There Are Many Kinds of Family

 The Outsiders (1983) – In a small town, gangs clash, mirroring the
social divide between the wealthy Socs, and the poor Greasers.  It may
end in tragedy after a gang member is killed by someone from the other
side of the tracks.

Directed by Francis Ford Coppola       
Starring C. Thomas Howell, Ralph Maccio, Patrick Swayze, Matt Dillon,
Rob Lowe, Emilio Estevez, Tom Cruise, Diane Lane and Leif Garrett

Why I Liked It – It would be easier to say why I DIDN’T like it!  Because that list has nothing on it.  Brilliant.

They
would have had to try and mess this movie up.  Based on a beloved novel
by S.E. Hinton, directed by Coppola, the movie features a cast of young
actors at the start of their careers (with the exception of Garrett). 
The names are familiar now, Swayze, Cruise, Maccio, Dillon, Lowe (his
film debut), Lane (who was 15 at the time of the production) and
Estevez.  With the exception of Swayze, Garrett and Maccio, they were
all teenagers playing teenagers.  There is an authenticity to the
portrayals that is pure and amazing.  It was one of two books by Hinton
that Coppola turned into movies that year.  The other was “Rumble
Fish”.  Hinton was deeply involved in both, serving as a kind of “house
mother” for the cast here.

Hinton’s novel remains popular with
middle school and high students.  Written as a teenager herself (she was
17 when the book was published), the book also “feels” authentic.  It
speaks from a teens worldview the way few books written by adults ever
manage to do.

Set in her hometown of Tulsa, Oklahoma, “The
Outsiders” explores not only the socioeconomic divide  the wealthy and
the poor, but the profound desire to be accepted.  The Greasers come
from dysfunctional homes.  The three Curtis brothers, Darrel (Swayze),
Ponyboy (Howell) and Sodapop (Lowe), live on their own, in constant fear
that the juvenile authorities may break them up.  The Greasers are the
real family for the Curtis boys and their friends.  It is the only
foundation they have upon which to build lives.

Much of the story
is familiar.  Howell and Lane play the Romeo and Juliet roles.  There’s a
rumble to “solve” the conflict between the groups.  Neither side is as
they appear to their opponents.  Having said that, the movie still pulls
you in.  The cast brings honest emotion to their relationships.  There
are even some nice cameo appearances by Tom Waits and Sophia Coppola.

There
is so much to love about this movie.  Its fans hold the book close to
their hearts.  Enough so that the movie was made because a group of
students and their school librarian (Jo Ellen Misakian and the students
at the Lone Star School in Fresno, California.  When the movie came out,
they received a private screening with several members of the cast in
attendance).

I don’t know what else to say about this movie that
won’t make it sound hokey and predictable.  Yes, there are parts that
are predictable, but it doesn’t matter.  It’s all done so well.

Rating – **** Recommended