Streets" does capture a pivotal point in the pop culture evolution. It's an amusing and reasonably intelligent examination of the generation gap, which was even more pronounced in past decades than it is now. Kids didn't have a voice, anybody to speak for them, or individuals to relate to. And adults just assumed that they knew best; that experience was all that really mattered. The characters here are stereotypical, by and large, but that is entirely the point. When Frost and his followers - whom he calls his "troops" - get into power, things change to a radical degree, with official law enforcement organizations like the FBI and CIA seeming to become obsolete.The music is, for the most part, quite catchy and groovy. The cast is impressive all the way down the line. Jones has some charisma going for him, and Richard Pryor is fun as his drummer, although the latter doesn't really get much opportunity to be funny. The young generation is extremely well supported by veterans such as Shelley Winters and Bert Freed (as Frosts' parents), and Ed Begley (as an angry senator). Co-star Millie Perkins, who plays Fergus's wife, was married to screenwriter Thom at the time."Wild in the Streets" may seem dated to some viewers now, but back in 1968 I can believe that a story of its kind would have great appeal to its audience.Seven out of 10.
peterlonglongplong
I was a kid when this movie was made, but I understand a lot of it. The plot is so out there it had me laughing all the time. What's great about it, is that through the shielding of a ridiculous storyline, the director was able to touch on some very important subjects, some of which are still relevant today. Drugs are drugs (including alcohol), and we're given more reminders of how stupid people can get when they're high. The movie glances on that frequent occurrence with the human race, MASS INSANITY. Many find it amazing that people like Hitler, or Stalin, or some currant day CRAZY LUNATICS, can gain such power in the government. Obviously, most parts of this movie were symbolic and would never hit reality. But, the masses (through fear) accepting leaders who are proved to be extreme in their behavior, people getting shot, or large groups with similar characteristics (the Japanese Americans in WW11) being forced into prison camps; that is the real world. The age factor in this movie is a beautiful metaphor on how society divides up people into classes; how they can consider some to be higher than others & some to be the untouchables. Many scenes are difficult & ugly to view. Through dark humor, we see some of the most disturbing realities of human existence. Fortunately, the plot is so "Wild in the Streets" & unbelievable, viewers get slap-in-the-face reminder of how loathsome & hideous we humans can be. This is a "CULT MOVIE" for one huge reason, the majority of people in this country (& maybe beyond) are too frightened to even face our undeniable shortcomings.
moonspinner55
Naive political rabble-rouser from A.I.P. has sexy pop star Christopher Jones elected President of the United States after the voting age is lowered to 14. Screenwriter Robert Thom, working from his short story "The Day it All Happened, Baby", addresses heady issues but in a campy manner, skimping on anything too harrowing for the sake of the cartoonish handling. Thom also leaves out a major part of the story (the voting process) in favor of an 'ironic' sub-plot which parallels a chapter of World War II! The picture does look good and sound good, and it has fine acting from Jones, Shelley Winters as his mother, Diane Varsi, Millie Perkins and, in a bit, Richard Pryor. **1/2 from ****
