Van Nuys Blvd. (USA, 1979) 93 min color DIR-SCR: William Sachs. PROD: Marilyn Jacobs Tenser. MUSIC: Ken Mansfield, Ron Wright. DOP: Joseph Mangine. CAST: Bill Adler, CynthiaWood, Dennis Bowen, Melissa Prophet, David Hayward, Tara Strohmeier, Dana Gladstone. (Crown International Pictures)
Possibly the best film by director William Sachs (of such drive-in delights as The Incredible Melting Man and Galaxina), this is a surprisingly enjoyable and refreshing movie that closes the chapter on the sultry 70s. Van Nuys Blvd. is the American Graffiti for its generation: both films about youths who must face up to adulthood in short order (and both films feature a moon out a car window).
At first, this comedy has enough gross sight gags, nudity and carrying on to draw the crowd to the drive-in on Saturday night, but these elements become secondary once the film evolves into a delightfully mature picture as these characters evolve; writer-director Sachs has clearly spent some time on some interesting characterizations. Like much of 1970s cinema, the film is less driven by plot than character: Van Nuys Blvd. succeeds as an impressionistic study on half a dozen characters who slowly slouch towards adulthood.
Plus, the film is very well shot– full of engaging visual ideas, and lovely night photography by veteran cameraman Joseph Mangine, which captures the pulse of this favourite hangout. Small-town yokel Bobby (Bill Adler) too feels the pull of the famous strip while viewing a report about it on his TV set. Tiring of his nowhere life, he heads off in his souped-up van (amusingly, the actor also starred The Van for Crown International), to where all the action is on Van Nuys Blvd: drive-in restaurants, drag races, free love and general mayhem.
Unfortunately, he chose to be part of the scene at a time where anal retentive cop Al Zass (Dana Gladstone) is cracking down on all these punk kids. For the next half hour, we are introduced to several strands of narrative: dopey red-haired Greg (Dennis Bowen) gets in a fight with burly jerk Jason because he was making time with his girlfriend Camille (Melissa Prophet). Camille in turn splits on Jason because she’s tired of his macho crap and gets a lift in a van by her friend Moon (Cynthia Wood) to the drive-in restaurant and park next to where Bobby is enjoying some back-of-the-van activity with the friendliest carhop around. Moon challenges Bobby to a drag race and they, along with Camille, end up in the slammer after their plans are botched by Big Al. Meanwhile, Big Al has already busted Chooch (David Hayward) for running a red light and making excessive noise! Soon, Greg too gets tossed into the clink… for hitchhiking!
After being released from the slammer the next morning, these characters suddenly decide to spend the day together at Magic Mountain! In between riding the “Revolution” roller coaster, playing video games, winning stuffed animals, the two young couples obviously begin to find a mutual attraction. That Bobby and Moon vigorously compete in everything, from pinball to the Midway, is their way of falling in love. These scenes are perhaps the most charming of the picture. Although the Porky’s crowd would dig this movie for all the cheap sex and juvenile humour that parades through, Van Nuys Blvd. surprisingly well captures those bittersweet moments of youth before resigning to adulthood.
Also, because it is a 70s movie, there’s a lot of macho posturing in it (more than just the guy with the wide lapels who hits on Moon at the disco), but Sachs pokes through and reveals the children underneath. For instance, Al the cop gets his comeuppance by being handcuffed to his car by Wanda (Tara Stroheimer) the friendly carhop, after some beachside lust goes awry. Before long he is crying for his mommy! Most tellingly, the myth of the male ego is deflated in the Chooch character. This moustached king of the drag strip is constantly discouraged in trying to show off his bravado- he throws up after getting out of the roller coaster, and he even gets beat by an old lady in a race! Even the cocky Bobby has his ego challenged by Moon’s persistent challenges (ah, young love).
Slowly, everyone is forced to confront their irresponsible behaviour. Most movingly, after her interlude with the cop, Wanda begins to lead a respectable life… with Chooch! (The poor guy even tries to act macho by lifting weights around her.) When Chooch introduces Wanda to Bobby, their eyes say it all, after they recognize one another from the drive-in parking lot tryst. And when these kids also try to act like adults, more embarrassment sets in. Poor Greg gets an unwelcome visit from Camille’s parents while trying to make love to her! Moon brings Bobby’s ego down a few notches by her persistent challenges and her “When are you gonna grow up?” digs.
Van Nuys Blvd. speaks to those of that age in the dusk of the 1970s, and perhaps explains people’s nostalgia for the era, despite all the bad clothes. After the country was draped in recession and disillusionment, people just decided to have fun. This film successfully captures the hedonistic whimsy of the day of the happy face button.
With throwaway “filler” scenes, such as where Greg gets dragged to a party and has a romp in the hay with a statuesque female biker (which could have been chopped out of the film without notice), this film no doubt got sold as an exploitation picture. Yet it somehow comes out as a testament of our lives circa 1979. It is a bygone world captured in a celluloid window– air hockey, primitive video games, great big sunglasses, and extended disco sequences… all artifacts of the late 70s pop culture. The disco-rock score by Ken Mansfield and Ron Wright may be of its time, but it is spectacular (especially the groovy title song which lasts over seven minutes). See the movie- buy the soundtrack album!
The film is also made engaging by its fresh-faced young cast who at best had minor careers. The players all seem to have a regular next-door quality about them. For instance, pretty, wide-eyed Cynthia Wood looks like she could be a regular in Eight Is Enough. It is especially amusing seeing David Hayward behind that handlebar moustache in the macho Chooch role, after playing the weirdo assassin in Nashville!
After the climactic scene, the characters disappear in an extreme long shot, where, interestingly, the roads and cars take more prominence. They are even missing from a final, extended sequence giving us once more an impression of the night life at Van Nuys. Perhaps once these people grow up they become insignificant and just disappear? This further adds to the sweet melancholy that runs underneath. Watching this film is equivalent to the last long weekend of summer.
Originally published in Vol. #1, Issue #6, “The Second Annual Summer Drive-In Issue”.
Greg Woods
Greg Woods has been a film enthusiast since his teens, and began his writing "career" at the same time- prolific in capsule reviews of everything he had watched, first on index cards, then those hardcover dollar store black journals, then an old Mac IIsi. He founded The Eclectic Screening Room in 2001, as a portal to share his film love with the world, and find some like-minded enthusiasts along the way. In addition to having worked in the film industry for over two decades, he has been a co-programmer of films at Trash Palace, and a programmer/co-founder of the Toronto Film Noir Syndicate. He has also written for Broken Pencil, CU-Confidential, Micro-Film, and is currently working on his first novel. His secret desire is for someone to interview him for a podcast or a DVD extra.