Autumn 66 Records: 2014

Thursday, November 20, 2014

Saturday, July 26, 2014

This classic 1981 flick stars John "Drugs" Putch as Owen Eaton, a over privileged knob-head from a lace curtain circus of a family that includes his real life mother Jean Stapleton (aka Edith Bunker yikes!), career stuffed shirt Arthur Hill (of the 4 Martini lunch brigade), Helen "Knocker Trembler" Hunt and Ken Michelman (who played Goldstein on the White Shadow.)

The story revolves around the Angel Dust crisis that was big news in suburbia in 1980-1981 (almost every TV drama had a "dust" episode back then.) Poor Owen couldn't cope as a college jarhead so he turned to Angel Dust to boost himself through mid-terms. But of course, Owen couldn't handle his dust and freaked out big time in the college dorms. It culminated in Owen doing an auto-destruct number on the school trophy case that resembled Pete Townshend's guitar smashing scene at the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival.

This little escapade earned Owen a corner padded room at the state mental hospital. Owen's mail it in parents refused to believe their son used dope and slipped heavily into a denial trip "our son is a good boy and he comes from a good family blah blah blah!)

Owen is finally discharged but things don't go well at home. The rest of the family think Owen is out to lunch, so our hero begins to raid Pop's Valium stash. Owen then has a meltdown that features a super punch-up with his gin soaked father. Owen is then shipped back to the nut hatch and slips into the void in his very own cheesburger universe.

Finally, Owen is packed off to a "with-it" halfway house that of course features the obligatory Jimi Hendrix and Pink Floyd wall posters. Owen finally figures out that his whole bum trip is the result of trying to keep up with his dope-smoking brother the medical student (played by Michelman.) The whole thing wraps up with Owen and family reuniting at the family plantation.

This dire flick was originally a TV movie of the week and trust me it has more yuk-yuks than a Sgt. Bilko marathon. It's now available as a WB home DVD and believe me it one real gone gasser!

David Furgess

7-26-14