The Spirit of '76 (1990)

My wife and I saw this movie on cable TV shortly after it came out and shortly before it disappeared into oblivion, and since we both were little kids in the 70s we both found the movie to be pretty funny. It has its share of really bad jokes (like people slipping on a picture of bananas), but it's not supposed to be intellectual humor. It's supposed to be a campy, cheesy movie that (fondly) makes fun of a decade that contains a lot to make fun of. And it certainly succeeds on that level.The movie was clearly a very low budget affair, yet the film makers managed to nail little details like the red, white and blue-painted fire hydrant outside the main character's home (there was one of those across the street from the house I grew up in). Everyone involved in the movie seems to have done their homework, but are having fun with it and not taking it too seriously.I recently discovered that this movie has finally come out on DVD, and at a bargain basement price, so I ordered a copy. My 14 year old daughter watched it with me and loved it - she described it as "stupidly beautiful" and immediately put the soundtrack on her iPod.So if you're feeling nostalgic for the 70s and think you'd like a low-budget comedy that doesn't pretend to be masterpiece theater, look no further. On the other hand, if 80 minutes of disco music, cameo roles and jokes about bongs and pop rocks doesn't sound like your cup of tea, then avoid.

The Spirit of '76 is adventure. Its also a movie were three teens can make rocket fuel make from 7-up and Pop Rocks. Then in future plays music of the 1970's like the song Age of Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In. The teens also bring back clothing to the future in addition to music. In one part of the movie Chanel-6 and guy do the Hustle. Then the Cops get Kung Fu'd to Carl Douglas's Kung Fu Fighting. I nearly pee'd at that funny moment. I was searching google with keywords like Time machine fueled by 7-up and Pop Rocks. But, nothing came up. I only found this due to remembering that David Cassidy was in this movie. I loved this movie. But, I guess I loved many duds as some say.

In the future, civilization has really declined. The fashions are U.S.S.R. retro, don't you know. Not only that, no one is flourishing. Therefore, when a man named Adam 11 (David Cassidy) insists he has made a time machine, the U.S. government asks him to go back to 1776 and study the founding fathers and the making of the constitution. It is hoped that he and his co-horts, Chanel 6 (Olivia D'Abo) and Heinz 57 will learn how to make society worth living again. The time machine takes off but lands in 1976 instead. Not realizing their mistake, the three interlopers try their best to find out how to revitalize their country with the lessons from the seventies. Amid Pacers and learning the hustle, can they succeed? This movie is a fast and fun look at the much maligned seventies. Things were more colorful then, that's for sure, and people did seem to be having a great time, despite the tight pants and floral shirts. Cassidy, D'Abo and company do a nice job of keeping the spirit of discovery alive. If you lived through the seventies, this movie is made for you. It has so many seventies icons that will make you laugh and remember. The younger crowd, too, would be entertained in seeing what they only know from history books. Don't hesitate to pop this movie in the VCR some evening in the near future. It was made, as the Bay City Rollers croon, for a fun, fun "Saturday Night".

Due to its background music, clothing styles and, in a way, its feeling, this film really takes you back to the 70s. It also gives you an interesting perspective of how you can change history as it once was... to make it your own and leaves you with a possitive feeling about it.