It's set in New York City in 1968 and satirically follows the lives of three 20-something guys trying to avoid the military draft. The title, I assume, comes from the government's welcome phrase on the standard draft notice form of the day. "Greetings" is noted as an early Brian De Palma film and the first movie in which Robert De Niro had a starring role as a 25-year-old. It was profoundly shaped by the film work of the French filmmaker Jean-Luc Godard. It is also noted as the first American film to get an "X" rating.
The three guys are Jon Rubin (Robert De Niro), Lloyd Clay (Gerrit Graham), and Paul Shaw (Jonathan Warden). The film opens with a clip of President Lyndon Johnson defending the Vietnam War on television. Then we see Jon and Lloyd trying to coach Paul to avoid the draft by asking to speak to the army psychiatrist by pretending to be gay or a right-wing lunatic. This theme returns throughout the movie, and we learn the scheme failed, at least in the case of Jon.
Throughout the film, we learn of the other passions of the three men. Lloyd believes the Warren Commission has covered up the plot related to the Kennedy assassination. Paul keeps trying to get dates with women through a computer service. Jon is an amateur filmmaker who is trying to make a "peeper" film. The musical score is very 1960s pop style.
The film uses the language of the day in references to African Americans, gay men, and the Viet Cong. The many women in the movie are all objects. It also includes nudity, though not with the explicitness of many modern films. The producer claims the "X" rating came from a scene in which Lloyd tries to trace the path of the bullet that killed President Kennedy on a naked woman.
"Greetings" is a difficult film to rate. At many levels, it is still amateurish in style and production. For example, it was made in two weeks and cost all of $40,000. But, on the other hand, I believe it captures well the ethos of late-1960s America. And it is interesting to see very early work of people who became influential known in modern cinema.
The three guys are Jon Rubin (Robert De Niro), Lloyd Clay (Gerrit Graham), and Paul Shaw (Jonathan Warden). The film opens with a clip of President Lyndon Johnson defending the Vietnam War on television. Then we see Jon and Lloyd trying to coach Paul to avoid the draft by asking to speak to the army psychiatrist by pretending to be gay or a right-wing lunatic. This theme returns throughout the movie, and we learn the scheme failed, at least in the case of Jon.
Throughout the film, we learn of the other passions of the three men. Lloyd believes the Warren Commission has covered up the plot related to the Kennedy assassination. Paul keeps trying to get dates with women through a computer service. Jon is an amateur filmmaker who is trying to make a "peeper" film. The musical score is very 1960s pop style.
The film uses the language of the day in references to African Americans, gay men, and the Viet Cong. The many women in the movie are all objects. It also includes nudity, though not with the explicitness of many modern films. The producer claims the "X" rating came from a scene in which Lloyd tries to trace the path of the bullet that killed President Kennedy on a naked woman.
"Greetings" is a difficult film to rate. At many levels, it is still amateurish in style and production. For example, it was made in two weeks and cost all of $40,000. But, on the other hand, I believe it captures well the ethos of late-1960s America. And it is interesting to see very early work of people who became influential known in modern cinema.