Out of the Blue

Out of the Blue (1980) is a seriously bad film directed by, and featuring Dennis Hopper. The quality is very poor, as is frequently the case with these bargain discount films. As the film opens, Dennis Hopper is driving an 18 wheeler, and frisking with his young daughter, and runs over a stalled school bus full of kids. Cut to 5 years in the future. Hopper is in jail, and his wife, Sharon Farrell, is working in a diner and sleeping with the owner, and is also doing hard drugs with her husband's best friend, Don Gordon. Her daughter, CB, has become a problem kid, who worships Elvis and the punk music scene.

When Hopper is released from prison, things get seriously strange until the end, when we return to a fairly normal, mainstream story line. Farrell shoots up, then Gordon and Farrell go into the living room to have sex, leaving Hopper in the kitchen. Farrell shows a breast in that scene. Then they all come up with a better idea. The three go up to rape CB as a public service to save her from becoming a dyke. They find CB dressed up to look like Elvis and discover that CB is not in love with their plans. So CB kills her father, takes her mother out to her father's crashed truck, and blows herself and her mother up with a stick of dynamite.

NUDITY REPORT

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Now for the strange part. IMDB readers have it at 7.5/10, and Maltin gives 2 1/2 stars. Look for Raymond Burr as a probation officer. Some who commented at IMDB claim it to be a masterpiece, shot on a shoestring budget, and tackling incest as a theme head on. They also compare it to Easy Rider.

DVD info from Amazon

Personally, I was totally unimpressed.

The Critics Vote

Maltin 2.5/4
This film was nominated for the Golden Palm at Cannes

The People Vote ...

With their votes ... IMDB summary: IMDb voters score it 7.5

IMDb guideline: 7.5 usually indicates a level of excellence, about like three and a half stars from the critics. 6.0 usually indicates lukewarm watchability, about like two and a half stars from the critics. The fives are generally not worthwhile unless they are really your kind of material, about like two stars from the critics. Films under five are generally awful even if you like that kind of film, equivalent to about one and a half stars from the critics or less, depending on just how far below five the rating is.

My own guideline: A means the movie is so good it will appeal to you even if you hate the genre. B means the movie is not good enough to win you over if you hate the genre, but is good enough to do so if you have an open mind about this type of film. C means it will only appeal to genre addicts, and has no crossover appeal. D means you'll hate it even if you like the genre. E means that you'll hate it even if you love the genre. F means that the film is not only unappealing across-the-board, but technically inept as well.

Based on this description, this film is a D.