Over the Edge

Synopsis of Movie

A perfect housing development means a perfect family, right? At least that’s what suburbia’s real estate agents will tell you. But in New Granada, a patch of cookie cutter homes dumped right in the middle of rural Colorado, the “perfect” formula didn’t quite hash out. Based on actual events, director Jonathan Kaplan (River’s Edge, The Accused) explores teen malaise in this 1979 drama about a troubled post-hippie era suburban community. Over the Edge is a portrait of disaffected but rebellious youth that are still fueled by the nearly expired fumes of social turmoil that ravaged the 1960's and early 1970's. Pull the dusty tube socks up and assemble your meanest sneer, because your mom’s going to barge in any second to turn down the Cheap Trick on your eight track. Ah man, it’s like clockwork.

Except for slouching around at the rec center and the odd vacant lot, there is absolutely nothing to do, legal or otherwise, if you’re a kid in New Granada. But the older generation doesn’t have it much easier-it’s not exactly a boom time in the suburbs right now. Sales at the Cadillac dealership are down; plans for the new bowling alley have officially been scrapped. The locals community leaders are wringing their hands about real estate prices, and the local sheriff is taking his (considerable) frustration out on the kids because he’s got nothing better to do.

But in his defense, these aren’t exactly Stepford kids: Mark lives in a junkyard, where his family consists of a mini-bike; Richie (Matt Dillon, in his film debut) is on probation, loves nothing more than a little verbal repartee with the sheriff, and is currently mentoring his best friend Carl in the art of the mouth-off as well. When the Kids and the Law finally tangle to the point of tragedy, concerned parents and community leaders hold a meeting in the school cafeteria, but are promptly locked inside while the mutinous youths run amok.

This was Orion Pictures' first release, and it took a gritty, deglamorized look at teenage life when grit wasn’t exactly status quo in the teen genre. It wasn’t all boredom and angst, of course - there was some of BB gunning and revelry, and that standout soundtrack with the likes of Cheap Trick, The Cars, Aerosmith and Van Halen. If nothing else, Over the Edge will remind you of growing up in the late 1970's, the clothing you wore, the people you knew and the way you talked.

Movie Release History

1979 - Over the Edge

Movie Sub Categories

live-action
drama

Movie Studio

Orion, Warner Bros.

Cast

Carl  Michael Eric Kramer
Cory  Pamela Ludwig
Richie  Matt Dillon
Mark  Vincent Spano
Claude  Tom Fergus
Doberman  Harry Northup
Fred Willat  Andy Romano
Sandra Willat  Ellen Geer
Cole  Richard Jamison
Julia  Julia Pomeroy
Johnny  Tiger Thompson
Tip  Eric Lalich
Abby  Kim Kliner
Party Host  Frank Mugavero
Lisa  Kristina Hanson
Marcy  Diane Reilly
Outlaw   Jeff Fleury
Sloan  Lane Smith
Johnson  Bill Whedbee
Principal Molly McCarthy
Science Teacher  Gary Tessler
Art Teacher  Polly Shaw
Lincoln  Mike Osborne
Hays  Frank Bauer
P.T.A. Officer  Susan von Till
Alan  Brian Parker
Tip's Mother   Irene Lalich
Richies Mother  Laura Brew-Sluder
Little Brother  Bert Benvenuti
School Kid   Bobby Johnson
School Kid  Dave Dent
School Kid  Jeff Stover
School Kid  Julia Gabriel
School Kid  Michael Jones
School Kid   Cindy Lockert
School Kid  Linda Beruie
School Kid  Paul Cowan

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