Verdict
Summary
A curiosity for hardcore fans of ’80s teen movies, the world wasn’t ready for it in the ’80s, but perhaps now Gen X-ers might appreciate it much more.
Plot:
Two teenagers hate everyone … especially the wealthy, upper class, and they want them to know it.
Review:
O.C. (Oliver Cromwell, played by Daniel Jenkins) and Stiggs (Neill Barry) are way ahead of their time. As teenagers living in the Los Angeles valley, they despise the upper middle class. This is the ’80s, and they’re ready to trash the entire industry hierarchy, ruling class, racial structures, everything. They target with their laser-tongued wit and eyes a very wealthy insurance man named Schwab (played by Paul Dooley from Sixteen Candles) and his clueless and witless family (look for Jane Curtin as his wife in an endless alcoholic daze and future teen star Jon Cryer as the equally brainless son). They plan to completely topple their little Los Angeles empire because O.C.’s grandfather (played by Ray Walston from Fast Times at Ridgemont High) no longer has a life insurance policy, due to Schwab’s corrupt rules. But first, O.C. and Stiggs need a ride to get around town, and that entails them coming up with the grubbiest jalopy car they can find, but then they modify it so that it’s a Monster Truck of epic proportions. With that behemoth riding around the valley, they stick out like a sore thumb, which is all part of their anti-plan against the establishment. They also take a little time out to start a romance (look for a young Cynthia Nixon), but these guys aren’t really about nuance, are they? They’re about to start a war!
An anti-coming of age movie from the ’80s teenage cinematic wasteland, courtesy of director Robert Altman and National Lampoon, from which this was inspired by, O.C. and Stiggs is sort of a “lost” teen movie in that it took four years for the movie to get a micro-release, and even then the movie lapsed into obscurity, and for good reason. The film really goes against the grain in a way that perhaps John Hughes might’ve admired (but he did it much better), and Altman was clearly the wrong filmmaker for this material. It’s very talky and ambles around in an episodic fashion and climaxes with a literal chaotic battle that dredges up Vietnam (Dennis Hopper plays a ‘Nam vet), but the film just doesn’t work or gel cohesively. The performances are fine, if left to the devices of the actors (an Altman specialty), leaving a lot of room for interpretation later on. A curiosity for hardcore fans of ’80s teen movies, the world wasn’t ready for it in the ’80s, but perhaps now Gen X-ers might appreciate it much more.
Radiance Films has just released a Blu-ray of O.C. and Stiggs, and it comes in a very fine high definition transfer, along with a bunch of choice bonus features, including a booklet (which I read through), a new documentary, new interviews, and more. Well worth a purchase for fans of Altman or ’80s teen films, this one should be added, if for the very fact that it felt like a must-watch, despite the film’s faults.
Bonus Materials
- High-Definition digital transfer
- Uncompressed mono PCM audio
- The Water is Finally Blue – The Untold Story of Robert Altman’s O.C. and Stiggs: A new documentary on the making of the film by writer Hunter Stephenson featuring audio interviews with stars Daniel Jenkins, Neill Barry, Paul Dooley, Martin Mull, Tiffany H
- New interview with camera operator Robert Reed Altman (2023, 11 mins)
- Gallery of rare photos from the collection of the University of Michigan
- English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
- Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Time Tomorrow
- Limited edition 32-page booklet featuring new writing by critic Brad Stevens and archival writings by Robert Altman about the film and his approaches to filmmaking
- Limited edition of 3000 copies, presented in full-height Scanavo packaging with removable OBI strip leaving packaging free of certificates and markings
