Over
The Edge (1979) is by far the best teenage rebellion movie
ever made! Unfortunately this movie was never released in theaters
due to a gang violence scare created in the late seventies by
another teen rebel movie called The Warriors. That was a reel
shame because Over The Edge is not only a great teen angst movie
it's just a great movie period. The plot is loosely based on actual
events in a small suburban community which never quite got off
the ground financially. Therefore there are no places for the
kids to hang out such as a mall, arcade, movie theater, etc. So
the only thing for the kids to do is to hang out at the local
recreation center (which closes at 6 P.M.!!!) and do drugs. To
make matters worse the authorities are constantly harrassing the
kids, busting their parties and threatening to close the rec center
which is their only social outlet. Things come to a boil when
Richie (played by Matt Dillon in his first role) is shot by one
of the oppressing cops. The parents hold a sorta PTA meeting in
the local school auditorium to try to come up with a plan to control
the kids and deal with them because they're getting so out of
control. While the adults are busy bickering the kids all get
together and decide to avenge Richie by locking the adults inside
the cafeteria with their bicycle chains and then demolishing the
school! I saw this movie for the first time when it was released
on cable in the early eighties and it absolutely changed my life.
I cannot recommend it highly enough for its genre. My favorite
part is when the school forces all the kids to watch an anti-vandalism
movie and everyone starts cheering when the actors in the educational
film start destroying school property. This is happening while
one of the main characters, Claude (aka Flower Child), is tripping
on acid. ("Man. It's so violent." -Claude)