Some years ago, my daughter was ill and camped out on the couch in our living room watching television when the 1970s movie "Tommy" was being shown. Afterward, she passed some time writing a post about "Tommy" for her Xanga (I think that's what it was called). I didn't know she'd written anything about the movie until I happened upon her post. I got such a laugh out of it I kept a copy.
While searching for something on my computer today I found the old movie "review" and it still made me laugh.
I'm sure I've mentioned before that I home schooled my daughter k-12. As she begins her sophomore year of college this week, I've been waxing nostalgic quite a lot. I'm getting off track here... I'll just paste what she wrote, re-read it, remember that time in life, and laugh. Again. :)
Well, while I was sick on the couch this weekend I broadened my cultural knowledge by watching the 70s rock-opera “Tommy.” It was quite the educational experience – I’d never before realized just how disturbed people were in the 70s….
Unless you have a great love for 70s culture or rock music, there is no need to bother with this movie. If you’re curious what it’s about, I can pretty much outline it for you: Tommy becomes deaf, dumb, and blind after witnessing his stepfather murder his father (who was supposed to already be dead.) His mother and stepfather try many bizarre methods of curing him; including taking him to a group that wears masks and dances around a statue of Marilyn Monroe. He is abused by relatives. One night he wanders out his home and into a junkyard, where he happens across a pinball machine that is miraculously functioning despite the lack of electricity in the junkyard. Some mysterious strobe lights appear at this point too… I really don’t know how the junkyard could afford it all…. Anyway, it is discovered that the boy is a “pinball wizard” and makes millions for his family. Elton John appears at this point, wearing boots that are larger than he is. However, all the millions are no comfort to his mother because he is still deaf and blind. Thus, overcome with her grief, she shoves Tommy through a mirrored glass window, and he plummets into a pool below. He flounders as he sinks through the water, but suddenly he sees light above him! He is cured! (Note that he can now speak perfectly well, despite the fact that several years have passed since he had sight, hearing and speech) He and his family spend their millions to teach people about the life-changing power of pinball. But the people rebel and an angry mob begins smashing and burning the pinball machines (I thought my dad was going to begin weeping at this point. Ok, not really, but he commented on the waste of nice pinball machines. For those who don’t know, we have 3 in our basement) But the mob won’t stop until they’ve killed both of Tommy’s parents. Tommy himself escapes, and after placing his parent’s bodies together, he climbs a mountain and watches the sun rise, and the final “The End” screen pops up.
That, my friends is the movie in a nutshell. So if someday you’re bored and have a couple hours and several hundred brain cells to waste…. Well…. I’d still pick something else.
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