"Wild in the Streets" is a film about the youth of American rising up to take political power via a reduction in the voting age. It was released in the 60s and reflects some of the issues of its time.Today, the messages of the youthful upstarts might be seen as similar to the confused political fledglings referred to now as millennials. But the film is a parody of the counterculture--those who wanted more than change, they wanted revolution. In the 60s, many objected to the fact that 18-year-olds could be drafted but could not vote. Christopher Jones plays the role of Max Frost, a megalomaniacal rock star who energizes American youth--and some older members of the establishment who want to benefit from younger voters--to push for a younger voting age--somewhere between fourteen or eighteen.The film imagines what might happen if such a movement took hold and gained power. It shows Frost as a near-dictator whose power corrupts him. He is without a conscience and he indulges his every whim. Frost also is immature (surprise!). And as a member of the counterculture, he endorses the use of hallucinatory drugs and the disbandment of all institutions of authority.Though the film offers some moments of sharp insight, it mostly feels like it was written by a writer who himself was under the influence. And in the end, it is no more relevant regarding youth culture and politics than "Bye Bye Birdie".The ending is anticlimactic and ham-handed--hoping to deliver a pithy insight that it undercuts by final scenes that are amateurish.

The prevailing youth culture of America in the 1960s certainly had tremendous impact, as noted in this interesting social / political satire courtesy of writer Robert Thom. Christopher Jones plays a young man who yearned to break free of his strict upbringing, and became a leading rock star and counterculture figure, rechristening himself "Max Frost". He becomes a voice for the kids of the nation, and youthful looking career politician Johnny Fergus (Hal Holbrook) figures to capitalize on this. Fergus reasons that any person old enough to be drafted into military service is at least old enough to deserve the right to vote. Their relationship bears some strange fruit, with Frost letting power completely go to his head.While very much a film of its time, "Wild in the Streets" does capture a pivotal point in the pop culture evolution. It's an amusing and reasonably intelligent examination of the generation gap, which was even more pronounced in past decades than it is now. Kids didn't have a voice, anybody to speak for them, or individuals to relate to. And adults just assumed that they knew best; that experience was all that really mattered. The characters here are stereotypical, by and large, but that is entirely the point. When Frost and his followers - whom he calls his "troops" - get into power, things change to a radical degree, with official law enforcement organizations like the FBI and CIA seeming to become obsolete.The music is, for the most part, quite catchy and groovy. The cast is impressive all the way down the line. Jones has some charisma going for him, and Richard Pryor is fun as his drummer, although the latter doesn't really get much opportunity to be funny. The young generation is extremely well supported by veterans such as Shelley Winters and Bert Freed (as Frosts' parents), and Ed Begley (as an angry senator). Co-star Millie Perkins, who plays Fergus's wife, was married to screenwriter Thom at the time."Wild in the Streets" may seem dated to some viewers now, but back in 1968 I can believe that a story of its kind would have great appeal to its audience.Seven out of 10.

I grew up in the sixties and even though I was 8 years old when this was made, I still remember the song "14 or Fight" and all that was happening during that time.Definitely the drugs and clothes and music are true to the time period and the movie is more of a Docudrama than anything else.The young people of the late sixties knew what a potential threat they were to their elders. I believe it was their raising to respect their elders that kept the ideas presented in this movie from actually coming about.Today or I should say when Bill Clinton was President, the idea of lowering the voting age to 14 was again raised as an issue that needed consideration.I have read here that people would like to have this movie, I can give information how you can get it in very good quality! Email me atjcenso at hotmail dot com

Naive political rabble-rouser from A.I.P. has sexy pop star Christopher Jones elected President of the United States after the voting age is lowered to 14. Screenwriter Robert Thom, working from his short story "The Day it All Happened, Baby", addresses heady issues but in a campy manner, skimping on anything too harrowing for the sake of the cartoonish handling. Thom also leaves out a major part of the story (the voting process) in favor of an 'ironic' sub-plot which parallels a chapter of World War II! The picture does look good and sound good, and it has fine acting from Jones, Shelley Winters as his mother, Diane Varsi, Millie Perkins and, in a bit, Richard Pryor. **1/2 from ****