Here’s a gem from the 1980’s that a lot of us might have forgotten. The road to manhood for young men is something that is often uncertain and filled with moments that you try not to forget and those that you might wish never happened in the first place. But what’s important is the time you spend finding out just what you want and what’s most important in your life on the way. Fandango is one of those films that is simply fun, eye-opening, and meant to showcase the journey of a group of young men that are on the verge between adolescence and adulthood and have yet to really find the link between the two.
Here are just a few reasons why you should consider giving this film a look.
It’s one of the more classic dramatic comedies despite being so unknown.
During the time period college students were still known for doing stupid and crazy things. After all this was an era when a lot of what’s considered illegal could still be gotten away with. Stuff like trying to hitch a ride via train by tying your front bumper to the rear car might have sounded like a blast, at least until it ripped your car apart. And taking a road trip on the spur of the moment seemed like the thing to do back then. All you needed was money, a car, good friends, and lowered expectations. It didn’t take much to make a great comedy back in those days.
In 1971 the Draft was still a very real thing, and its impact was huge.
It didn’t matter that the Vietnam War ended only two years later, the very real proposition of being drafted and shipped out to a war zone was heavy on everyone’s mind. If you were in college you were safe, at least for a while. Once you graduated or were no longer eligible as a student, then you were eligible to be drafted. A lot of people that could no longer hide behind this shield were shipped off the war and either brought back stories of the things they’d seen or were never heard from again except in the obituaries. The reality of the Vietnam War and its effects are felt quite acutely in this film when the Groovers come upon the headstone of a Vietnam vet in a cemetery.
The transition from adolescence to adulthood couldn’t have gone any better.
We all know by now that the steps taken from childhood to adulthood are some of the hardest and longest we’ll take in our lives. From the moment we lay aside our childish things to become adults we get the feeling that things are about to start happening far too quickly. At that point it is important that we remember all the good times we had with friends in our youth, and hope and pray that our adult years will be as filled with joy and laughter as we move forward. The men in this film know that there is a good chance they will never see each other again after this, but they know that they will never forget the times they had.
Pick up Fandango and give it a look, you’ll be glad you did.
Follow Us
