The Outsiders

No matter how many times I watch this movie Matt Dillon will always look hot to me? Haha :P Based on the novel by S.E. Hinton, the Greasers and Socs have never liked each other. The Greasers are thug looking people who are just trying to tough life out whereas the Socs are at the top of the line. They have Mustangs and manors. What can go wrong with that? Ponyboy Curtis (C. Thomas Howell) is a 14 year old who's had it rough, and it's not only because his parents died because of a train. Being raised by his two older brothers, Darry (Patrick Swayze) and Sodapop (Rob Lowe) doesn't make things any easier. One of them could have been a Soc if it wasn't for the people he likes to hang around with and the other is a hard worker at the gas station. (In the book, my favorite character was Sodapop.) Ponyboy tries his best to live his life with his friends, but life can get in the way with it's norms and societal yays and nays. Dallas (Matt Dillon) can be a little crazy. Johnny (Ralph Macchio) is a little afraid of everything due to the fact of his home situation, and Two-Bit (Emilio Estevez) is just a best friend who knows how to look out for his friends. Steve (Tom Cruise) likes cake for breakfast. Of course there's more Greasers they hang out with, but this rough gang of boys is not your average hoodlums. It's just when it gets closer to rumble time against the Socs, things get a little out of hand. Darry lets his anger out on Ponyboy causing him to run away but then he gets caught up with some Socs he does not want to be around, which causes even more ruckus. The plot in this movie definitely does the book justice. There's just so much that if I reviewed every scene, this review would be the longest I've ever written. If it wasn't for the fact that the book was through Ponyboy's eyes, I would have thought the movie played it perfectly scene by scene, and it's astounding. And even though this movie was made in 1983, everything is so real looking. Maybe not the punches, but that catharsis though. Especially with Johnny. This movie can get a little deep. If it's one thing that this movie and the book has told me though, it's to stay gold. Remember to stay gold.

*Rated PG-13 for violence, teen drinking and smoking, and some sexual reference.

My Rating: A+++