All’s good at Alice´s Restaurant

Wednesday, 14 December 2011 15:27

Written by Editor

There are many great songs and there are many great movies, but not many of them make it to the big screen. Arlo Guthrie’s “Alice’s Restaurant Massacre” isn’t really a song, more of a long story with music, but either way you look at it, it’s a classic and so is the movie. Arlo Guthrie is no actor, but he's actually quite good in this because you do feel that, while he's obviously acting, he's also trying to be himself and so you get some insight into the man. Patricia Quinn exudes an earthy vitality as Alice, while James Broderick as her husband Ray seems strangely at odds with the rest of the cast. Maybe it's his age or the cowboy-ish clothes, which make him look something like a good ol' boy, but he never really seems to fit in and fails to convince as the kind of man to whom Alice would be married.

Arlo has his litter-inspired run-in with the draft board and becomes known as one of a commune-like group of people in Stockbridge which is more or less centred around Alice and Ray. The two live unconventionally with their friends in an unused church. Alice seeks to add some stability to her life by opening a restaurant, which she does successfully with the help of friend Arlo's jingle. She and Arlo are the only members of their group who look beyond the aimless lifestyle of the members of their commune, who are content to meander through life riding motorcycles and getting stoned. But Alice is fairly glued to her life with the stoned-out Ray, their friends and her restaurant. It is with great sadness that she watches Arlo ride off to resume his life on the road.

In addition to the now-fabled Thanksgiving sequence, highlights include James Broderick's lively performance as Ray, Pat Quinn's understated one as Alice and Guthrie's ever present charm and humour.

It is also a wonderful bonus to see Arlo perform his father's "Pastures of Plenty" and "Car Song" with the wonderful Pete Seeger. It manages to be both good humoured and effortlessly profound at the same time. The recruitment scenes are hysterically funny.

The final shot of Alice's Restaurant is just beautiful, it manages to celebrate something and take it with a grain of salt at the same time. The film itself is ultimately as ramshackle as the group whose story it tells, but if the era means anything to you, you will find it worth watching.