''Out'' (also known as ''Deadly Drifter'') is a 1982

satirical Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming or e ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

directed by Eli Hollander. The film is based on

Ronald Sukenick Ronald Sukenick (July 14, 1932 – July 22, 2004) was an American writer and literary theorist. Life Sukenick was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, where his father was a dentist. He graduated from Midwood High School and Cornell University ...

's 1973 novel ''Out''. It stars

Peter Coyote Peter Coyote (born Robert Peter Cohon; October 10, 1941) is an American actor, director, screenwriter, author and narrator of films, theatre, television, and audiobooks. He worked on films such as '' E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial'' (1982), '' Cr ...

O-Lan Jones O-Lan Jones (born May 23, 1950) is an American actress, composer, and theater producer. She played religious fanatic Esmeralda in ''Edward Scissorhands''. Early and personal life Jones was born in Los Angeles, California. Her first name comes ...

, and

Danny Glover Danny Lebern Glover (; born July 22, 1946) is an American actor, film director, and political activist. He is widely known for his lead role as Roger Murtaugh in the ''Lethal Weapon'' film series. He also had leading roles in his films include ...

. The movie tells the tale of Rex (Coyote) roaming the U.S. doing various assignments for a mysterious group of "urban guerrillas" they call "Our Friends". In each meeting the person or persons designated "It" carries a hidden stick of dynamite. Director Eli Hollander summarizes the film, "A subtitle of it could be 'From Yippie to Yuppie'. And the '80s are certainly the age of yuppies. The film does kind of chronicle the history of the transformation from the '60s into the '80s."

Synopsis

The film is about a team, known as "Our Friends", searching for the "Old Man", who is dying. Their trip across the U.S. takes many twists and turns along the way, as is depicted through the eyes of the main character, Rex/Harrold, who ultimately questions society. Whales are part of his ultimate revelation.

Structure

The film is structured in a 10 part journey/road film across America from the East to the West. The characters appear and disappear, morphing into other personalities and often using lines from previous scenes, thus the film, though linear, is a cyclic story. The movie was immortalized by

's heartrending lines "allow simmer" and "you can't have the schleung".

Cast

as Rex * O-Lan Shepard as Nixie / Dinah * Jim Haynie as Carl / Tommy / Optometrist * Grandfather Semu Haute as Empty Fox *

Scott Beach Scott Beach (January 13, 1931 – February 13, 1996) was an American actor, writer and DJ, best known for his performance in the 1960s-themed 1973 film ''American Graffiti''. Life and career Born Alvin Scott Beach, he appeared in numerous m ...

as Sailor *

as Jojo / Roland * Michael Grodenchik as Arnold / Boy * Gail Dartez as Trixie / Girl

References

External links

* * * * "Out in Plain Sight", Brett Taylor, ''

Paracinema Paracinema is an academic term to refer to a wide variety of film genres out of the mainstream, bearing the same relationship to 'legitimate' film as paraliterature like comic books and pulp fiction bears to literature. Definition In terms of tast ...

'' #11, December 2011. 1982 films American independent films Films based on American novels Troma Entertainment films 1980s English-language films 1980s American films {{indie-film-stub