Getting Straight Reviews

In 1970, Hollywood's attempt to capitalize on student rebellion looked trivial in comparison to real events (the shootings at Kent State occured in the same year), but GETTING STRAIGHT, buoyed by Gould's eccentric screen presence and Kovacs' stylish camerawork, holds up surprisingly well. Gould, a returning Vietnam vet, goes back to school to secure a graduate degree and inevitably becomes involved in the lives of his students, many of whom are 10 years younger than he is and light-years more naive. Corey, the department head, forces smart-aleck Gould to teach remedial English, a job he hates. Gould looks at teaching as a calling, but Corey sees it as a job; their differences culminate in an oral examination straight out of every Ph.D candidate's nightmares. Meanwhile, when student protestors attempt to take over the university, Gould is called upon to act as mediator between them and the administration, forcing a choice between career and principle. Director Richard Rush (FREEBIE AND THE BEAN, THE STUNT MAN) is something of a cult favorite.