1990’s Flashback is the kind of action-comedy, mismatched buddies film that was so popular in the 80’s and early 90’s. It even strongly recalls Midnight Run from just two years prior, where a clever and funny fugitive is paired with a straight-laced man tasked with bringing him to justice.
This time, we have Dennis Hopper as a hippie who committed an act of mischief in the 70’s he describes as “creative railroading”, wherein he uncoupled the caboose from which then-vice-president Spiro T. Agnew was waving to the crowd, humiliating the legendarily unhumorous man. Hopper had been apprehended by the FBI at the time but managed to escape. After many years pass, an anonymous tip leads to him being imprisoned once more, and agent Paul Dooley assigns Keifer Sutherland to accompany Hopper to Spokane to begin his sentence.
In real-life, Sutherland was a notorious partier, which makes the extreme straightness of his character here all the more amusing. The teetotaler sets a timer on his watch for when he is to take his next round of vitamins. Dinner on the train to Spokane consists of grilled fish sans butter, mineral water and a green salad without dressing, as the agent brings his own with him.
It is at that dinner Hopper claims to have slipped the agent LSD, making him freak out. This is the first of the film’s occasional missteps, as I wondered how a graduate of Quantico could be such a dope. Another element of this scene which beggars belief is Sutherland readily accepts the hippie’s diagnosis that only shots of tequila with a beer chaser can offset the effects of the hallucinogen. It seems to me Sutherland would have at least waited until he starts experiencing strange sensations before drinking himself into oblivion.
After a night of debauchery, the agent awakes in a jail cell. This is after Hopper has turned the tables and presented himself as the FBI man when Sutherland is literally wheeled off the train and into the custody of corrupt sheriff and congressional candidate Cliff De Young. In another questionable move, Sutherland tells De Young he’s going to report the abuse of his prisoners, which leads to both of our heroes finding themselves on the same side of the fence as they flee the vindictive sheriff.
What works for the film is the immediate chemistry between the leads, even when they’re butting heads initially. I wondered if the two were friends outside this production, given their solid rapport.
I also wondered if Hopper improvised any of his dialogue. The man could seemingly readily tap into some reservoir of manic energy, but that ability is put to better use in some works than in others. Here, at least, he is completely spot-on. I’m not sure he is on-screen for a full minute before he’s loudly observing a bit of redecorating of the jail he’s in could attract a better class of criminal. When Sutherland informs Hopper the fugitive will not even take a piss without the agent watching, he enthusiastically replies, “Do you want to watch me take a piss now?”
It turns out all Hopper ever wanted to do was to continue to be remembered, and his end goal with phoning in the anonymous tip himself was to get a publisher interested in getting his memoirs into print. The always-welcome Carol Kane is a fellow old hippie keeping the faith who convinces the fugitive it was the power of his words that people need to hear and that he should not simply bask in the glory of his history as a practical joker.
I thought this was interesting, as it recalls the era’s Merry Pranksters. Go figure, their bus was dubbed “Further”, which is also the name of the old bus she still has. In a moment that stretches credulity, the long-disused vehicle still starts, runs well, and its tires are intact. But I was willing to overlook that in a movie that is this much fun.
Other welcome additions to the cast are relatively minor characters played by Richard Masur and Michael McKean. We first see these former hippies lament the crass commercialism of the 80’s, lamenting their bar going so far as to remove the peanut shells that always used to cover the floor: “This is not a bar anymore, it is an alcohol boutique.” Masur is baffled by the selections currently stocked on the jukebox, wondering who this INXS is, and pronouncing that band’s name as “inks”.
To the movie’s credit, it isn’t quite a reductive as “past good, present bad”, and this is evident from the soundtrack. This is an interesting balance of tracks from both eras, with Hendrix and Rolling Stones sitting alongside R.E.M.’s “It’s The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)” and two numbers from Big Audio Dynamite.
Flashback is not a great film, but it is a very fun one and a welcome surprise. Aside from an unexpectedly violent set piece near the end, it is a rather gentle comedy; albeit, one that does carry with it a message. As Hopper says of the difference between the 60’s and 80’s, America had been reduced to the needy and the greedy. Unfortunately, that disparity makes this movie just as relevant today.
Dir: Franco Amurri
Starring Dennis Hopper, Keifer Sutherland, Carol Kane
Watched on Shout Factory blu-ray