Most people that watch "Permanent Record" will say that this movie is a depressing look at teen suicide, but in my opinion it is really about dealing with the fallout after an unexplained tragic event.
I remember first watching this movie and thinking there just had to be a better answer to why David committed suicide. He was showing signs of stress, but nobody saw the suicide coming. He seemed to be a kid that had everything going for him.. so for him to take his life actually scared his peers who felt even more venerable after his death.
This movie is loaded with some fav 80's actors/actresses.. Keanu Reeves, Michelle Meyrink, Pamela Gidley, and Jennifer Rubin. Reeves is discredited quite often for his acting skills, but he holds his own in this movie.
Anyone that watches "Permanent Record" will probably be impressed by the performance of Michelle Meyrink as MJ and also wonder why Jennifer Rubin didn't go on to a much bigger mainstream career.
That final performance by Jennifer Rubin at the school play makes the somber journey through this film all worth it!
Thoughts?
Posted by aTomiK (Member # 6575) on :
Just watched Permanent Record and it was a good teen drama. Great characters, both teens AND adults.
Especially Richard Bradford was fantastic as principal Leo. What a cool guy!
After the first few scenes i thought that is this Bill and Ted version 0.1 or something. But after that, Keanu Reeves was actually very good. And that doesn´t mean Bill and Ted flicks are bad but... well you know.
All the female leads are also pretty amazing. I´m kind of a sentimental guy and actually shed some tears during that final performance by Jennifer Rubin.
Thanks Valley, this topic made me watch this movie Now i need to check out more early Keanu Reeves flicks. I own Brotherhood of Justice and River´s Edge but i´ve never watched them.
Recommended!
Posted by Valley (Member # 1322) on :
aTomik.. both movies you mentioned are very good movies for different reasons. "River's Edge" will freak you out a bit .. but it is good in a really bizarre way. Crispin Glover is wicked weird in it.
Oh and Ronnie .. Donovan Leitch's sister is in it too. Posted by Muffy Tepperman (Member # 1551) on :
I've seen this one on tv before then a few weeks ago it was on in the morning and I watched it again.
It's good............a little slow.....Keanu Reeves is awesome. I always wondered why Rubin didn't go on to much but also why didn't Alan Boyce??? He was a good looking guy?
Atomik I get the Bill and Ted thing Reeves looks just like he did in those flicks!
Posted by Valley (Member # 1322) on :
Muffy.. good looks only take you so far.. just ask me.
Anyway, aTomiK made a great point about Richard Bradford. As much as I hated his character in "The Legend of Billie Jean" which means he did an outstanding job, I thought he was even more brilliant as Principal Leo Verdell in "Permanent Record".
Posted by Ronnie (Member # 465) on :
i never heard of this one. all the actors that were mentioned definitely makes me want to give it a try. i would like to see michelle meyrink and jennifer rubin. is this on dvd?
Posted by mamamiasweetpeaches (Member # 1715) on :
The thing I remember best about this one (aside from Keanu!) was that people would go see it when I was a teenager and call me up and tell me they left the theater crying. I rented it a few years later and was shocked to see I didnt actually cry.
Maybe I need to re-visit it.
Posted by Valley (Member # 1322) on :
I didn't cry, but when Jennifer Rubin sings that tune.. I did tear up a bit the first time I watched it. Part of it was the song and part of it was the reaction of the crowd .. especially Richard Bradford.
Posted by Johnny Roarke is reckless (Member # 9826) on :
I think i need to see this !
Posted by Crash (Member # 7484) on :
Permanent Record was always playing on HBO in the late 80s after its meager theatrical run. It's OK, if overly earnest, like a better made Lifetime Network movie. (As I recall, Keanu is pretty stiff.) It's easy to see why it sank without a trace and is forgotten today. Serious, heavy-themed teenage movies didn't do well at all in the face of the happy, lighter fare of that decade, and this one is a real downer. So for every 16 Candles that hit it big, you had a Permanent Record, The Outsiders, or The River's Edge. I'm not saying that all of these are bad movies--The River's Edge, for example, is excellent--but they just didn't resonate with the time. (This sounds like a good topic for a film school paper.)
I haven't seen Permanent Record since one of those many HBO showings back in the day. I'd be curious as to how it holds up almost 30 years later.
Posted by Logan 5 (Member # 1467) on :
You hit the nail on the head there. The grit appeal of those movies didn't work in the slick 80's. The 90's would have been a far better time for them. In the post Heathers world things like 'Pump Up the Volume' and 'Singles' were much more embraceable.
Although, thinking about how many really 'teen' movies there were in the 70's / early 80's that exploited sex and hijinks ('The Van' / 'Screwballs' - and a million others) they made things like 'Pretty in Pink' seem like high drama in comparison.
Posted by Crash (Member # 7484) on :
You raise an excellent point, Logan, elaborating on my premise: There were so many just out-and-out silly sex and hijinks films that they really did make something like Pretty in Pink, with its angsty heroine, seem like high drama. LOL And then, of course, we get to the one that's completely off the chart in any decade, The Last American Virgin. That one spirals past high drama to almost nihilistic hopelessness. There are many films with unforgettable, out-of-nowhere endings--Dirty Mary Crazy Larry and the original The Vanishing, for example, come to mind--but so few that are such totally routine "fun" programmers until the ending that blindsides you, like that one. The Last American Virgin wouldn't have been a hit in the 90s or any decade for that matter. Posted by Pyro (Member # 7658) on :
Have not watched this one in a very long time. In fact, having trouble remembering the bits n' pieces of it I did see. I think Logan and Crash's conversation both hits on a lot of good points and reasoning as to why this one is pretty much a hidden gem at best. I will have to give this a watch though sometime and give it my full attention to give a proper critique.
Posted by Logan 5 (Member # 1467) on :
Ah... that ending. The film went from farce to reality in seconds. Not a great date movie. Lest we forget, it's more or less a straight remake of Lemon Popsicle. I highly recommend the Arrow Blu-Ray / DVD combo - great set.
Speaking of date movies... the ending to The Vanishing haunted me for years...
Posted by Crash (Member # 7484) on :
And yet, when the director of the original The Vanishing came to America to do almost a scene-by-scene remake, in typical Hollywood fashion, the studio made him completely ruin the ending!
We should start a "bad date movie" thread. I can tell you from personal experience in the 80s: William Hurt and Body Heat--greatest date movie! William Hurt and Altered States--bad date movie!
Posted by Logan 5 (Member # 1467) on :
I remember liking the US Vanishing - for the cast and direction, but that new ending really stuck out. It went from being a genuine horror movie to being something like a thriller.
Altered States would be the greatest date movie ever!
Posted by Crash (Member # 7484) on :
I don't disagree with you on the cast and direction. The US version of The Vanishing pretty much copies the original--with some expansion for Nancy Travis's part--until the last act, when it goes off the rails with its stupid Hollywood ending.
I learned the hard way with Altered States. My date was in the bathroom sick during much of the film. I guess creepy Ken Russell imagery was not her bag. Posted by Nostalgic for the '80's (Member # 37454) on :
I saw "Permanent Record" back in the 200X's on DVD; never even heard of this back in '88 when it hit theaters.
First of all, the title is somewhat misleading; I initially thought the film was about a teenager going to prison - instead of being about an actual pop/rock record & teen suicide.
I agree the film was extremely dark, and way ahead of it's time. This was a solid drama, and along with films like "The River's Edge" and "Less than Zero" it showcased the darker side of '80's youth...
Posted by skatexedge (Member # 5712) on :
I went to see this when it first came out in theaters. I thought it was good. Not spectacular but solid. Haven't seen it in many years. Maybe it's time to revisit it and see how it aged. LOL
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