The '60s is an occasionally entertaining film, most of this entertainment is from laughing at the film. It is extremely uneven, and includes many annoying elements. Take for instance the switch between black & white, and color. If done right, this could of been fairly effective, but because it was done poorly , it turned into a nuisance and only detracted from the already bad experience; much of the film had an odd feel to it. The acting wasn't extremely bad for a made for TV flick, but then again it was downright embarrassing at other times. Many of the events were not coherent, and ending up being confusing. How did this family somehow end up being at many of the big events during the 1960's? The ending was much too sappy for my tastes; because it was hollywoodized, everything had to turn out right in the end. I would advise you to not waste your time on The '60s and do something else with your time. I'm glad I watched this in class, and not on my own time. I think I can safely say that the best part of the movie was the inclusion of Bob Dylan's music. Those are just my rambling thoughts on the flick. I hope you take my advice, and stay away from this.

For some strange reason, I end up finding this movie on VH1 when I have a long ironing session. It is entertaining enough to keep it on. Since I've watched it a couple of times, I thought it would be interesting to detail some of the less thought of continuity aspects of the series.I agree with most user comments regarding the lack of character development/screen time of the African American characters, especially Emmet. We find him rioting in South Central L.A. at the end of the first part, and ten minutes into the second part, he's a Jimi Hendrix look-alike in San Francisco. Ten minutes later, he's a Panther. We know the Herlihy's live happily ever after, but don't get any kind of closure from his character at the end. And what happened to the mother?Another puzzling detail is how Michael and Brian smoke pot using a rather large device inside the house, where their father (with his straightforward, military antics) could have easily found them. Sure, the girl gets kicked out for getting pregnant, but the guys can smoke on the kitchen counter. On non-continuity issues, Josh Hamilton looks way older than what the character calls for; he must have been already in his thirties when the movie was being shot. Jordana Brewster is actually in college now, making her 16 or 17 at the time the film was made. Ick. I didn't really feel any chemistry between them, and the dialogue had a high degree of cheesiness to it ("What did you forget?"... "My heart"... Oh please!)I think that NBC tried to cover as many bases as possible in four hours. It is debatable whether they should have dealt with fewer plotlines and events and try to make a better move, or whether it turned out okay to treat many circumstances with limited depth.

I enjoyed the plot, The cast did a great job. If you ever seen Woodstock. This is in your ball park. The soundtrack is just as good as the movie. Julia Stiles proves that she is a great actress, Jerry O'Connell once again has proven his talent as an actor. This is one not to miss. If you did you wish you hadn't.

I never actually thought anything could make me understand the police brutality that occurred during the Democratic Convention in 1968 in Chicago, but this one sure comes close. The awful human beings that rioted in the public parks, with their whining and their complaining and their drug use and violence seemed richly deserving of the things they got. If this movie is worth anything, it's instructive as to how history can be distorted to suit a particular kind of political and cultural agenda. It is very sympathetic to those for which little sympathy is deserved. It suits those who actually make these movies to try and justify the things that they largely did during the past, even thought the rest of the country didn't. The heroes of the movie end up being the villains, and those who grew up in luxury and refused responsibility or respect end up being the applauded. It's utterly mystifying. The characters involved here are cardboard, with high school drama dropouts as their creators. It's undeniably hard to create a movie that can depict and entire decade and its spirit, but this one not only fails, but seems like it's not even trying. Play some sixties rock music, show a menagerie of hippies, a melange of pot smoke, and a montage of video clips from a truly tortuous time. Take the advice of the insightful reviewer previously and read up on what happened during this time, the real events, the real issues. Bobby Kennedy wasn't a saint (he's actually the one who ordered Martin Luther King to be bugged while he entertained prostitutes), and Barry Goldwater wasn't the devil, nor the reverse--but it's hardly the way the makers of this swill would have people believe.