The Hollywood Knights (1980)

Plenty to Like, Plenty to Dislike

How sad is this?

Excellent, Without a doubt!!

It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

It's 1965, it's the time of great fun, great music, also great laughs you can't get anywhere. "The Hollywood Knights" is loads of fun, and loaded with an all-star cast. You got "Taxi" star, Tony Danza, Fran Drescher from "Saturday Night Fever", Michelle Pfeiffer, and several others including Robert Wuhl as Newbomb, which 9 years later play Alexander Knox in "Batman". Newbomb is the leader of a group of pranksters known as "The Hollywood Knights". On Halloween night, their hangout is being shutdown permanently by snobby Beverly Hills locals. And they make their efforts to put them in their places. That night, they get themselves new pledges, as they roam the night to send out the request to a radio station in Watts. The mayhem ensures as the night rolls on. The pep rally was hilarious, especially when the sign get vandalized, and during the cheerleading razzle dazzle, one of them forgotten to wear her undies! Wild things go on in this movie, plenty of pranks, sexual innuendo, and lots of raunchy scenes that would make "Porky's" look tame. So if you're looking for a great laugh, this movie is right up your alley. This is too much, I say, Too much! 3 out of 5 stars

Folks, this is not a movie to be judged or rated by ordinary or serious standards as you would "I Am Legend" or "Gone With The Wind." Admittedly, this is a typical early 1980s (set in the 1960s) teen trash and laugh fests crudely mixed together from "Animal House" and "American Graffiti." No real plot, a thousand different things happen at once to group of wild teenagers (played by numerous soon-to-be's) who pull crazy pranks on Halloween Night 1965.However, if you are not of the overly-sensitive politically correct crowd or watching this with (very) young children, this film is FUNNY! The gaseus rendition of "Volare", wild catch-phrases (his pants fit him like a glove, Lawrence, Lawrence of Arabia, et. al) and senseless raunch makes this ideal for firing up the DVD player while your buddies are over for beer and pizza. Don't expect to find the meaning of life in this one.

You'll find this movie more enjoyable if you were lucky enough to be the same age as the movie setting. The pranks played by that generation were ones that were funny and not meant to hurt anyone. Not like the morbid ones kids play today where they are meant to cause harm. For a now graying gear head the top billing of the movie has to go to all the vehicles. It's a dam shame what the auto industry puts out today. They've lost all the distinctive beauty and class like the ones shown in this movie. And not to forget the sound and feel of horsepower hiding under the hood. As to the parts of the movie that make you warm inside, they are all well done in concerns of love and war as well as the bonding between friends. I've enjoyed watching this movie over and over again. At my age a movie like this one brings back the feelings of being young again and a desire to turn back the hands of time to the good times with good friends, good music and hot rods.

I was a teenager in the 60's and life in this movie is nothing like the way it was for me growing up, but I love to watch it and think of how much fun it would have been to own some of the expensive equipment the kids in this movie have. It's a "fun" movie to watch, nothing too serous, if you have to leave the room for a minute you won't miss anything too important, but it does have some memorable scenes. I watched it many times over and have it in our personal DVD collection. I like this best of all the 60's type movies, I especially like the street singers, makes me wished I could sing every time I watch it. Many times after watching it I find myself thinking "Lawrence, Lawrence of Arabia, he's an English guy, came to fight the Turkeys" - don't laugh, you may be doing it too! Much like a well placed commercial jingle they have little spots throughout the movie that will stick with you and put a smile on your face when you recall the scene. The scene with Newbomb and the girl in the "pie wagon" makes me recall when I was young, I remember when I was young and a bit like that, and it definitely could have happened to me.