When all is said and done, this is really a rather pointless film. Not much happens except for Heavenly Blues' (Peter Fonda) biker gang going on a tear from the opening scenes to the final denouement. This would include a dust up with a bunch of Mexican garage mechanics, a wild canyon party, the near total destruction of a community church, and a brawl against villagers who come out to witness a funeral procession. That funeral, by the way, is for Bruce Dern's character, Joe 'Loser' Kerns, who's hospitalized after being chased and shot by cops in a motorcycle chase. You can pretty much surmise the IQ quotient of Heavenly's San Pedro Angels wasn't very high, as they kidnap Joey from his hospital bed with an IV hooked up to his arm. Considering he was just about on the way out without interference, this was bound to put him under for good.
If it's even possible, the second half of the film is even more disgusting than the first, as Joey's corpse is given the "Weekend at Bernie's" treatment, removed from his coffin and propped up to oversee the wild melee that breaks out at the church service. Joey's gal Gaysh (Diane Ladd), understandably upset over his death, is actually grabbed by a couple of biker thugs and a simulated rape occurs off screen in what has to be one of the most degrading sequences you're likely to experience in a picture. I can't imagine what was going through anyone's mind associated with this picture, but as I write this sentence, it's pretty evident that not much of anything was going through anyone's mind. As if adding insult to injury, Bruce Dern's character had the same name as a high school classmate of mine who became a good friend, although his last name was spelled 'Kearns'. He passed away quite a number of years ago, probably without knowing that a namesake appeared in a grotesque biker flick.
If it's even possible, the second half of the film is even more disgusting than the first, as Joey's corpse is given the "Weekend at Bernie's" treatment, removed from his coffin and propped up to oversee the wild melee that breaks out at the church service. Joey's gal Gaysh (Diane Ladd), understandably upset over his death, is actually grabbed by a couple of biker thugs and a simulated rape occurs off screen in what has to be one of the most degrading sequences you're likely to experience in a picture. I can't imagine what was going through anyone's mind associated with this picture, but as I write this sentence, it's pretty evident that not much of anything was going through anyone's mind. As if adding insult to injury, Bruce Dern's character had the same name as a high school classmate of mine who became a good friend, although his last name was spelled 'Kearns'. He passed away quite a number of years ago, probably without knowing that a namesake appeared in a grotesque biker flick.