Gone With the Outsiders

A movie that I recently re-watched is The Outsiders. It is set in 1996 in a world of greasers vs socs. The main character, Ponyboy, is more sensitive and artistic than the majority of the other Greasers, which gives way to some noteworthy allusions throughout the film. For example, Director Francis Ford Coppola pays homage to Gone With The Wind. Ponyboy reads Gone With the Wind to Johnny to pass time while they are hiding from the police. This novel ultimately represents the close bond between the two characters because they were able to talk to each other about subjects that were not considered "tuff" by the rest of the Greasers. The fact that Ponyboy and Johnny were reading classic literature and poetry to each other is somewhat laughable. Teenage boys rarely spend their time reading to each other, which makes the idea of them being badass and gritty unconvincing. In accordance with Ponyboy's fondness for poetry, he had a fascination with sunsets. Sunsets are the subsidiary feature of several shots in the movie because they symbolize of the goodness and purity of the world. In the midst of all the danger and fighting that is taking place in his life, Ponyboy is still able to watch the sunset every night, which gives him a sense of clarity. When Cherry tells Ponyboy that she can see the sunset just as well as he can from her side of town, it builds a connection between the two characters. Even though they belong to two very different groups, the Socs and the Greasers, Cherry and Ponyboy are able to share a very human thing: watching the sunset.

I have not seen The Outsiders in years. Watching it made me feel very nostalgic because I remember being in love with the movie and the cast when I was in middle school. One of the most endearing parts of watching this movie is seeing so acclaimed actors when they were young; Patrick Swayze, Rob Lowe, Tom Cruise, Matt Dillon, etc. I believe that they are all very talented actors now, but their much of their performances in this film were cheesy. The scene where Dally holds a pocket knife and screams "Let's do it for Johnny" had me laughing. Matt Dillon's delivery was so melodramatic that it took away from his attempted vengeful tone. Not only was the acting horrible, but the movie is full of plotholes and continuity errors. The scenes do not flow nicely into each other, leaving audiences somewhat confused. It is very choppy and Coppola did not pay enough attention to detail. For instance, during the rumble, the characters soaking wet in one shot and completely dry in the next.

I would give The Outsiders a Bad, Good rating because I loved how cheesy the movie was, but the movie was poorly made, especially in comparison to the novel.