NOT AS BAD AS......

.........many people here are saying.

for one, not 'getting' the movie may show your age. (nothing wrong with that, btw.)

like, the shorts comment. that is the way most guys dressed back then. it may look gay to you now, but he was a surfer type and that is how they dressed. also, even gym and running shorts were short then. far as i can remember, hip hop brought in the 'shorts down to mid shin' era, mid 90's

also, i defend newman's choice to cast benson. he had cred at the time, and some of us dont think it was as bad as others seem to think. i thought his performance was good. the gay comment is, again, a sign of current times. in 1984 we did not go around discussing gay stuff, etc. so anyone seeing the movie would likely not kneejerk-edly assume robbie was gay. just a drifter dreamer type, borderline-loafer. also, newman was from the generation which was mroe hard ass and probably would have been confused just like in the movie, if his son wanted to wash cars for a living.

and newman is an institution, and has a diminutae style of acting, with occassional over the top moments. i understand why some younger viewers would not register with his style. it pans over their heads, probably.

fourthly, this was a story, a screen story, and a character one at that. some of you probably didn't care for it since it doesn't have the bells and whistles necessary to keep your interest these days. like car crashes and mystery voices on tape recorders and CGI and amputated limbs.....and vhs tapes that attack innocent kids without provocation.
the tensions in this story are internal. and it builds as it goes along.

but i must add this-- PEACE TO THE HATERS. WE AINT MAD ATCHA. it makes sense that not everyone will like the same movies.