Movies from my sickbed

When I'm sick I like to lay in bed and watch movies and sometimes reruns of beloved TV shows to lull myself to sleep. This morning I watched Roller Boogie, I knew it wasn't a masterpiece and that it was going to be a piece of late 70s cheese. But would it be a piece of moldy cheese? Thankfully it wasn't, it was a silly time waster with an ending that truly surprised me. 

The plot is a basic one, a group of fun loving roller dancing teens band together to save their local roller disco from being shut down by group of rich thugs who want build a strip mall. Rich girl played by Linda Blair, wants nothing more than her parents to pay attention to her and to learn how to roller dance. While slumming it down at the beach she meets the best roller dancer in town, played by Jim Bray. As you guessed it, sparks fly boy teaches girl how to roller dance, rich girl gains new but poor friends, they save the roller disco and girl's parents start to pay attention to her and see that she's growing up. 

The ending while a mixed happy and sad one was more realistic than any of these sappy happy teens fall in love and end up together forever kind of films. Rich girl Terry actually follows through with her plans to attend Juilliard, because she is a very gifted flautist and that was her plan before meeting Bobby the roller dancer with dreams of making it to the Olympics. Bobby stays put where he can continue to pursue his dream winning a spot on the Olympic team and the two seem to know that it's the end of their summer romance and more than likely any contact with each other, and while sad about it they accept it. Sure they could have ended it with the duo winning the big Roller Boogie contest knowing they helped saved their favorite roller disco but the writers didn't cop out and went for it. I do recommend this film if you have down time and just want to watch something you don't have to think about. Also the roller dancing scenes were fun.

Now for a stale piece of cinema from 1972 disguised as a horror film, Deathdream aka Dead of Night

I first read about this film about a week ago, it was an old post from Rolling Stone about the ten best horror films you've never seen. And honestly, you shouldn't see it, because it's not good. 

The Brooks family only son Andy is away fighting in Vietnam, one night during dinner the family is informed that Andy was killed, understandably the family is upset but his mother spends half the night in his room sitting in a rocking chair chanting that he's not dead because he promised not to get killed or something like that. Meanwhile a truck driver picks up a hitchhiking solider just returned from the war, as they say, no good deed goes unpunished and the truck driver ends up dead. Back at the Brooks home, little sister Catherine hears something downstairs and as the family goes to investigate, right there standing the dark is Andy himself. Andy is just standing there with a creepy half smile on his face not seeming right, when mentioned that the government had declared him dead, he tells the family that he was and then does a creepy laugh. So overjoyed that he's "alive" they think it's just a joke and just laugh their fool heads off about it.

There is no tension or build up to anything that happens. The following day dad gets angry that Andy just sits around outside and in his room in the dark rocking in a rocking chair and his parents fight and fight and fight. This film is nothing more than screaming parents, an obsessive mother and low monotone dialogue from creepy Andy. When the "horror" began I was begging it for it to be over. I will admit that the early 70s interior decorating was distracting. Lime green walls and mustard yellow carpet? Blech.  I do not recommend this film to any horror fan. 

Well, that was my sick day mini film fest.