"ALICE'S RESTAURANT" (60's Nostalgia Thanksgiving Video Risk) Directed by the great Arthur Penn, this film is more than just a campy look at the late 60's complete with the boyish Arlo Guthrie and his famous tunes. It is, at times, a careful and possibly brilliant look at the perils (both physically and emotionally) of excess and hedonistic living. Although not a perfect film, certainly a must see for fans of anything 60's and it even contains an enviable Thanksgiving Feast.

I think that the Internet Movie Database has the story described all wrong. The film's haunting last scene is perfect and is, perhaps, what the film really is all about.

There is something unusual about "Alice's Restaurant" in that Arlo, playing himself, seems to be the moral compass of the movie around which everything happens. Arlo's pureness may actually come off as contrived or artificial to some viewers. Arlo, not having to do much real acting, had to be one of the freshest faces in film in 1969.

Beware this is not a polished typical Hollywood movie. It may contain slow points or be plain unwatchable for some viewers today.

Have a happy Thanksgiving, and don't get arrested for littering and creating a nuisance!

Jonathan Hickman