The Hard Road

As one who grew up in this era, this production is absolutely one of those quintessential "don't do this or else" films that would be shown to the high school (or junior high) class, as a required A/V event.

Of course the production value is beyond ridiculous, and the story, such as it is, is the stuff of endless parodies and cliche's ever produced from the era, but that's not the point. The point is to just go with it, be absorbed in the moment. It really is a classic piece, a sort of permanent time capsule captured on film.

For those who really were "there" and lived in those times, they will be instantly pulled back into that vortex, it will become all too familiar in whatever context happens to resonate with them. For others, who were not even born yet, and would not be until decades later, this will likely seem like a grainy, absurdly bad film about "something" to do with drugs, hippies, and whatever that their parents probably don't want to talk about.

Yes, it does take the viewer down the hard road, as it were, as our seemingly lovely high school student descends and meanders her way down the laundry list of getting pregnant, starting off innocently with smoking a joint, and then from there going completely off the cliff into the abyss of sin, debauchery, and more drugs . . . lots more drugs.

The junkie friend detoxing in jail, and close-up scenes of festering VD sores are just some of the highlights awaiting the hapless viewer traveling this road.

I don't want to inadvertently insert any spoilers here, but the ending is particularly, well . . . classic in its own way.

For some, the Hard Road may be the Hard Movie to Watch . . . but hey, it can be a cultural experience, for some, maybe.

OK, that might be a stretch, but it's still an interesting viewing experience.

For production value, 1 (or less) stars, but as a sort of cultural time capsule piece, well, OK, let's go with a tentative 4 stars.