The Outsiders (1983)

Two Geeks and a GIT Classic Movie Reviews

It's a listener-suggested pairing! A friend of Chad's thought we should do a pairing focusing on the work of Matt Dillon, and so we have! First up, one of those books so many of us were assigned to read in junior high school or high school, made into a film featuring a bevy of soon-to-be megastars. Directed by none other than Francis Ford Coppola, 1983's "The Outsiders," based on the classic S. E. Hinton novel, tells the story of a group of greasers in the mid 60s, living their lives and trying to cope with the antagonisms of the Socs (pronounced "soshes"), a group of rich kids who think the greasers are not fit to walk the same ground. The film stars C. Thomas Howell as Ponyboy Curtis, Robe Lowe (in his first cinematic role) as Ponyboy's older brother Soda Pop Curtis, Patrick Swayze as Darrel Curtis, the oldest brother, Ralph Macchio as Johnny, Matt Dillon as Dallas, Emilio Estevez as Two-Bit, Tom Cruise as Steve, and Diane Lane as Cherry Valance. The biggest "star" in the cast, at least at the time, was Leif Garrett who played Bob Sheldon, the leader of the Socs. The film also featured appearances from Tom Waits, Sofia Coppola, Darren Dalton, and a cameo by S. E. Hinton herself!