This movie holds a special place in my heart. I watched it for the first time in high school with one of my best friends. We spent our college years endlessly quoting it to each other. I revisit it every few years, and always take away something new. It's wonderfully acted, and brilliantly edited and shot. It perfectly captures that bittersweet moment when youth ends and adulthood begins. Its swagger hides a teal vulnerability and melancholy. Really a lovely little film.

I never heard of this film until my college roommate told me to check it out. I didn't find the movie overly hilarious in its humor department or overly dramatic in its drama sections BUT I really enjoyed this movie. It's entertaining enough where I didn't feel robbed watching it and it will definitely be a movie I will watch again.The story is fun and interesting, Kevin Costner is great in his role and, for a directorial debut, it's pretty damn fantastic.The movie has its obvious problems but I never found them to be to distracting from the heart of the story that involved some friends trying to escape the reality of being drafted into a war that will forever be remembered as the one where Lt. Dan lost his legs.Despite some issues, the movie is fairly decent and even has some pretty cool airplane stunts in it that would, in today's age, probably be achieved with computer effects. Overall, I enjoyed this one.

I first saw this movie as a young, nine or ten year-old impressionable kid, so there are some sentimental attachments to this. This movie is very clever. As a comedy, it's amazing; some of the ideas (the parachute scene, for example) are absolutely genius. On top of all this is an amazing soundtrack, in which each song fits each scene eerily beautifully. When I first saw this movie I had just started guitar lessons and was leaning toward hard rock. This movie turned me on to some other heavy, tear-jerker type songs in "It's too late" (Carole King) and "Can't find my way home" by Blind Faith. Beautiful stuff. One of the few Elton John songs I like, "Saturday night's alright" as well as "Spooky" are perfectly placed. But nothing is placed as perfect as Pat Metheney's "It's for you". Now, I was a hard rocker and had only heard of Metheney when I saw this. This tune is so beautiful and haunting on it's own, and where it is in the movie, I almost dare you not to cry. Someone I know thought the movie was also sad, so it'ts unique. I would still classify it as a comedy more than anything. Funny stuff.

In one of the great performances of all time Kevin Costner stars as the doomed,James Dean obsessed gardener Barnes.His future all but void as he finishes(not graduates)the university of Texas,Mr.Burns(as Truman Sparks calls him)assembles his crew of groovers for the last best road trip of their lives.The movie's loaded with suspension of disbelief flaws and overdone,kinda hackneyed symbolism.Take for instance,the skydiving sequence as an example of both.Or the fireworks shootout at the graveyard as an example of the latter.Or the impromptu wedding ceremony that closes the film...actually no.Completely unforgettable,that scene.When Gardener realizes his best friend really is marrying his one true love,that he really is past the best days of his life,wow.The unflappable Gardener tells Phil(Judd Nelson) at one prior point that all love mostly is,is "thoughts".He'll never grow old enough to realize how wrong he is.what an amazing character,that you love with all his flaws.Just like this movie.