MovieChat Forums > Smooth Talk (1985) Discussion > 'Dangerous Hippie'

'Dangerous Hippie'

posted 15 years ago by jessicass
8 replies | jump to latest

I watched this on either HBO or Showtime yesterday.. the description on Dish was something to the effect of a young woman falling in with a 'dangerous hippie' I thought that was a bit odd being that it was filmed in the 80s.. anyway the movie was decent enough but I couldn't help laugh my ass off wondering who the hell decided to describe Arnold Friend as a 'dangerous hippie'.. the bit "smooth talk" scene was actually hard to watch because I was laughing so hard.

I know the descriptions on hbo etc are always pretty out there.. but that one was just hilarious.

http://thevenusproject.com
http://thezeitgeistmovement.com

[–] RoyBatty-7 15 years ago

I thought the description of Arnold Friend as a "dangerous hippie" was pretty strange too, and not at all fitting with the character.

I wasn't laughing when he was talking to Connie though, I just thought it was incredibly creepy.

[–] 15 years ago

[deleted]

[–] DancesWithButterflies 15 years ago

In this case truth is much better than fiction. I highly recommend reading up on the story this movie was based on. The short story is better and the real events surrounding the Pied Piper of Tuscon are a lot more interesting.

[–] ThunderDonkey 15 years ago

jessicass, from your mouth to Gods ears. You're totally right, but unlike you I didn't even find this movie decent. What the hell? What was there to this movie? Absolutely nothing, I mean what is this movie about? Dern was a dumb kid who had a bad relationship with her mom and she wanted to go to a burger hangout joint with her friends and act as a tease for awhile. The main crux of the story, this so called "dangerous hippie" Are you on drugs?

Treats main scenes or if you will appearance in this movie did nothing in terms of 1: being dangerous in any way and 2: make the story any interesting and I'm a Treat Williams fan mind you. I thought he was going to be a dangerous psychopath and kill a few people and kidnap Dern the way the stupid description read. The whole "climax" if you will is something that never occurs, like jessicass and others I didn't even bother laughing, I was like "what the hell?" where's the action, where's the payoff? Did I miss something? Dangerous "Hippie?" WHAT Hippie? what the hell are they talking about? He wasn't 1: dangerous & 2: a Hippie in any sense.

If you want to see a movie where that actually takes place, meaning a girl meets a guy she likes, who seems normal at first but then finds out otherwise, then go and see the movie "Fear" starring a very young Mark Wahlberg and Reese Witherspoon. Like "Smooth Talk" this movie shows up on cable every now and then but at least the description to "Smooth Talk" fits the movie "Fear" more accurately.

I'm trying to figure out why a movie like "Smooth Talk" exists. Why? There's totally nothing to this movie in any way shape or form. It's an exercise in boredom trying to watch this. Who in the hell would think this is decent, nevermind "good"?

[–] Redeverlasting 15 years ago

i thought i missed something! ill keep searching the threads to see if someone could describe to me what the hell the movie was implying happened or whatever b/c during most of his conversation through the screen door, my kids were keeping up so much noise i missed most of what he said to connie. i did hear her keep saying he was crazy but then she went off in the car w/ him and came back later. did he rape her?, talk some sense into her?, did she vow this being her last whorish act?, what??? i was left feeling like i got suckered into watching something that left me hanging in the end. can someone explain it better for me?

[–] Cassandra666 15 years ago

Treazzure007, if you're still interested over a month after your post, Connie went with Arnold because he was threatening her family (and her neighbor, for that matter). His threats are more straightforward in Joyce Carol Oates's story, if I remember correctly. In the movie he's a bit more vague, but that's why he makes the comments when she comes out of the house that she's being very brave and "none of them would have done this for you." Basically, she sacrifices herself for her family. And, yes, he does rape her. I think that's unambiguous in the movie, because he wouldn't have gone through all that trouble if he just wanted to talk.

"It's too bad that stupidity isn't painful." -Anton Szandor LaVey

[–] SaliceMcD 8 years ago

If anybody reads this . . . This movie and the short story on which it's based were inspired by the murderer Charles "Smitty" Schmid, dubbed - I believe by a NY Times reporter - the Pied Piper of Tucson. The movie more closely following his character and story is Jack Ketchum's The Lost.

[–] Cassandra666 15 years ago

Funny, I didn't read the TV guide description before I watched this, but whenever I see Treat Williams, I immediately think of him as George from Hair, who actually IS a hippie! So maybe whoever wrote that description just watched Hair one too many times and got confused, ha ha.

I watched this because I really love the short story it's based on, "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" And while I thought that the scene with Treat Williams and Laura Dern at the end was a very skillful and accurate adaptation, all the extra stuff added felt unnecessary to me and made the beginning/middle drag. It might have worked better as a short film than a full-length movie.

"It's too bad that stupidity isn't painful." -Anton Szandor LaVey