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Plot

Intrigued by the counterculture tale of Arlo Guthrie's epic 1968 talking-blues record The Alice's Restaurant Massacree, director Arthur Penn, co-scripting with playwright Venable Herndon, adapted the song into the 1969 feature Alice's Restaurant. Hippie outsider Arlo (Guthrie, playing himself) encounters suspicion from the straight world; visits his dying father, renowned leftist activist/singer Woody Guthrie (Joseph Boley), in the hospital along with friend Pete Seeger; and hangs out in the title converted church/commune created by his friends Alice (Pat Quinn) and her husband Ray (James Broderick). After Alice's "Thanksgiving dinner that couldn't be beat," Arlo is arrested for littering by rule-following Officer "Obie" Obanhein (William Obanhein, playing himself). That littering arrest helps Arlo avoid the Vietnam draft, but the commune is threatened after more personal, old-fashioned conflicts over sex and partnerships permeate Alice and Ray's alternative world.
MPAA Rating:
R
Genre(s):
Comedy,Drama
Run Time:
111min.
Theatrical Release Date:
11/12/2000
DVD Release Date:
01/23/2001
Distributor(s):
Fox
Director(s):
Arthur Penn
Starring:
Arlo Guthrie , Pat Quinn , James Broderick , Michael McClanathan , Geoff Outlaw
Themes:
Innocence Lost,Generation Gap,Eccentric Families,Bohemian Life
Tone:
Bittersweet,Deliberate,Irreverent,Matter-of-Fact,Quirky,Stylized
Keywords:
arrest,commune,counter-culture,father,flower-children,generation-gap,hippie,litter,military-draft
Language:
English