This
movie is one that went completely under the radar and it's sad that
there aren't more people that have seen it, because it's actually
quite good. The In Crowd is quite dramatic and serious at times, yet
still fun and seems to capture the period that it's set in quite
convincingly. I'm a fan of
Donovan Leitch, but I didn't find this one through my infamous bad
habit of IMDB trawling. I've probably seen this movie
about fifteen times since my childhood - it was one of my older sisters
favourite rentals from our local store. I recently tracked
down a VHS copy from the UK and made her a DVD, since an official
release isn't likely, probably due to the cost of licensing the
soundtrack, and that Sony never seem to take a chance on movies like
this, and it's rotting away in their acquired Orion/MGM library.
 Del
is what I would imagine your typical male american teen would have been
like in the 60's. He's smart, middle class, from a nice
family - but he just doesn't seem content to believe this is all there
is to life. He rushes home every day to watch "Perry Parker's
Dance Party" which is a locally based dance show, and fancies himself
quite the talented dancer as well. He would give anything to dance on
Perry's show, especially if
it gave him an opportunity to dance with Vicki, the show's beautiful
blond lead dancer. Unfortunately for him, security outside the studio
never lets anyone in. But Del knows it's meant to be and tells his
friends at school that he will find away. His friend (and next door
neighbour) Gail doesn't believe a word of it and tells him if he can
get on Perry's show she'll clean his room for him...naked.
Del decides to go down to the studio, and manages to distract
security
just long enough to get in and finds the dancers preparing for their
show. No one seems to notice that he hasn't been there before. Perry
arrives to inspect the dancers, and as usual, Vicki is late. When she
gets there Perry is informed that her dance partner (and boyfriend),
the leather wearing, motorcycle riding, and not so bright wild kid
Doogan has been arrested meaning Vicki needs someone to dance with.
Fearing a beating at the hands of Doogan, the other dancers decline the
offer leaving Del to announce that he will dance with Vicki. Being the
new dancer AND dancing with the star get's Del a lot of attention from
the audience and the cameras, much to the annoyance of the other
dancers, who give him a hard time.
 Del
and Vicki continue to dance together as the weeks progress and
eventually the other dancers begin to accept him even though Del still
feels like he is different and doesn't quite belong. Doogan has been
kicked off the show due to his criminal behaviour, but Vicki still
wants to see him, and she asks for Del's help so that she can. Vicki's
father is a cop, and can't stand Doogan, but when she gets Del to start
picking her up, he is none the wiser to where she really is. Although
it breaks Del's heart to help Vicki be with someone else, he still does
it anyway, just to see her happy.
But it isn't long before Del tires of the arrangement and wants out.
But Perry Parker can see that the chemistry between his two star
dancers could translate into ratings and help his struggling show which
unbeknownst to anyone else, is dangerously close to being cancelled. He
stages a publicity event where Vicki and Del pose for wedding photos
and dance with their fans. When Del approaches a young girl in a leg
brace and asks her to dance, Vicki sees a side of Del she really likes,
and all of a sudden Doogan is out of the picture.
 Del
and Vicki enjoy spending their time together. She helps him loosen up
and have more fun, while he tries to help her broaden her horizons and
read some books, which she seems unsure of. Del comes home one night to
find Doogan had broken in and was waiting for him inside his house. He
tells Del that he's better than him and that he's going to be a star.
He's going to go to Hollywood and he's taking Vicki with him. Del tries
to tell Doogan that she is done with him and it's not going to happen,
but Doogan refuses to accept what Del says, telling him that he and
Vicki are different people to Del, and that there is no room for her in
his life. Unfortunately for Del, he discovers that Doogan is right,
when Gail and their other friends embarrass Vicki during dinner because
she is not as intelligent as them. Vicki is distraught and flees the
restaurant returning to see Del the following day at his school to
explain that she has decided to leave with Doogan. She ask Del to help
her sneak past her parents one last time.
 That
night, the show is cancelled, and Vicki and Del share their last dance.
He sneaks her out to meet up with Doogan and she tells him she never
got a chance to read his book, A Tale of Two Cities, and asks what it
is about. He tells her that it is about them, and their current
situation to which she exclaims that then it is her favourite book. She
leaves Del behind to deal with everything that has happened, but he
realises all is not lost when Gail shows up the following day in a
mini-skirt with a Bob Dylan record having finally discovered rock &
roll.
This is a nice movie and has always been pretty high up my list of
favourites, and while it doesn't have the usual fluffly happy ending
that I particularly enjoy, I still think it ends pretty much exactly
where it should. Del didn't fit in Vicki's world the same as she didn't
fit in his, and this film portrayed that very cleverly. The music,
outfits and scenery were awesome and it's a shame this movie didn't get
more exposure. It was unfortunately released not long after Hairspray
and completely overshadowed by it.
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Year: 1988
