What’s this all about?
The Outsiders is a coming of age story about a group of young men in the 1960’s. It tells the tale of conflict between these boys, another group of boys, and everyone’s feelings. People get in fights, there’s class struggle, some kids get saved from a burning church, people get killed, girls get harassed, adults get annoyed, and in the end, none of it matters at all.
Who is Nick in this one?
IMDB claims that Nick plays the uncredited role of “Soc #1”. The internet claims that he’s in the big fight scene. That takes place at night. In the rain. Between about thirty guys. I couldn’t find Nicolas in there, but the Internet promises that he is. If he’s there, he has no lines.
Who else is in this one?
Every famous male actor from 1983, a cute-as-a-button young Diane Lane, and a less-cute-than-a-button Sophia Coppola are in this one. Seriously, it’s a full roster. Charlie Sheen and Judd Nelson are conspicuously absent, though.
Did you see that?
I’m going to cheat, and make this a “Did you hear that?” segment. The soundtrack for this film is absolutely amazing. It’s full of late 50’s early 60’s rock and pop tunes that just drip with atmosphere. From the wild and frantic “Gloria” from Van Morrison, to the eerie and haunting “Out of Limits” by the Markettes, the soundtrack is great. “Stay Gold” by Stevie Wonder, presumably written for the film, is cornball trash, though. It pains me to say that. If you’re reading this, Stevie Wonder, I love you. -Michael
This was my first time seeing this movie. I was a huge fan of the book in Jr. High, but never watched the movie out of fear that it wouldn’t live up to the book. – Sarah
What were Nick’s best parts?
I guess the fight scene? I didn’t see him, but whatever. -Michael
The fight scenes were pretty strong in the movie. Much like the car chase in Blues Brothers, it was really the most impressive part of the movie. – Sarah
What were Nick’s worst parts?
The fight scene. Where the hell was he? This scene was primed for a screaming, crazy, preppy Nick. But alas, we had none.
Also, these guys fought like spastics. Although, thinking back to my own High School fights, I guess that’s probably accurate. -Michael
The fight scenes were too fast, too dark, and too crowded to catch who all was in them. Especially the big fight scene at the end. So many guys fighting in the mud. We paused the movie a couple of times to see if we could see him in the background. The movie being packed with young stars didn’t help matters either, your sense that you see someone you know, was constantly going off. Is that him? No, it’s Tom Cruse. Wait, that’s him… No, Rob Lowe. How about him? Nope, that’s Patrick Swayze or Matt Dillon or Emilio Estevez. – Sarah
How was the movie?
Look, I know this is on a lot of people’s greatest films lists, but I didn’t enjoy it. Every character was an asshole, or so wooden as to be unlikable. It was angsty and weepy without actually building up any personal tension.
The film starts well with Pony Boy being harassed on his way home from the movies. The violence intensifies as the scene progresses, and really creates a feeling of oppressive dread.
It takes a turn though, when we hear about how bad these boys have it at home, which is illustrated by showing Emilio Estevez watching Mickey Mouse cartoons while eating chocolate cake and drinking a beer for breakfast. We call that “Sunday” around here.
Almost everyone in this plays a moron. Their actions have no real consequence, and their fears, crises and violence are all pointless. I guess that’s the point of the movie, but to me, it feels like what would happen if The Hallmark Channel tried to remake Stand By Me. -Michael
The movie reminded me of how much I enjoyed the book. But I agree it wasn’t that good. I’m not sure if it just didn’t stand the test of time well, didn’t live up to the book, or it just been too many years since I could relate to an angst ridden teen, but it was ho-hum. I do think that I would have loved the movie if I had seen it in the late 80’s or early 90’s. – Sarah
Yeah, but did you like it?
It was cool to see Emilio Estevez, he’s always great. Seeing the other 80’s actors when they were younger than their prime was kind of fun. The movie, though, was a slog for me. -Michael
I’m glad I finally watched it. I enjoyed seeing all the young Hollywood stars. And Michael was right about the soundtrack. – Sarah
Where can I watch it?
You can rent it on Amazon Prime and YouTube.
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