Over the Edge (1979)

I really liked this movie! Three word description: justified teenage rebellion. Message: good recreation programs and parental attention are important for kids/teens to... not be delinquents.

Notes

• Always love a good rebellion
• Based on a true story
• Best / most rewarding scenes: the pre-riot (locking the ppl in the school), the auditorium meeting (especially when Carl's dad voices reality -- see below), and the riot itself.
• The crux -- the leaders in the community are obsessed with the productivity and appearance of the community (making it appealing to outsiders). They wonder why the teens/kids are misbehaving, and punish them by attempting to shut down their one recreation center. The recreation center had already been a thing that closes at 6pm even though the kids clearly have fun there and want to stay (this is an explicit scene). The movie opens with us seeing a bulletin that a new bowling+entertainment center was going to be built, but that they switched the plan to build a new industrial complex. With no recreation opportunities for the kids, and probably also with degrees of parental neglect (as emphasized in the auditorium scene when one of the teachers says none of the parents ever visit for the in-class viewing opportunities; maybe also neglect because most of the parents probably moved to this town for work), the kids end up congregating at night at dark playgrounds, or parties (one example of a party shown), drinking alcohol / doing drugs, doing vandalism, being violent with each other, other petty crime like stealing. It's clear to me that the movie is trying to say: give the kids recreation opportunities and they will engage with those rather than delinquency. It all builds up to the riot scene at the end, which feels like a great release of tension where hopefully it can bring a change in how the community is viewing the kids. Change is more likely because Carl's dad called out during the meeting that the leaders are only talking about making the community more industrially appealing, rather than actually paying attention to the needs of the kids, who are also a core part of the community. I think this is a seed that will grow, spread to other similar thinking adults, and lead to improvements.
• Similar feeling to The Outsiders at some points (teen violence + community)
• Many small moments+details that add up to really good writing