Customer Reviews

Between the Lines [VHS]

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As the years roll on, some movies become poignant time capsules. "Between the Lines," Joan Micklin Silver's 1977 ode to the dying world of underground newspapers, is such a nostalgic trip.

I first saw the film at a revival theater and have never forgotten it, owning a VHS copy for many years. Silver, a terrific director who helmed Hester Street (1975), Head Over Heels (aka Chilly Scenes of Winter) (1979) and later Crossing Delancey (1988), was at the height of her unique powers when she made this touching independent film. A cast of budding stars participate in her Altman-like ensemble including John Heard, Jeff Goldblum, Bruno Kirby, Linsday Crouse, Stephen Collins, Joe Morton, Jill Eikenberry, Gwen Welles, Raymond Barry and Lane Smith. It was the beginning spark of strong and durable careers for these actors, some of whom have now sadly passed on. We see surviving cast members today with gray hair and crow's feet, melancholy reminders of time passing us by.

"Between the Lines" is based on a screenplay by Fred Barron, who worked at several newspapers during the 1960s. With great authenticity, the film details a closing era of The Mainline, an independent Boston rag similar to New York's The Village Voice. It's staffed by multiple holdovers from the 1960s, writers and editors trudging through 1977 disillusionment with varied dreams of the future. The threat of corporate takeover hangs in the air and its greatest writer, Harry Lucas (John Heard), stumbles through uninspired articles, missing deadlines more often than not.

The comedic mood is set early during an editorial meeting when writers discuss the upcoming issue. Adorned in uniforms of the era - faded jeans, scuffed tennis shoes and wrinkled t-shirts - tired staff members spout wisecracks while hissing at a nerdy ad executive. Having worked on a college newspaper, I can personally say The Mainline offices are wonderfully authentic, with cramped rooms, messy desks bumping into each other and walls covered with old posters. Cultural eccentrics, like the menacing performance artist (Raymond Barry), are usually hanging around to be interviewed. And there's always a philosophical division between the advertising and editorial departments.

At The Mainline, intimate relationships have developed over the years, with Lucas having an on-again-off-again affair with staff photographer Abbie (Lindsay Crouse) and haughty author-to-be Michael (Stephen Collins) living with reporter Laura (Gwen Welles). With other editorial members in tow, they meet out for drinks and dinner (also accurate) and discuss story ideas and the future. There's also a staff rookie (Bruno Kirby) trying to break into the business. At times, these writers reminiscence about the glory days of Vietnam War protests and expose articles and you realize that "Between the Lines," along with Return of the Secaucus 7 (1980) and later The Big Chill (1983), was one of the first films to detail the disillusionment of the 1960's generation.

These dramas play out in a single night as staff members attend a record release party for Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes All I Want Is Everything: The Best of Southside Johnny & the Asbury Jukes, the energetic bluesy rock band that perfectly symbolizes the time. Couples argue by the cigarette machine, staff members dance in wild varieties of gyrations and there's even some unexpected bed-hopping. They awake the next morning to sadly discover The Mainline has sold out. The corporate rep arrives in the form of the rigid Roy Walsh (Lane Smith) and suddenly, an era has come to an abrupt end as outspoken writers are fired and rebellion is suppressed. Welcome to the corporate world.

The performances are uniformly strong, with Goldblum hilarious as rock critic Max Arloft. Crouse and Welles leave memorable impressions as long suffering girlfriends. Eikenberry is especially appealing as the free-spirited receptionist who refuses to compromise her ideals.

Watching the concluding scenes of "Between the Lines," as various editorial staff members reluctantly move towards new lives, one can't help but feel a profound sense of nostalgia. With the advent of the Internet, newspapers across the country are disappearing. "Between the Lines" is a document of a time when underground newspapers were vibrant scenes of creation. The film perfectly captures so many aspects of this American era - the dying gasp of the 1960s, the nonconformity of newspaper staffs, the electricity of youthful romance, beginning pangs of feminism - that it serves as a near-perfect scrapbook. I'm sad this gem of a movie has essentially been forgotten. "Between the Lines" is a great discovery, and one of the most enjoyable films you've never heard of.

I haven't seen this film since it was first run and I was pleasantly surprised over how well it has aged and how good it actually is. It is something of an undiscovered gem, as I don't think it was all that available since the late 1970's. As period films go, it's surprisingly accurate, having worked at an Underground newspaper in the late 1960's, and for a film dealing with this period of time, that's crucial and I have seen it go wrong more than once. A lot of appearances by then-unknowns who went on to enjoy successful careers. All-around a very enjoyable film with many repeat viewings.

I'll let you in on a little secret from 1977...I had a HUGE crush on "Between the Lines" star, Lindsay Crouse, 33 years ago, and it colored my feelings about the film. Looking back on it, now, this nostalgia piece about the last days of a counterculture Boston newspaper isn't as successful at capturing the underground mood as "The Big Chill", "Return of the Secaucus Seven", or even the 1983 comedy, "Get Crazy", but seeing so many familiar faces early in their careers is actually even greater nostalgic fun, today (and I still think Crouse is gorgeous in the film, and today!)

Directed by Joan Micklin Silver ("Crossing Delancey"), the story is loose, and, apparently, frequently ad-libbed, and opens with the legendary pug features of Michael J. Pollard, hawking papers on a Boston street. While his role is small, he makes each moment count! Among the other staff members are John Heard ("Home Alone"), a burned-out, once-great reporter; Jill Eikenberry ("L.A. Law"), a free-spirit receptionist with a 'stash'; the late Bruno Kirby ("City Slickers"), a young, naive rookie; the late Gwen Welles ("Nashville"), a reporter totally manipulated by her self-serving, selfish writer/boyfriend (Stephen Collins, "7th Heaven"); Jon Korkes ("Oz"), the laid-back managing editor; Lewis J. Stadlen ("Minnie's Boys", "The Sopranos"), the annoying advertising manager, with a smarter, hipper employee (Joe Morton, "Eureka"), Jeff Goldblum ("Jurassic Park"), the always broke, likable, if smug music critic (a tune-up for his similar role in "The Big Chill"), and Crouse ("Buffy, the Vampire Slayer"), a wise, funny ace photographer (and Heard's ex-girlfriend). The staff (besides Stadlen) is unaware that their paper is being sold to a media mogul (the late Lane Smith, "Lois and Clark"), and that their era is ending, which gives their angst and attempts to find new directions in their lives increased poignancy. These are simply overgrown kids, in many ways, who lived on the cutting edge in the late sixties and early seventies, but never matured past that era, ill-equipped for a less radical world as the seventies were drawing to a close (I don't know HOW they'd have survived a new Millenium!).

That the entire cast continued successful careers after "Between the Lines" is a testament to the level of acting talent assembled (and watch for "Taxi's" Marilu Henner in a small, but well-played role as a stripper). A few years ago, I got a kick seeing Heard and Crouse play a married couple on "Law & Order", twenty years after their pairing in "Between the Lines"...they still had that wonderful chemistry!

"Between the Lines" isn't a 'great' film, but I think it's well-worth a spot on your shelf!

VESTRON VIDEO's tape of BETWEEN THE LINES has HiFi sound and sharp image. Recorded in SP mode.

The story's average and a bit slow in spots. Highlight of this late-70s picture is a cast of then-unknowns, many of whom went on to major film careers in the 80's. Set in Boston, it's the story of The Mainline, a once underground counter-culture newspaper that has since grown staid, despite its continued independence from corporate control.

The staff consists of malcontents, eccentrics, the untalented, overachievers who've now sunk into mediocrity and those looking to go elsewhere. There's a universally despised ad salesman (Lewis J. Stadlen, best known as Groucho Marx in the 1970 Broadway production of MINNIE'S BOYS), a long-haired kid who can't seem to find something worth writing about (Bruno Kirby looking remarkably hairy), the office panhandler and good time Charlie (Jeff Goldblum with comic persona in place), and the weirdo streetcorner news vendor (Michael J. Pollard hasn't enough to do here).

In addition we have two feuding couples, an owner-publisher who denies he's selling out to a news conglomerate, the old blues band Southside Johnny & the Asbury Jukes, and in the very last scene a cameo by National Lampoon magazine's Doug Kenney. Enjoy the fresh faces in this dated trip through the post-Hippie era.


As of 2/09, "Between the Lines" was not available on DVD.

Related item:
ALMOST FAMOUS (2000) is the semi-biopic of Russell Hammond, a 15-year-old who manages to get on the staff of Rolling Stone magazine. (VHS edition) (DVD edition)


Parenthetical number preceding title is a 1 to 10 viewer poll rating found at a film resource website.

(6.8) Between the Lines (1977) - John Heard/Lindsay Crouse/Jeff Goldblum/Jill Eikenberry/Bruno Kirby/Stephen Collins/Lewis J. Stadlen/Michael J. Pollard/Marilu Henner