Movie Review: Easy Rider

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Easy Rider is a 1969 film written and produced by Peter Fonda and directed by Dennis Hopper.  Hopper and Fonda also star as the two main characters in this movie, Wyatt and Billy (respectively), two friends who decide to take their motorcycles across the country from California to New Orleans for Mardi Gras after gaining a very large sum of money from a recent drug deal.  The plot isn’t very intricate, but it doesn’t have to be.  In fact, that’s what makes the movie what it is…it’s all about the ride.  And that ride was a very successful one for Hopper and Fonda, sparking a new era in filmmaking during the 70s and eventually leading to the film being added to the Library of Congress National Film Registry in 1998.

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Along Wyatt and Billy’s journey to New Orleans, and eventually Florida with their big paycheck, the two come across several interesting people.  The first was a nice farm family in Arizona that helped Wyatt repair his motorcycle and invited the two bikers to a nice family dinner in the great Southwest.  The hippie hitch-hiker they picked up pretty early in their trip brought them back to his communal home, where he introduced them to their free-spirited and loving lifestyle.  Later in their journey, they met a young ACLU lawyer (played by Jack Nicholson) who helped them get out of jail and joined them on their ride to New Orleans.  And lastly the two girls they met in New Orleans helped bring out the 60s in the movie that I think represents the time period very well.  All these people play a huge part in making this adventure movie what it is.

Wyatt and Billy would reach their set-out destination of Florida, but would come across another surprise to them and viewers of the movie.  It’s without a doubt the biggest twist of events in this movie, and for some, a good way to end the movie.  For others, not so much.  But while the basis of the plot is very simple, the movie goes deeper than that.  For one, like I’ve already mentioned, I believe it brings out the 1960s very well.  To someone like me who didn’t live through the 60s, it helps them get a better feel for what the time period was like.  The entire movie is free-spirited, with Billy and Wyatt taking the motorcycle trip in the first place.  And the “freedom” angle and the resistance they meet in parts of the country could be argued as the main point of the movie in the first place.  If one scene sums up the central idea in the movie, it’s George (Jack Nicholson) explaining to Wyatt and Billy at the campfire one night how the resistance from people the trio have come across is due to the fact people don’t like what they represent: which is freedom.

The soundtrack in this movie was great.  It added to the 1960s feel with great tunes from bands like Steppenwolf, The Byrds, The Band, and The Jimi Hendrix Experience.  The song placements were great and some of my favorite scenes were the two riding throughout the beautiful countryside while the soundtrack played.  And speaking of the beautiful countryside, I really liked the visuals in this movie, specifically those of the American Southwest desert.  You have to remember they wouldn’t compare to movie visuals nowadays, but for 1969, they are awesome and portray just how beautiful and diverse our landscape is.

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The last thing I really liked about this movie was Jack Nicholson’s character George Hanson.  I thought he brought another angle to the table by being the guy from a small town that hadn’t been introduced to the prevalent hippie and free-spirited lifestyle, though he was certainly a character himself.  His scenes were easily some of my favorite because he was funny and played his role really well.  Everyone will definitely get a kick out of the helmet he wears.

My biggest negative about this movie was several scenes I thought dragged on.  The people they met at each stop really helped make the movie, but those scenes tended to drag on, especially the communal house scene.  There were a few other scenes where I was thinking, “what am I watching?” such as the LSD bad trip scene.  But, again, that was the 60s and played a part in making the movie a 60s movie.  Overall, I would recommend it to others.  I think it’s one of those movies to definitely see once to get a feel for a past, and very unique, time period.  But for me, I would give it a few years before I would be interested in watching it again.  If you are interested in the 1960s and have a sense of adventure, this movie is definitely for you.

Rating: 3.25/5

Garett