A counter culture movie if there ever was one from 1970 starring Elliot Gould & Candace Bergen. Gould is a college student hoping to get his masters in teaching but is thwarted at every turn (fiscal; he owes tuition, emotional; he can't quite commit to Bergen in the way she wants, political; being the epicenter of all things protest, especially since the Vietnam War was in full swing, Gould won't take a stand). Taking place during what seems a few days which are winding down to his finals (which will determine if he'll get a degree to pursue his passion), everything continues to pile up on poor Gould till he break out in impassioned speeches which seem not to sway anyone regardless. Gould, feeling like a more assertive Benjamin Braddock (Dustin Hoffman's character in The Graduate), never engenders much empathy since he reacts only when he's cornered & his make-up (conning his way through bills & books he'll most likely never pay for) put him on the outs for me as a protag to root for. Also starring some guy named Harrison Ford as a fellow student, Max Julien (from The Mack) as another, the late, great Gregory Sierra as one of Gould's students (he teaches an ESL like course) & Jeff Corey & Cecil Kellaway as teachers at the university.
Review of Getting Straight
