movie review straight time

CLASSIC CINEMA REVIEW: “Straight Time” (1978): Navigating a Crooked Path

After being released on parole, a burglar (Dustin Hoffman) attempts to go straight, get a regular job, and “play by the rules”. He soon finds himself back in jail at the hands of a power-hungry parole officer. When he is released again, he assaults the parole officer, steals his car, and bolts back into a life of crime.

Film Review

By  john smistad.

Ar e  some men born to be criminals? Is it  i n their DNA? A destiny to which they are inexorably fated? I don’t know.  How ever , I don’t find the notion utterly preposterous.

Are some women helpless in their attraction to these guys? To always see the good. To believe that they will change. That  they will be the ones to save this wayward soul from a life lived on the run. Once more, don’t ask me. And  yet,  again it seems that there is ample evidence to support this pre m i se , as well.

Scre en  le ge nd Dustin H of f man  a n d  Th e resa R u ssell  as ex-con Max and working drone Jenny  pro v id e  a p er fect example of  t his  d espera tel y  dysfunctional  dynamic in the dramatic crime thriller “Straight Time”. Ya root like hell  for  this pair of society’s fringe dw e llers to cash in the chips always weighing them down and making a go of it together. When  all al o ng you k n ow  t his is  about as  far from a fairy tale romance  as it gets .

Still…maybe?

A fte r  publicly  humiliating  a  power-drunk p r ick of a  parole  officer on an L. A.  f re ewa y,  it’s not lo o ki n g too  g ood for a rosy future for these two unlikely lovebirds.

S o o n  M a x  is savaged by his true nature, pent-up rage unleashed and unbridled, a career criminal succumbing t o a  primordial p urpose . Hof fman gives us  a fury-fueled spirit possessed in these scenes.  There is a   chilling  look of demons seldom dormant in Max’s eyes as he ra n t s and ravages, stealing whatever he wants. From whomever he chooses. As much as he can gather in the frenzied seconds before that inevitable intrusion of law enforcement. Consequences ever are damned.

T ake. Or be taken.

These are the only options Max has ever known. Or ever will.

Either choice, offering precious little time to “go straight”.

• Acting - 8.5/10 8.5/10
• Cinematography/Visual Effects - 7.75/10 7.8/10
• Plot/Screenplay - 7.75/10 7.8/10
• Setting/Theme - 8/10 8/10

User Review

• ***NEW CONTENT! “STRAIGHT TIME" added to "CRIME THRILLERS" on 11/27/22***

About John Smistad

I am a voracious writer of Movie Reviews. Check 'em out at my Blog, "The Quick Flick Critic", @: The Quick Flick Critic Thanks guys! John

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Straight Time

The difficulties of a career burglar to reinsert himself after being released on parole. The difficulties of a career burglar to reinsert himself after being released on parole. The difficulties of a career burglar to reinsert himself after being released on parole.

• Ulu Grosbard
• Dustin Hoffman
• Edward Bunker
• Alvin Sargent
• Jeffrey Boam
• Theresa Russell
• 93 User reviews
• 55 Critic reviews
• 64 Metascore

• Jenny Mercer

• Willy Darin

• Jerry Schue

• Carol Schue

• Selma Darin

• Henry Darin
• (as Jacob Busey)

• Hotel Manager
• (as Stephanie Ericsson Baron)

• Grocery Clerk

• Employment Clerk
• (as Betty Jane Howarth)

• Beach Boy #1
• Dustin Hoffman (uncredited)
• All cast & crew
• Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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• Trivia A pet project for Dustin Hoffman , he was originally due to direct himself. Denied final cut by the studio, he ended up suing Warner Brothers over their treatment of the film.
• Goofs When Max is incarcerated Jenny visits him and holds up her phone number against the glass. On returning to his cell Max tears off part of a cigarette wrapper and writes it down as 6561656. When he is later on the run he unfolds the piece of paper and looks at the number. It now has 2 digits transposed and is hyphenated: 656-6156.

Max Dembo : You know what I'd like to do... Why don't you run me by that hotel we'll check it out.

Mickey : Yeah, well I'll drive you out there but I'm not gonna rob it for you, you have to do that yourself. I got stomach trouble... no guts.

• Connections Edited into La classe américaine (1993)
• Soundtracks Two of Us Music by David Shire Lyrics by Norma Green (as Norma Helms)

User reviews 93

• Jan 29, 2005
• How long is Straight Time? Powered by Alexa
• April 21, 1978 (Italy)
• United States
• No Beast So Fierce
• E Ave G & 198th St E, Lancaster, California, USA (Final Diner Scenes)
• First Artists
• See more company credits at IMDbPro
• $4,000,000 (estimated)

Technical specs

• Runtime 1 hour 54 minutes

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Classic Film Review: Hoffman’s at his toughest doing “Straight Time” (1978)

Looking back, I think that two movies shaped and/or reinforced my views on “the criminal mind,” the folks who rob, cheat, vandalize and threaten as if they were born to it.

“Donnie Brasco” (1998) set in stone my hunch that what Deep Throat said about the Watergate Burglars and the GOP leadership holds true for criminals in general.

“The truth is, these are not very bright guys.”

In “Donnie Brasco,” even the “men with honor,” the “made men” of the New York mob, are busting into vending machines or parking meters, just to have a little change in their pocket. They’re willing to follow the awful “orders” they’re given because questioning dubious ideas and considering life’s other options never occur to them.

But the first movie that formed “THIS is what criminals really are” in my mind was one I screened as an undergraduate projectionist in the ’80s.

In “Straight Time” (1978), Dustin Hoffman ‘s Max Dembo gets out of prison and would have us believe, in his self-martyred way, that his abusive parole officer ( M. Emmet Walsh, in a role that would define the “heavies” he played) and society itself paints ex-cons into the corner that they find themselves in. Current social thinking backs at least some of that up.

But Max has impulse control issues. He lashes out at and pummels that parole officer. He hastily plots robberies because “it’s what I do.” “Real jobs,” the only ones he will be considered for, are beneath him.

And when he lands a more cautious partner for these bank and jewelry store heists ( Harry Dean Stanton, never better), Max shows his twitchy impatience with “the real world,” his rush to get what he wants when he wants it and his rash, unreasoning willingness to risk re-capture or death when he pushes his “luck” every time he dives into a crime.

He finds an illegal poker game to rob.

“We just tip toe in, tip toe out and it’s all ours. There ain’t no cops because they can’t call.”

The hold-up is botched because the guy with the guns doesn’t show up, so Max u-turns and parks his girlfriend’s car in front of a closed pawn shop and, as if by instinct, figures out a risky way of burgling it to get the firearms he wants. Now.

He explodes in rage at the fellow who doesn’t deliver the guns and refuses to acknowledge that a getaway driver (a young and saner Gary Busey ) gave him all the time in the world to exit a robbery, with alarms going off and cops on the way, that Max pushed beyond the limit.

People die because of Max’s impulse control.

Theresa Russell got an early big break playing the younger woman Max takes up with and imposes himself on upon getting out of prison, and she is impressively impassive in the role. Feigned “disinterested, but dangerous” became her calling card — blank-faced, seemingly passive, but sublimating a lot of emotions that she lets out just often enough to see there’s a will and a soul in there, even if it is an amoral one.

A very young Kathy Bates is sweetly impressive in her first major role, playing ex con Busey’s wife.

Director and sometimes actor Ulu Grossbard (“True Confessions,” “Georgia”) and “French Connection/Exorcist/Network” DP Owen Roizman capture LA at its late-70s seediest, the decade after “Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood.” “Straight Time” is state-institution florescent interiors, dirty neon or sun-burnt exteriors, ugly ’70s sideburns and earth tones, ugly ’70s cars.

There’s a sort of shared directing credit on this. If you want to know why “Tootsie” was the Oscar winner playing an uncompromising control-freak version of himself, “Straight Time” is one of the reasons for that legend. At this stage in his career, Hoffman might wear a Sydney Pollack (“All the President’s Men,””Tootsie”) out. He’d roll right over an Ulu Grossbard.

If we’re still talking about Hoffman, and he took a pretty good #MeToo punch (an absolute gift for throwing his weight around and being “inappropriate” with women), so even that’s a miracle, “Straight Time” stands out as one of his greatest performances.

He didn’t get to play the tough guy very often, but co-stars and others hint that he’s been an actor’s version of “tough” all along. He immerses himself in this guy’s world, his impulses, his martyrdom and his hypocrisy.

And if he said, a couple of years later upon finally winning an Academy Award for “Kramer vs. Kramer,” “well, the soap opera did it” for him, he had good reason. “Straight Time” is his great performance of the ’70s.

MPA Rating: R, violence, nudity

Cast: Dustin Hoffman, Theresa Russell, Harry Dean Stanton, M. Emmet Walsh and Gary Busey

Credits: Directed by Ulu Grosbard and (possibly) Dustin Hoffman, script by Alvin Sergeant and Jeffrey Boam, based on the Edward Bunker novel. Warner Brothers release.

Running time: 1:52

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Straight Time Reviews

Hoffman’s gives a remarkably grounded portrayal which feels like a shift after a decade of excellent performances that were more in the realm of nervy, enigmatic, capital-C characters. Here he’s just this guy, an ordinary man trying to make it.

Full Review | Original Score: 10/10 | Mar 17, 2023

One of the most unflinching movies ever made about the criminal mindset.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/4 | Oct 2, 2021

...a slow-moving yet completely captivating character study...

Full Review | Original Score: 4/4 | Jun 17, 2021

Hoffman's greatest performance of the '70s.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/4 | Jun 5, 2021

There is hardly a minute that convinces, a scene that really works.

Full Review | Nov 1, 2019

Message sending but uninvolving crime drama.

Full Review | Original Score: B- | Feb 7, 2018

There are authentic, gripping elements in the firm. An overwhelming starring performance could have unified those elements emotionally.

Full Review | May 10, 2017

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Apr 6, 2008

Dustin Hoffman finally gave the unquestionably great performance everyone had been expecting from him. Unfortunately, few people saw it.

Full Review | Original Score: A | Apr 9, 2007

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Oct 9, 2005

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Jul 14, 2005

Straight Time packs a punch--thanks to the intense and well-modulated performance by Dustin Hoffman.

Full Review | Jan 24, 2004

Straight Time

Straight Time is a most unlikeable film because Dustin Hoffman, starring as a paroled and longtime criminal, cannot overcome the essentially distasteful and increasingly unsympathetic elements in the character. Ulu Grosbard's sluggish direction doesn't help.

By Variety Staff

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Straight Time is a most unlikeable film because Dustin Hoffman, starring as a paroled and longtime criminal, cannot overcome the essentially distasteful and increasingly unsympathetic elements in the character. Ulu Grosbard’s sluggish direction doesn’t help.

Apparent plot peg [from Edward Banker’s novel No Beast so Fierce] is that a parolee suffers so many indignities that a return to crime is easier.

Viewers are asked initially to believe that M. Emmet Walsh, the assigned parole officer, is a sadistic person who delights in hassling his charges. But given the circumstances, he does not emerge as a heavy. Indeed, Hoffman’s too-easy lapse into his old ways absolves any blame on The System. Hoffman’s character would have defied the parole supervision of a saint.

Theresa Russell is very good as Hoffman’s girl; Harry Dean Stanton is excellent as a reformed hood who (nobody explains why) is being suffocated in the life of a successful suburban businessman; Gary Busey is good as a weak ex-con who bungles a climactic robbery plan.

• Production: First Artists/Sweetwall. Director Ulu Grosbard; Producer Stanley Beck, Tim Zinnemann; Screenplay Alvin Sargent, Edward Bunker, Jeffrey Boam; Camera Owen Roizman; Editor Sam O'Steen, Randy Roberts; Music David Shire; Art Director Stephen Grimes
• Crew: (Color) Available on VHS. Extract of a review from 1978. Running time: 114 MIN.
• With: Dustin Hoffman Theresa Russell Gary Busey Harry Dean Stanton M. Emmet Walsh Rita Taggart

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CLASSIC CINEMA REVIEW: “Straight Time” (1978): Navigating a Crooked Path

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Review: Straight Time (1978)

Tom Crowley checks out Ulu Grosbard’s 1978 film Straight Time , which recently screened at the IFI as part of its  Dustin Hoffman Retrospective .

We begin Straight Time (1978) with our anti-hero Max Dembo (Hoffman) leaving prison after a six-year stint for armed robbery. Director Ulu Grosbard tricks us. He gives us a shot of a woman and her kids. We assume they are there to see our protagonist come home. They are not there for him. Max jumps in the back of a pick-up truck and hitches a lift to central Los Angeles. Max is alone, make no mistake about it. He visits the house of an old friend Willy (Busey). He is told by Willy’s wife (Bates) he is not welcome, he is a bad influence.

A career criminal Max is determined to go straight. In the space of a week he gets a job, finds a room to sleep in and even begins courting his recruitment agent Jenny (Russell). Max, however, never feels particularly comfortable in his environment. Over dinner with Jenny he explains that many inmates find it scarier on the outside; one gets the feeling that he is indirectly talking about himself. Despite this, Max gets on with it, Jenny the dominating motivator for him to live the straight life.

A serious obstacle to this is his passive aggressive parole officer Earl (Walsh). It is not easy to determine whether Earl is purposely being a menace or if he is just plain ignorant. Either way he is a thorn in the side of an already edgy Max. Max comes home one night to see his bedroom door open. Earl is nosing around his digs. He finds matches and automatically assumes Max is ‘fixing’. He sends him back to the county jail while he awaits results of a drug test.

This is the final straw for Max. He goes on the run with the support of Jenny. The plan is to rob enough money to leave L.A. for greener pastures. Once Max re-accepts his criminality we see Dustin Hoffman’s performance become far more external. The shifty and uneasy straight Max becomes far more purposeful when he embraces his identity as a criminal. First incarcerated as a juvenile, it is the only life he knows.

Max is connected. He runs in criminal circles, his only friends are criminals or ex-criminals. For better or worse this is who Max is. One of the ex-criminal’s is Jerry (Stanton). Max convinces him to go on a spree with him. Not that he needs much convincing. Jerry is a successful paint contractor but the straight life is boring the hell out of him. It is a terrific performance by Harry Dean Stanton who brings comedy and pathos to the film.

The first impression of Max is that he is a moral person caught up in an immoral world. He believes the world is unfair and he does everything he can to cheat it, a classic counter-culture hero. It is shocking then to see how greedy and at times violent Max can be. His greediness and violent behaviour is never glamorised either by the script or Hoffman’s performance. Max sucks you in, turns on you and the ultimate feeling you have for him is pity. It is one of Hoffman’s many career highs.

The script is adapted from a novel by Edward Bunker called No Beast So Fierce . A former career criminal himself Bunker turned to writing and acting. Film fans will perhaps most recognise Bunker from playing the part of Mr. Blue in Quentin Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs (1992). Max and his misadventures are based on Bunker and his life. The title of the book pleads sympathy for the devil. The film seems to at the beginning but ultimately loses this one track approach mainly on account of Hoffman’s layered performance.  Bunker shares a screenwriting credit for this film with two-time Oscar winner Alvin Sargent ( Julia (1978) and Ordinary People (1981)) and Jeffery Boam. Bunker also has a cameo in a bar with a mustachioed Hoffman. They look like they could be father and son, or a weird cross-generational twin.

Straight Time is a fantastic, stirring, character-driven film. It is not always mentioned in Hoffman’s popular filmography but it is among the talented actors best work. A major flaw in the film is the relationship between Max and Jenny. It is never really clarified what attracts Jenny to Max so much. The answer is in the writing. Female characters are either underwritten or stereotyped in this film. This is an accusation you could point at many of the New Wave American films. Women are the object of male desire. They will do anything for them for little or no reason. Watching back as a revisionist it looks like a collective fantasy in the male-dominated writing rooms.

Having said that, this reviewer believes that Straight Time along with Scarecrow (1973) are two films from their potent era that deserve more attention.

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Saw this during its brief theatrical release in 1978. So fascinated I returned the following week and watched it again.

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Straight Time Reviews

• 64   Metascore
• 1 hr 54 mins
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A newly paroled con is destined to repeat his criminal ways, even as he tries to go straight.

A gripping, disturbing, and unglamorized portrait of a professional thief who thrives on the thrill and danger of his actions. Hoffman, in one of the best performances of his career, plays a thief who is released from prison after a six-year sentence for armed robbery. Hoffman tries to go straight but is continually thwarted by slimy parole officer Walsh, as well as his old friends, a motley assortment of junkies and small-time hoods. Based on ex-convict Edward Bunker's novel No Beast So Fierce, STRAIGHT TIME was an obsessive labor of love for its star, who had purchased the rights to the novel in 1972. Hoffman struck a deal with First Artists that would give him the right to direct the film and supervise the final cut. To research his role Hoffman had himself booked at Los Angeles County Jail and went through the procedure all inmates go through (this was later re-created for the film in documentarylike fashion). Hoffman also sneaked into San Quentin prison and mingled with the prisoners for several hours incognito to get the feel of prison life. The actor also interviewed ex-cons and visited their homes. During production, however, Hoffman found that acting and directing were too much for him, so he hired his old friend Grosbard to take over the helm. When the filming was completed, First Artists president Phil Feldman took control of the film and refused Hoffman his right to final cut (Feldman was the same man who tampered with Sam Peckinpah's THE WILD BUNCH, cutting over 20 minutes of character development behind the director's back). Hoffman sued for damages. The studio, which thought the film was a disaster, dumped the movie into release, where it received bad reviews and little box office attention. Hoffman's case was thrown out, and to this day the actor speaks little of it. But Hoffman has nothing to be ashamed of. STRAIGHT TIME is a powerful film that shows a criminal as he is. The film has no tired explanations for Hoffman's behavior, no fingers are pointed, no apologies or excuses are offered. Hoffman is a habitual criminal and that is the way he is. Though the parole system is taken to task for the "Catch 22"-type restrictions given to ex-cons, this is not presented as an excuse for Hoffman's return to crime--only a match that ignites the fuse already inside the man. The performances in STRAIGHT TIME are nothing less than superb. Walsh is perfect as the slimy parole officer who couldn't care less about his charges. Busey once again proves his versatility and is unforgettable as the pathetic addict. Russell is fine as the naive girl willing to let Hoffman drift through her life, and Stanton practically steals the film as the ex-thief yearning to escape from the boredom of his suburban lifestyle. Grosbard's direction is straightforward and professional. A highlight is the electrifying scene of a jewelry store robbery.

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'Straight Time' a Film of Grim Wit

By Vincent Canby

• March 18, 1978

"Max," says the parole officer, "I think you have a serious attitude problem." Just how serious is the dramatic substance of "Straight Time," the grimly witty account of the decline of Max Dembo (Dustin Hoffman), an ex-con (six years for armed robbery) who would say that he pursues success though he measures his life in small failures and the treacheries of others. He knows the world is crooked and he behaves accordingly. Like millions of other people who live on the right side of the law, Max never questions the system. He simply tries to beat it in his own half-baked way.Max is the sort of fellow who automatically lies when someone asks him how much rent he pays. It would make no difference if he told the truth, but Max has to keep in practice. The only time he can look someone in the eye with ease is when he stares, through the slits in a face mask—during a holdup.Max is shrewd, self-absorbed, tough in superficial ways, and doomed. He defines the meaning of recidivism. In real life you wouldn't trust him to hang up your coat. In "Straight Time," in the person of Dustin Hoffman, he's a fascinating character, made romantic only to the extent that an actor of such stature invests him with importance that is otherwise denied. Max is strictly small-time.Even though "Straight Time," which opens today at the Coronet Theater, has been tailored to Max's dimensions it's not a small-time movie. Ulu Grosbard, the director, and Alvin Sargent. Edward Bunker and Jeffrey Boam, who wrote the screenplay, have succeeded in making an uncommonly interesting film about a fellow whose significance is entirely negative. It's almost as if the real subject of the movie were all the things Max isn't.This may be to invest "Straight Time" with more purpose than was ever intended, but it is such a leanly constructed, vividly staged film that one seeks to justify the way it compels the attention. The first words we hear in the movie are those of the guards as Max is getting out of prison—"Open the gates"—while the rest of the film is the detailed case history of a man doing his unconscious best to get back in.The movie makes no attempt to explain Max. It simply says that this is the way he is. It requires us to fill in the gaps, and it's the measure of the film that we want to. In the meantime, we watch as Max has his early run-ins with his Los Angeles parole officer, a sadistic, patronizing redneck, marvelously well-played by M. Emmet Walsh, and accept as inevitable his return to life as a holdup man.The film's most surprising and involving sequences are the series of heists that Max carries out, at first solo, then in the company of an old associate, a fellow named Jerry Schue (Harry Dean Stanton), an ex-con, now a paint contractor apparently happily married, who is going out of his mind with the boredom of a settled life that involves a backyard swimming pool and barbecue pit."Straight Time" makes a concession to convention in the casting of Theresa Russell as the young woman who has a brief affair with Max. Miss Russell, who was so good in "The Last Tycoon," is an extremely appealing actress, with a kind of contemporary authority, but she looks so classy, so understated-chic, that she suggests an upper-class girl whose path would cross Max's only at the beach, or maybe at a singles bar. The two really belong in different movies.The film is beautifully acted by everyone, but especially by Mr. Hoffman, Mr. Walsh, Mr. Stanton and Gary Busey, who plays a junkie friend of Max who cops out at the last minute of a crucial job. "Straight Time" is not a movie to raise the spirits. It is so cool it would leave a chill were it not done with such precision and control that we remain fascinated by a rat, in spite of ourselves.

The CastSTRAIGHT TIME, directed by Ulu Grosbard; screenplay by Alvin Sargent, Edward Bunker and Jeffrey Boam, based on Mr. Bunker's novel, "No Beast So Fierce"; produced by Stanley Beck and Tim Zinnemann; director of photography, Owen Roizman; editor, Sam O'Steen and Randy Roberts; music, David Shire; executive producer, Howard B. Pine; a First Artists presentation, distributed by Warner Brothers. Running time: 114 minutes. At the Coronet Theater, Third Avenue at 59th Street. This film has been rated R.Max Dembo . . . . . Dustin HoffmanJenny Mercer . . . . . Theresa RussellJerry Schue . . . . . Harry Dean StantonWilly Darin . . . . . Gary BuseyEarl Frank . . . . . M. Emmet WalshManny . . . . . Sandy BaronSelma Darin . . . . . Kathy BatesMickey . . . . . Edward BunkerSalesman No. 1 . . . . . Stuart I. BertonSalesman No. 2 . . . . . Barry CahillCarlos . . . . . Corey RandManager . . . . . James RayCafe owner . . . . . Fran RyanCarol Schue . . . . . Rita Taggart

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46 facts about the movie straight time.

Written by Saba Pray

Modified & Updated: 04 Mar 2024

Reviewed by Sherman Smith

Straight Time is a crime drama film released in 1978, directed by Ulu Grosbard and starring Dustin Hoffman. The movie tells the gripping story of Max Dembo, a career criminal recently released from prison who struggles to reintegrate into society. Straight Time is known for its realistic portrayal of the criminal justice system and the harsh realities faced by ex-convicts.

In this article, we will delve into 46 fascinating facts about the movie Straight Time, shedding light on its production, cast, critical reception, and impact on the crime genre. From the development process to the memorable performances, this article aims to provide an in-depth look at one of the often overlooked gems in the realm of cinematic crime dramas.

Key Takeaways:

• “Straight Time” is a 1978 crime drama film based on the novel “No Beast So Fierce” by Edward Bunker, featuring Dustin Hoffman and exploring themes of redemption and the challenges of leaving a life of crime.
• The movie delves into the struggles of ex-convicts reentering society, the complexities of masculinity, and the impact of institutionalization, making it a must-watch for fans of thought-provoking cinema.

Straight Time was released in 1978.

Straight Time, a crime drama film directed by Ulu Grosbard, made its debut in 1978, captivating audiences with its intense and gritty storyline.

The movie is based on the novel “No Beast So Fierce” by Edward Bunker.

Edward Bunker, a former criminal turned writer, penned the novel “No Beast So Fierce,” which served as the inspiration for the film’s screenplay.

Dustin Hoffman played the lead role.

The legendary Dustin Hoffman took on the role of Max Dembo, a career criminal who struggles to adapt to life outside of prison.

The film explores themes of redemption and the difficulty of breaking free from the cycle of crime.

Straight Time delves deep into the emotional journey of its protagonist, highlighting the challenges and temptations that come with trying to leave a life of crime behind.

It boasts a stellar ensemble cast.

In addition to Dustin Hoffman, the film features impressive performances from Theresa Russell, Gary Busey, Harry Dean Stanton, and M. Emmet Walsh.

Straight Time received critical acclaim.

The film was praised by critics for its realistic portrayal of the criminal underworld and its exploration of complex human emotions.

The screenplay was co-written by Edward Bunker himself.

Bunker, having experienced the criminal lifestyle firsthand, brought his unique insight and perspective to the script, making it all the more authentic.

Straight Time is known for its intense and suspenseful moments.

The film brilliantly builds tension, keeping viewers on the edge of their seats throughout its gripping narrative.

It tackles the challenges faced by ex-convicts reentering society.

Straight Time sheds light on the difficulties ex-prisoners encounter when trying to rebuild their lives and reintegrate into society.

The movie showcases the struggles of maintaining relationships after a life of crime.

Max Dembo’s attempts to connect with his former girlfriend and establish new relationships are filled with obstacles and emotional turmoil.

Straight Time provides a realistic portrayal of the criminal justice system.

The film delves into the complexities and flaws of the system, shedding light on the harsh realities faced by those within it.

It explores the darker side of human nature.

Straight Time delves into the depths of the human psyche, examining the motivations and actions of its characters.

The movie’s soundtrack enhances the atmospheric intensity.

The haunting and evocative soundtrack complements the film’s mood, further immersing viewers in its world.

Straight Time offers gritty and realistic visuals.

The cinematography captures the starkness and grit of the urban setting, adding to the film’s authenticity.

The film highlights the cycle of violence and the consequences it brings.

Straight Time serves as a cautionary tale, depicting the destructive nature of violence and the impact it has on individuals and society.

It exposes the vulnerabilities and insecurities of its characters.

The film humanizes its characters, showcasing their struggles, fears, and aspirations, making them relatable to viewers.

Straight Time was not a box office success.

Despite its critical acclaim, the film did not perform well commercially, perhaps due to its dark and uncompromising subject matter.

The movie has gained a cult following over the years.

Straight Time’s reputation has grown over time, attracting a dedicated fan base that appreciates its artistic merits and powerful storytelling.

Straight Time explores the complexities of masculinity.

The film delves into the traditional notions of masculinity and dissects the societal pressures placed on men.

It showcases the talents of director Ulu Grosbard.

Grosbard’s skillful direction brings the story to life, capturing both the gritty realism and emotional depth of the narrative.

The movie portrays the desperation of marginalized individuals.

Straight Time sheds light on the struggles faced by those on the fringes of society, exploring themes of desperation and survival.

It offers a nuanced portrayal of the criminal underworld.

Straight Time avoids sensationalism, providing a realistic and layered depiction of the criminal underworld and its inhabitants.

The performances in Straight Time are lauded by critics.

Dustin Hoffman’s portrayal of Max Dembo and the supporting cast’s performances have been praised for their authenticity and depth.

Straight Time was influenced by classic crime films.

The film pays homage to classic crime movies while adding its own unique twist and perspective.

It delves into the psychology of its characters.

Straight Time explores the motivations, traumas, and complexities that drive its characters’ actions, making them multi-dimensional and compelling.

The movie addresses the impact of institutionalization.

Straight Time examines the effects of long-term incarceration on individuals and their ability to adapt to life outside prison walls.

It highlights the lack of resources and support for ex-prisoners.

The film sheds light on the challenges faced by ex-convicts in finding employment, housing, and assistance upon release.

Straight Time reflects societal issues of the era.

The film serves as a commentary on the social and political climate of its time, addressing issues such as poverty, crime, and inequality.

The movie explores the thin line between right and wrong.

Straight Time challenges the conventional notions of morality and blurs the boundaries between good and evil.

It captures the desperation of characters seeking a second chance.

Straight Time portrays the yearning for redemption and the lengths individuals will go to in their pursuit of a fresh start.

Straight Time features realistic and authentic dialogue.

The dialogue in the film rings true, adding depth and believability to the characters and their interactions.

The movie depicts the struggles of breaking free from societal constraints.

Straight Time examines the challenges faced by its characters as they try to defy societal norms and carve their own paths.

It offers a nuanced exploration of power dynamics.

Straight Time delves into the intricate power dynamics within the criminal underworld, highlighting the influence and control certain individuals possess.

The film is a character-driven story.

Straight Time focuses on its characters’ motivations, growth, and inner conflicts, making it a compelling character study.

It showcases the talent of cinematographer Owen Roizman.

Roizman’s cinematography captures the mood and atmosphere of the film, enhancing its visual impact.

Straight Time provides social commentary on the justice system.

The film raises questions about fairness, reintegration, and the flaws within the criminal justice system.

The movie features an engaging and suspenseful narrative.

The gripping storyline of Straight Time keeps viewers engrossed from start to finish, leaving them on the edge of their seats.

It offers thought-provoking themes for discussion.

Straight Time explores complex subjects such as identity, morality, and the cyclical nature of crime, providing ample material for in-depth analysis and conversation.

Straight Time presents an unflinching look at the consequences of one’s actions.

The film explores the repercussions of choices made by its characters, highlighting the lasting impacts they have on their own lives and those around them.

The movie showcases the talent of editor Sam O’Steen.

O’Steen’s editing expertise enhances the pacing and rhythm of Straight Time, creating a seamless and compelling viewing experience.

Straight Time challenges traditional notions of rehabilitation.

The film raises questions about the effectiveness of rehabilitation programs and the societal expectations placed upon individuals seeking redemption.

It depicts the allure and dangers of the criminal lifestyle.

Straight Time explores the seductive nature of crime and the temptations that can pull individuals back into a life of wrongdoing.

The movie emphasizes the importance of second chances.

Straight Time advocates for the belief that individuals deserve an opportunity to redeem themselves and rebuild their lives, irrespective of their past mistakes.

It portrays the complexity of human relationships.

Straight Time delves into the intricacies of human connection, showcasing the bonds formed, broken, and tested throughout the narrative.

The movie provides social commentary on societal biases and prejudices.

Straight Time examines the stereotypes and prejudices faced by ex-convicts, shedding light on the barriers they encounter in their quest for acceptance.

Straight Time is a must-watch for fans of thought-provoking cinema.

This gripping and poignant film offers a deep exploration of the human condition, leaving viewers with profound questions and insights long after the credits roll.

With its gritty portrayal of the criminal justice system and a stellar performance by Dustin Hoffman , “Straight Time” remains a classic crime drama that is not to be missed. The film’s exploration of the complexities of reintegration into society and the limits of personal redemption make it a thought-provoking and emotionally engaging watch.

From its gripping storyline to its well-crafted characters, “Straight Time” stands as a testament to the power of great storytelling in cinema. The movie keeps viewers on the edge of their seats, balancing intense action with poignant moments of introspection.

Whether you’re a fan of crime dramas or simply appreciate captivating performances, “Straight Time” delivers on all fronts. It serves as a reminder of the talent and versatility of Dustin Hoffman as an actor and showcases the skill of the filmmakers in bringing a compelling story to life.

Don’t miss the opportunity to experience the raw emotions and powerful storytelling that “Straight Time” has to offer. It’s a film that will leave a lasting impact and spark discussions long after the credits roll.

Q: Who directed “Straight Time”?

A: “Straight Time” was directed by Ulu Grosbard.

Q: When was the movie “Straight Time” released?

A: “Straight Time” was released on March 18, 1978.

Q: What is the genre of “Straight Time”?

A: “Straight Time” is a crime drama film.

Q: Who stars in “Straight Time”?

A: The lead role in “Straight Time” is played by Dustin Hoffman, with supporting performances from Theresa Russell, Gary Busey, and Harry Dean Stanton .

Q: Is “Straight Time” based on a true story?

A: Yes, “Straight Time” is based on the novel “No Beast So Fierce” by Edward Bunker, who co-wrote the screenplay for the film.

Q: What is the runtime of “Straight Time”?

A: The runtime of “Straight Time” is approximately 114 minutes.

Q: Is “Straight Time” available for streaming?

A: Depending on your location and streaming service subscriptions, “Straight Time” may be available for streaming on platforms such as Netflix or Amazon Prime Video.

Q: Did “Straight Time” receive any awards or nominations?

A: While “Straight Time” didn’t receive major award recognition, it is widely regarded as a critically acclaimed film and was praised for its performances and storytelling.

Q: Can you recommend similar movies to “Straight Time”?

A: For fans of crime dramas, other films you may enjoy include “Heat,” “The French Connection ,” “Dog Day Afternoon,” and “The Departed.

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Straight Time (Blu-ray Review)

A career criminal, Max Dembo (Dustin Hoffman) is determined to go straight after his latest stint in prison. He takes a mindless job in a cannery, patiently endures the abuse of his pompous parole officer, Earl (M. Emmet Walsh), and begins a romance with a sympathetic girl from the employment office, Jenny (Theresa Russell). But when Earl erroneously busts Jack for drug abuse, the ex-con cracks, assaulting Earl and setting off on a reckless crime spree.

Following troubled individuals is quite a normal thing nowadays through film and television. We think of Tony Soprano, Walter White and many others without blinking. The 1970s were the hey dey of pioneering this material. The big purveyor of this was Michael Corleone when The Godfather saw massive success at the start of the decade. Those were the roles big time actors would seek out and hope to see a golden Oscar reward from later on. Dustin Hoffman took to this with Straight Time , playing an ex-convict who cannot keep himself from the life once he leaves prison. A film he tried to direct, reports say he stepped down after one day.

Hoffman plays Max Dembo pretty relentlessly. The script and his performance make no excuses for his behavior. There is no “Oh, that is why he does this” excuse that would be built into a film nowadays. We see him try to force himself back into civilization in the first act, but we can see in Hoffman’s eyes, his facial gestures and body language that he’s merely doing his best to restrain himself as its only a matter of time before he can’t hold on any more. Its crazy to think he wasn’t nominated for this film (His co-star in this, Gary Busey, was for The Buddy Holly Story ), but a quick look shows it was a very tough year. Maybe in hindsight you could leap frog him over a couple, but those awards are made in the moment.

One of the things the film really does well is showcase crime, theft and heists as a sort of addiction. There are drugs on display in the film, but that’s merely a nod to showcase something bigger. Through Dembo and his friends he reunites with along the way, the all get the itch when they are around each other. They are all fronting to society that everything is fine, but they cannot kick their addiction. Kathy Bates’ character makes a warning early on to Dembo that foreshadows and serves as a thesis on how this kind of thing plays out. Once they all start up, they can’t stop and it becomes worse than it ever was before.

In addition to some great drama and character deconstruction, the film features some great suspense and low key action bits. There are plenty of unique, lifelike and very grounded chases and heists in the film. Much of this on top of the characters were reminding me of the 1981 film Thief from Michael Mann. Low and behold, when researching more on this film, I found that Mann did an uncredited rewrite for this film. Thus, this movie is very much like a proto version of his film Thief.

Before this review, I had never seen 1978’s Straight Time . And in glorious fashion, it has been a wonderful “new to me” discovery and a new favorite. I loved everything about it. From the performances, the pacing, the glorious style and 1970s aesthetic to the terrific script. There’s a lot to love here and its a fine example of why the films of the 1970s were so great and are still highly regarded by all of us film snobs. If you’ve never heard of or seen Straight Time (And I’ll toss this in, if you liked Thief for more than just the style), its a pretty high recommend from this reviewer.

Encoding : MPEG-4 AVC

Resolution : 1080p

Aspect Ratio : 1.85:1

Layers:  BD-50

Clarity/Detail :  No details are provided regarding the transfer of Straight Time’s debut on Blu-ray. At worst this has to be a 2K transfer of the film. And its a beautiful looking transfer with great color saturation, sharpness and details. There’s a good, healthy layer of grain that showcases a lot more depth and texture for the frame. All in all, Straight Time really looks terrific and feels like you’re watching a pretty pristine 1970s film print.

Depth:  Depth of field is very solid in the film. Many of the interiors, including sitting in a car showcase all sorts of space and pushback. Scale in exterior city scenes and inside factories make things look rather big. Motion is smooth and has no issues with an sort of distortions from rapid movements.

Black Levels : Blacks are deep and close to natural levels. No information is hidden. Details are discernible in the darkest shadows, surfaces and hair follicles. No crushing witnessed.

Color Reproduction : Colors are natural and have a really nice, natural palette. There’s some basic boredom scenarios around, but the pop really depends on clothing, upholstery or the setting. For example, Harry Dean Stanton’s home out back with the pool really jumps out, while some of the earlier more office stuff is a bit mute and more door (But very lovely in that 70s aesthetic).

Flesh Tones : Skin tones are natural and consistent from start to finish. Facial texture and information is very impressive. You can clear as day make out stubble, pores, wrinkles, sweat, make-up touches and more from any medium and close up shot.

Noise/Artifacts:  None

Audio Format(s) : English 2.0 Mono DTS-HD MA

Subtitles : English SDH

Dynamics : Straight Time features its original mono theatrical mix in lossless format. There is a base of an analog hiss beneath every scene inherent in the source. It features a good balance of vocals, effects and music that all get their time to spotlight while also never stepping on one another’s toes.

Height:  N/A

Low Frequency Extension : N/A

Surround Sound Presentation:  N/A

Dialogue Reproduction : Vocals are clear and crisp.

A “Vintage Featurette” is mentioned on the back of the case, but is not found anywhere on this disc.

Audio Commentary

• By Ulu Grosbard and Dustin Hoffman

Theatrical Trailer (HD, 1:45)

Straight Time is a nifty little character study of a troubled individual and look at the post prison sentence life of an ex-convict. Warner Archive Collection brings it to Blu-ray with a lovely looking film transfer and genuine sounding mono track. The commentary is a nice touch, but people may be disappointed that the advertised vintage featurette is not here on the disc. Though, for film quality and presentation (Plus it does have that commentary), its a swell little disc.

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Brandon is the host, producer, writer and editor of The Brandon Peters Show (thebrandonpetersshow.com). He is also the Moderator/MC of the Live Podcast Stage and on the Podcast Awards Committee for PopCon (popcon.us). In the past 10 years at Why So Blu, Brandon has amassed over 1,500 reviews of 4K, Blu-ray and DVD titles.

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Review by Patrick

Straight time 1978 ★★★★½.

Watched Sep 05 , 2019

Patrick’s review published on Letterboxd:

Roger Ebert had a rule that stated “no movie featuring either M. Emmett Walsh or Harry Dean Stanton in a supporting role could be altogether bad.” This movie has both of them! And Dustin Hoffman! And Gary Busey! And like a 5 year old Jake Busey! And like a 25 year old Kathy Bates! 

Not sure why this doesn’t get mentioned with the other great 70s antihero classics, it’s just terrific. And for fans of Raising Arizona (i.e. people of taste), you’ll be AMAZED by how much the Coens took from this, right down to Nicolas Cage’s moustache n’ mutton chops look.

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Beautiful, interesting, incredible cinema.

STRAIGHT TIME

After being released on parole, a burglar attempts to go straight, get a regular job, and just go by the rules. He soon finds himself back in jail at the hands of a power-hungry parole officer. When he is released again, he assaults the parole officer, steals his car, and returns to a life of crime.

Movie Reviews

Tv/streaming, collections, great movies, chaz's journal, contributors, the straight story.

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The first time I saw "The Straight Story," I focused on the foreground and liked it. The second time I focused on the background, too, and loved it. The movie isn't just about the old Alvin Straight's odyssey through the sleepy towns and rural districts of the Midwest, but about the people he finds to listen and care for him. You'd think it was a fantasy, this kindness of strangers, if the movie weren't based on a true story.

Straight ( Richard Farnsworth ) is a 73-year-old man from in Laurens, Iowa, who learns that his brother is dying and wants to see him one last time. His eyes are too bad to allow him to drive. He lives with his daughter Rose ( Sissy Spacek ), who is somewhat mentally challenged and no good behind the wheel. Nor do they have a car. But they have a tractor-style lawn mower, and the moment Alvin's eyes light on it, he knows how he can drive the 300 miles to Mt. Zion, Wis. The first mower konks out, but he gets another one, a John Deere, hitches a little trailer to it, and stubbornly sets off down the road.

Along the way we will learn a lot about Alvin, including a painful secret he has kept ever since the war. He is not a sophisticated man, but when he speaks, the words come out like the bricks of a wall built to last. Like Hemingway's dialogue, the screenplay by John Roach and Mary Sweeney finds poetry and truth in the exact choice of the right everyday words. Richard Farnsworth, who was 79 when he made the film, speaks the lines with perfect repose and conviction.

Because the film was directed by David Lynch , who usually deals in the bizarre (" Wild at Heart ," "Twin Peaks"), we keep waiting for the other shoe to drop--for Alvin's odyssey to intersect with the Twilight Zone. But it never does. Even when he encounters a potential weirdo, like the distraught woman whose car has killed 14 deer in one week on the same stretch of highway (". . . and I HAVE to take this road!"), she's not a sideshow exhibit and we think, yeah, you can hit a lot of deer on those country roads.

Alvin's journey to his brother is a journey into his past. He remembers when they were young and filled with wonder. He tells a stranger, "I want to sit with him and look up at the stars, like we used to, so long ago." He remembers his courtship and marriage. His Army service as a sniper whose aim, one day, was too good. And about years lost to drinking and nastiness. He has emerged from the forge of his imperfections as a better man, purified, simple, and people along the way seem to sense that.

My favorite, of all of his stops, comes in a town where he's almost killed when he loses a drive belt and speeds out of control down a hill. He comes to rest where some people in lawn chairs are watching the local firefighters practicing putting out a fire.

In the town are twin brothers who squabble all the time, even while charging him by the hour to repair the mower. And a retired John Deere employee named Danny Riordan ( James Cada ), who lets Alvin camp for a while in his backyard (Alvin won't enter the house, even to use the phone).

Danny is a rare man of instinctive sweetness and tact, who sees what the situation requires and supplies it without display. He embodies all of our own feelings about this lovable old--yes, fool. He gently offers advice, but Alvin is firm: "You're a kind man talking to a stubborn man." If Riordan and the deer lady and the dueling twins (and a forlorn young girl) are the background I was talking about, so are the locations themselves. The cinematographer, Freddie Francis , who once made the vastness of Utah a backdrop for "The Executioner's Song," knows how to evoke a landscape without making it too comforting. There are fields of waving corn and grain here, and rivers and woods and little bed barns, but on the soundtrack the wind whispering in the trees plays a sad and lonely song, and we are reminded not of the fields we drive past on our way to picnics, but on our way to funerals, on autumn days when the roads are empty.

The faces in this movie are among its treasures. Farnsworth himself has a face like an old wrinkled billfold that he paid good money for and expects to see him out. There is another old man who sits next to him on a barstool near the end of the movie, whose face is like the witness to time. And look and listen to the actor who plays the bartender in that same late scene, the one who serves Alvin the Miller Lite. I can't find his name in the credits, but he finds the right note: He knows how all good bartenders can seem like a friend bringing a present to a sickroom.

The last notes are also just right. Who will this dying brother be, and what will he say? Will the screenplay say too much or reach for easy sentimentality? Not at all. Just because you have to see someone doesn't mean you have a lot to gab about. No matter how far you've come.

Roger Ebert

Roger Ebert was the film critic of the Chicago Sun-Times from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, he won the Pulitzer Prize for distinguished criticism.

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The Straight Story (1999)

111 minutes

Richard Farnsworth as Alvin Straight

Sissy Spacek as Rose

James Cada as Danny Riordan

Jane Heitz as Dorothy

Everett McGill as Tom The Dealer

Jennifer Edwards as Brenda

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Directed by

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‘fallout’ review (amazon prime video): i have some good news.

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Fallout is a huge gamble for Amazon , a sprawling, expensive series that must simultaneously create a brand new story in the video game’s world, while pleasing longtime fans of that world. Plus, drawing in new eyes to make it a truly massive hit.

I am happy to report that as a game, as a fan of the series, I thought it was excellent. I’ve seen all eight episodes and my appreciation for the series only grew in time. The trailers made it look like they just might manage to pull it off, and I think they did.

The tone, the visuals, the meticulous attention to the detail of the game world is a far cry from some other adaptations-which-will-not-be-named that try to completely blaze their own path. This is extraordinarily faithful to the games while not being a straight adaptation of any one game in particular, even if it shares at least one central baseline: A vault dweller must head to the surface and find their father.

That vault dweller is Lucy, played by Yellowjackets’ Ella Purnell in what I would argue is a star-making turn for her. While her naiveté and innocence is slowly twisted by the horrors of the wasteland, it’s not a full Joker arc, and she retains her core values even as she gets very comfortable shooting lots of things.

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I also appreciated the performance of Aaron Moten, an actor I was wholly unfamiliar with before this, but as Maximus, a squire of the Brotherhood of Steel, he takes on a personality I was not expecting of “awkward dopey dude” but somehow I mean that as a compliment, as he’s a long ways from the badass soldier you’d expect from the Brotherhood, sort of a boy thrown into a man-suit (literally, in this instance) and a far cry from the usual grizzled combat veteran you might expect to be playing this part.

And of course, there’s Walton Goggins. Everyone thought that his casting as a ghoul was spot-on and guess what? It’s spot-on. But you may not realize just what a dual role it is, as yes Goggins is a badass, somewhat villainous ghoul gunslinger with a CGI-ed out nose, but there are lengthy stretches of the show about his time before the war as a Clint Eastwood-type movie star who starts shilling for Vault Tec while slowly learning the company’s actual plans.

This series is from Jonathan Nolan of Westworld fame, and as such, it has traditional Nolan-esque mysteries. Many fans will be intimately familiar with some of these, such as “the vaults are actually bad and terrifying most of the time” though how they are bad is still something you’ll be eager to discover. Then, larger questions. What is this item everyone in the Wasteland is trying to track down? Why was Lucy’s father taken? Who is this warlord in the mountain? How has Goggins’ ghoul survived this long and what is he still looking for?

Not all of these are answered by the end, but this isn’t Netflix or Max where we have to sit around and bite our nails to see if the mysteries will last forever after a cancellation, as all signs indicate Amazon believes in this show and season 2 is already in the works.

They nailed the tone here. This is a hard-R rated series with gore, cursing, sex, nudity, the whole lot. But not in a way that feels exploitative for its own sake just…mirroring the games in most ways. And again, the attention to detail here is stellar from the replica weapons to Stimpaks to the design of the Vault sets and the wasteland’s CGI, which never looks phony. While a show like The Last of Us had to create a ruined world to some degree, Fallout had to take the scope of its world three levels beyond that, and they did.

Complaints? Not many. There’s not a ton of emotional weight to much of anything here until the final minutes, but it’s so entertaining that you don’t really care. The “pass the MacGuffin object around” storyline relies a bit much on coincidence at times. The start of the show can be a bit jarring with all the different storylines but it smooths out in time. I appreciated the fact that this is a show that covers all angles of the Fallout universe, not just surviving in the Wasteland, but Goggins’ exploration of pre-war storylines, Lucy’s brother stuck back in his original vault solving its own mysteries. It’s great.

I’d be shocked if Fallout fans didn’t like the show and want to see more. As for general audiences I can’t quite predict how its insanity might land, but regardless, I think it will do well, and be back for one or more seasons for sure after this. Enjoy.

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Pick up my sci-fi novels the Herokiller series and The Earthborn Trilogy .

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‘good times’ review: netflix’s animated sequel improves when it steps out from norman lear’s shadow.

The late Lear is an executive producer on this 10-episode look at a Black family in the Chicago projects.

By Daniel Fienberg

Daniel Fienberg

Chief Television Critic

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The title of Eric Monte and Mike Evans’ Norman Lear -produced sitcom Good Times was designed to be welcoming and inclusive. The theme song was a litany of poverty-driven adversity — temporary layoffs, easy credit rip-offs, etc. — interjected with the chorus of “Good Times!,” setting up the story of the Evans family weathering the travails of the Chicago projects with a mix of pride, determination and a whole lot of dysfunctional domestic affection.

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It’s impossible to review Netflix’s Good Times without starting by saying what it is not — namely, it is not Good Times . Yes, the late Norman Lear remains an executive producer — Ranada Shepard and Carl Jones developed the new version — but viewers who grew up with a special place in their hearts for Good Times , a series that redefined the parameters of what the Black family could be on TV, will probably struggle to make it through even the first episode. And for good reason. 

The pilot of this new Good Times is coarse and generally unpleasant and, despite almost non-stop referencing of the original series, exhibits exactly none of the charm and warmth that defined Good Times . It’s also a bizarre choice to take a title associated with a show that illustrated how wide an audience you could attract even while telling a very specific story, and attach it to an adults-only animated series that alienates more than it welcomes.

Set in the unnamed Chicago projects that are definitely meant to recall Cabrini-Green, this Good Times focuses on Reggie ( JB Smoove ) and Beverly ( Yvette Nicole Brown ) Evans. Reggie’s the grandson of John Amos’ James and shares some of his hardworking ethos, even as he struggles to pay the rent with what he makes as a cab driver. Bev is determined to live up to the family’s legacy, whatever that means, and has an antagonistic relationship with Delphine (Tisha Campbell), the projects’ scheming president.

So while this Good Times is a sequel and not a remake, these Evans also coincidentally have a dim-bulb, artistically brilliant son named Junior (Jay Pharoah) and their daughter is also a brilliant, budding activist (Marsai Martin’s Grey). Instead of a youngest son devoted to community advocacy, though, these Evans have… Dalvin (Gerald Anthony “Slink” Johnson), a drug-dealing pre-toddler who does, indeed, bridge a gap between Stewie and Omar Little that nobody ever asked to have bridged.

The first episode includes lots of references to individual episodes of Good Times , features a cameo by Jimmie Walker that you definitely won’t notice and has Reggie singing the original theme song with a cockroach, endeavoring to pander to and insult fans of the original series.

At that point, it becomes possible to ponder what Good Times is or isn’t doing well on its own merits.

The first couple of episodes remain more bad than good. The show is more invested in what it’s defining itself against — “This ain’t the damn Cosby Show ,” Reggie tells Junior when his academically struggling son begs him to love him as he is — than defining what its voice actually is. The humor is heavily weighted toward stereotypes and pop culture references that are at best stale and at worst — multiple Wendy Williams jokes? — tone deaf. It commits to its coarseness — like Bev stripping down to lingerie to seduce Reggie because she’s jealous that he befriended a service dog — but not to finding anything funny in that coarseness. Grey’s attempts to aggressively spell out the show’s political undertones aren’t convincing. Huey Freeman, she is not.

You might be getting a sense now of how this Good Times is using fantastical elements to differentiate itself from an original series that wanted to be as gritty and authentic as a multi-cam comedy could be in 1974. That’s how Good Times progresses and evolves, going from drug-dealing babies and talking roaches to increasingly wild film homages and set pieces. Each time I was prepared to stop watching, a reference or piece of outsized animation would have just enough satirical juice to keep me going. Each time I got fed up with how disconnected or calloused the show felt to the “real” Chicago, a little detail would amuse me — even something as on-the-nose as the show’s treatment of “Mayor Heavyankles.”

It’s the eighth episode when Good Times finally picks a high-concept premise and nails it — the only one of the 10 episodes that I would unapologetically praise. A takeoff on vintage comic book art and framing, “Big Sister Is Watching” is an original superhero/supervillain origin story that actually made me laugh out loud several times and featured a few beats I found borderline audacious. Plus, Norman Lear makes a cameo.

Would I have enjoyed the eighth episode as much without watching the lackluster seven previous episodes for contrast? I don’t know, but it sets up a concluding run in which the show’s serialized plotlines and cautionary themes concerning gentrification and racial exploitation begin to hit home.

Throw in a great developing ensemble — Cree Summer, Ego Nwodim, Heidi Gardner, Affion Crockett, Lil Rel Howery and Godfrey are among the folks playing multiple characters — and there are reasons to think that in a second season, Good Times might start to consistently deliver some, well, good times. That said, I don’t know how many people are likely to last through the first half of the season, much less through the pilot, and I don’t blame them.

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Netflix's 'Good Times': An explicit revival which feels calculated to offend

Eric Deggans

The Evans family in Netflix's Good Times: Jay Pharoah as Junior, Marsai Martin as Grey, Yvette Nicole Brown as Beverly, Gerald Anthony "Slink" Johnson as Dalvin and J.B. Smoove as Reggie. Netflix hide caption

The Evans family in Netflix's Good Times: Jay Pharoah as Junior, Marsai Martin as Grey, Yvette Nicole Brown as Beverly, Gerald Anthony "Slink" Johnson as Dalvin and J.B. Smoove as Reggie.

Netflix's animated series revival of Good Times seems almost genetically engineered to snark off critics like me.

With an opening image that reads Good Times (Black again) , it's packed with the kind of stereotypical characters and imagery which seems sure to anger fans of the original series, which was a groundbreaking, '70s-era sitcom revered for the way it challenged presumptions about a poor Black family "scratchin' and survivin'" in a Chicago housing project.

Described by Netflix as a "spiritual sequel," the animated Good Times features the fourth generation of the original series' Evans family living in a Chicago housing project.

This new show opens with the patriarch, a bombastic, not-too-smart cabbie named Reggie Evans, singing part of the original Good Times theme in a duet with a cockroach (he's such a soft touch, he has trouble earning a living because fares keep stiffing him). Matriarch Beverly Evans can tell when her baby is around because her breasts lactate and leak through her shirt.

The baby, Dalvin, has been kicked out of the house because he's a pistol-packing drug dealer with studs in his ears. And when his militant older sister Grey decides to go on a hunger strike in protest, she gets emaciated and has flies swarming around her face like a child suffering in an African famine.

It's a universe where, when Reggie takes his artistic son Junior to a broken-down medical center for a prescription to help him focus in school, a gunfight breaks out. And when baby Dalvin leaves their apartment after a visit, Beverly makes sure he doesn't forget his handgun. Sigh.

Edgy content brings criticism

Yvette Nicole Brown voices Beverly in Good Times. Netflix hide caption

Much of it plays like one of the most jacked-up editions of Adult Swim I've ever seen, littered with images that sometimes feel like stereotypical cartoons exhumed from the worst online Reddit conversations. Taking advantage of the freedom provided by animation, the show provides trippy scenes that sometimes verge on the fantastical — sometimes this works, and sometimes it just feels oddly creepy. There's even one chunk of dialogue cheekily cloned straight from the pilot episode of The Cosby Show .

Already, the show's trailer has drawn criticism from the NAACP. Kyle Bowser, senior vice president of the civil rights organization's Hollywood bureau, wrote in a guest column for The Hollywood Reporter that it's clear Netflix made a choice "to market the show based on an interpretation of Black life as an 'otherized' experience, replete with abhorrent beliefs and behaviors." A Change.org petition urging viewers to boycott the show has more than 3,700 signatures.

But I'm wary of delivering the expected critique of such jarring imagery — in part, because there are interesting messages buried beneath them. In the episode where he and his dad visit a run-down clinic, Junior struggles over why he needs to take medication to build up his mental focus in school at the expense of his creativity – not sure why he has to choose between the two – and Grey learns to shake off the shame she feels after having her first menstrual period, finding liberation from patriarchy in the process.

Norman Lear's TV shows pioneered depictions of Black families, but it's complicated

Part of the issue here is the connection to the original Good Times — celebrating its 50th anniversary this year — which was considered the first TV show centered on a two-parent Black family, humanizing folks who live in poor, Black neighborhoods. As a kid watching the show who didn't have a father in the house, I found it inspirational to see John Amos' character James Evans as a stern but loving paternal presence in a home with Esther Rolle's quick-witted matriarch Florida, BernNadette Stanis' earnest daughter Thelma, Ralph Carter's studious son Michael and Jimmie Walker's borderline-stereotypical artist son J.J.

Yvette Nicole Brown plays Beverly and JB Smoove voices Reggie in Good Times. NETFLIX hide caption

Yvette Nicole Brown plays Beverly and JB Smoove voices Reggie in Good Times.

After a multitude of references to the original in the first episode, the new show doesn't seem particularly tethered to that old template, which can make watching it a tough experience for longtime fans. And it doesn't have the same mission as the old series, though it eventually depicts a family that loves each other through all of the craziness. (It also bleeps out usage of the n-word, but doesn't bleep profanities like s*** or f***. Hmmm.)

In a way, it would have been better to just craft this as an original series without all the baggage and expectations of reinventing a TV classic – but then, Netflix wouldn't have gotten all the headlines and attention from the shocked reactions.

This is a project with a pedigree. Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane and basketball star Steph Curry are executive producers, alongside original Good Times executive producer Norman Lear, who worked on the show before his death in December at age 101. Ace talent like J.B. Smoove, Jay Pharoah, Yvette Nicole Brown and Wanda Sykes voice characters.

Still, for this longtime Good Times fan, the new show feels too much like a different program twisted into something vaguely resembling the old show, but without the sense of mission and pride that made the original series such a television landmark.

Story edited by Jennifer Vanasco .