Out of the Blue (No Looking Back) (1981)

90% of critics liked it
(10 reviews)
78% of users liked it
(762 ratings)

Out of the Blue captures the turbulence of youth culture of the early '80s by presenting a three-person nuclear family that is about to implode. In a prologue, Don Barnes (Dennis Hopper), a school bus driver, is drunkenly distracted one day behind the wheel, resulting in a horrible accident. He… More Out of the Blue captures the turbulence of youth culture of the early '80s by presenting a three-person nuclear family that is about to implode. In a prologue, Don Barnes (Dennis Hopper), a school bus driver, is drunkenly distracted one day behind the wheel, resulting in a horrible accident. He comes home from a stint in prison to find his wife, Kathy (Sharon Farrell), hooked on drugs and his now-teenaged daughter, Cindy (Linda Manz), sullen and remote. Don's old buddies are a fun-loving bunch who work only to afford to get high and party, and he seems to be falling back into his old ways instead of getting straight and pulling his family out of their funk. The story focuses on Cindy's alienation from both her parents and most of her classmates. She's influenced by the energy and anger of punk music and considers her parents pathetic relics of the '60s counterculture. Hopper reportedly took over direction of the film after co-producer/co-writer Leonard Yakir departed the production. It was Hopper's first job behind the camera since The Last Movie, his legendary flop follow-up to Easy Rider. ~ Tom Wiener, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: R, 1 hr. 34 min.
Directed By: Dennis Hopper
Written By: Leonard Yakir, Brenda Nielson
Genres: Drama

In Theaters: Jun 1, 1982 Wide
Studio: Media Home Entertainment

Critic Reviews

Aaron Hillis, Village Voice
In the late Dennis Hopper's mind a better film than Bertolucci's Luna and his own Easy Rider, the actor-director's brilliant, still shockingly subversive 1980 cherry bomb is as sad and unsettling as dysfunctional-family dramas come.
J. Hoberman, Village Voice
A genuinely alarming miasma of misplaced sexuality and rock 'n' roll fetishism.
Richard Brody, New Yorker
Hopper's characters are in the realm of the irreparable; if the fervent acting occasionally overheats, the reckless emotions nonetheless convey the authentic struggle of personal experience.
Keith Uhlich, Time Out New York
Hopper keeps things light and off-the-cuff, allowing his performers free rein...
Joseph Jon Lanthier, Slant Magazine
Out of the Blue depicts us as strung-out survivors who symbolically punish our transgressors with ferocity and loud guitars.
Fernando F. Croce, CinePassion
"...And into the black
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
Provides a jolting lesson in its conclusion about sex, drugs, and rock music.
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat, Spirituality and Practice
A weird movie that is dark and draining.

Read all 8 critic reviews

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Eric B

"Out of the Blue" is almost fantastic. A key comeback project for Dennis Hopper, it was his third directed feature after the mega-hit "Easy Rider" and the mega-flop "The Last Movie." Neil Young's "Hey Hey My My" (Out of the Blue)" is… More
"Out of the Blue" is almost fantastic. A key comeback project for Dennis Hopper, it was his third directed feature after the mega-hit "Easy Rider" and the mega-flop "The Last Movie." Neil Young's "Hey Hey My My" (Out of the Blue)" is the film's theme song and apparently inspired the plot. The unique Linda Manz -- whose sporadic acting career is often lamented -- stars as CeBe (pronounced Cee-Bee), a confused teenage rebel. Her trollop mother Kathy (Sharon Farrell) is a diner waitress and junkie, while father Don (Hopper) is a former trucker coming off five years in prison. His crime: plowing his rig into a school bus while drunk. Multiple children died in the collision, and passenger CeBe still has nightmares. The film is mostly a character study and centers on CeBe, Kathy and their crummy town adjusting to Don's return. Kathy has been sleeping around and shooting up, while CeBe kills time idolizing Elvis Presley, listening to punk rock and bantering on the radio in Don's old truck (now rotting in the yard, overgrown with weeds). A lecherous friend has his eyes on both Kathy and CeBe, while a still-grieving father seethes about his son's freed killer. Don finds a job manning a bulldozer, but quickly succumbs to his old vices. Meanwhile, the family seeks help from a therapist portrayed by Raymond Burr, who seems to be acting in an entirely different movie. Beyond the incongruity of Burr's scenes, the film's biggest problem is character consistency. Kathy is a heroin addict, but remains quite attractive and seems to have no problem breezing through her day. And CeBe is a mass of contradictions that aren't easy to swallow. The problems start with petite tomboy Manz, who was 18 at the time but looks four years younger. Her character's emotional age also varies wildly -- she sucks her thumb and sleeps with stuffed animals, but also smokes and teases men like a jaded twentysomething. So, just how old is this girl? She's also a punk-rock fan with a Sid Vicious fascination (her happiest moment is an onstage appearance with real-life band the Pointed Sticks), yet she plasters her walls with sappy Elvis pin-ups and can't get enough of "Teddy Bear" (possibly his wimpiest hit). This is hard to fathom. Someone with her demonstrated instability should have some quirks, but such extreme contrasts don't ring true. However, the unforgettable ending sweeps these misgivings aside. Stick around.