Genre: Musical/Drama/Comedy
Director: Michel Gondry
Writer: Lon Charles
Based on the stage musical and 1979 film
Cast: Harris Dickinson, David Corenswet, Lili Reinhart, Kerris Dorsey, Okieriete Onaodowan, Dylan Playfair, Patina Miller, Marc Blucas, Rihanna (cameo)
Plot: 1967. Claude Bukowski (Harris Dickinson) walks down a rural Oklahoma road until he gets to a bus stop. He stands there with his duffle bag until a bus arrives. The bus takes him all the way to New York City. He gets off and begins wandering the city, in awe of the large sky scrapers and wide variety of people. He finally finds himself in Central Park where a large hippie celebration is happening where a woman with flowers begins singing ("Aquarius"). He watches in astonishment as the hippies dance, completely free. A group of police officers on horseback eventually break up the gathering, scattering the hippies throughout the massive park. Claude continues walking through the park where he finds a group of hippies: George Berger (David Corenswet), Woof Daschund (Dylan Playfair), Hud Johnson (Okieriete Onaodowan) and the noticeably pregnant Jeannie (Kerris Dorsey) attempting to panhandle a trio of equestrian riders, including Sheila Franklin (Lili Reinhart). The riders rebuff the hippies. Berger is annoyed until he notices Claude watching. Berger then asks Claude if he has any change he can spare. Claude explains that where he comes from, Oklahoma, nobody is ever given money without working for it and earning it. Berger laughs at Claude's earnestness. Claude decides to give Berger a quarter he has in his pocket.
Berger and Woof gather up their change and rent a horse for an hour. They clearly don't know how to ride, but do their best sharing the back of the beast. They stumble upon the equestrians again and once again ask for money, when turned down, Woof begins heckling the ladies ("Sodomy"). Woof and Berger soon fall off the back of the horse and begin running after it. Claude watches as the equestrians ride past, making eye contact with Sheila. Claude manages to catch the runaway horse. He uses it to ride up to Sheila and the other riders and asks her name. She doesn't want to tell him. Claude begins riding circles around the ladies until she finally reveals her name. Claude thanks her and rides back to Berger and Woof to return their rented horse. Berger, in return for catching the horse for them, offers to show Claude around the city. Claude ponders the offer for a moment before accepting.
Berger and Woof take Claude back to meet the rest of their "tribe": Jeannie and Hud. The group rolls a joint and begins walking around the city streets as the sun begins setting ("Manchester England"). When some drunken sailors harass Hud, who has his arm around Jeannie, Claude confesses that there are no black people in his hometown, not that he has a problem with anyone's skin color. Berger asks Claude what he thinks of the Big Apple so far ("I'm Black/Ain't Got No"). The group goes back to the park to finish their joints and get some sleep. While taking a piss the next morning, Berger notices that the newspaper he's urinating on features a picture of Sheila and her family. Berger calls over Claude and points out the picture as he continues taking a leak. The article is about a big fundraiser the family is throwing. Berger decides that they should all crash the party that night.
The group all crash the party, but stick out like a sore thumb around the rigid, upper-crust types around them. Eventually Sheila notices Claude again and smiles at him, but knows better than talk to him in front of her family. When confronted about his lack of an invitation to the party, Berger jumps up on top of a table and begins singin ("I Got Life"). Eventually the police arrive and arrest Berger, Hud, Claude, Jeannie and Woof.
After their arrest, a judge informs the group that he is willing to release them, but only if they each pay a $50 fine. Otherwise they will be sent to a work camp for 30 days. Claude pulls a $50 bill out of his boot and goes to pay his own fine. Berger stops him and asks if Claude intends to just leave them all there to rot. Claude says he doesn't like the idea, but he has to leave to join the army in a couple of days, pulling out his draft card. Berger pleads with Claude to use the money to pay Berger's fine, assuring Claude that he can get his hands on $200 to bail everyone else out. Claude begrudgingly agrees and gives Berger the $50. Once they are taken into the jail, they try to cut Woof's long hair. He throws a wild tantrum, leading the guards to take him to see the jail's psychologist where Woof begins describing why he doesn't want to cut his hair ("Hair").
Berger tracks Sheila down and asks if she can pay the fine for Claude and the others. Sheila tells Berger that her family may be well-off, but none of the money is hers. Disappointed, Berger goes to see his parents where his father berates him for his long hair and lack of a job. As Berger is angrily leaving the house, his mother slips him a check for $200. Berger takes the check to the court house and pays the fine for the others.
The group attends a peace rally in Central Park where they convince Claude to try acid for the first time. Before the drug kicks in, Jeannie asks Claude if he would like to marry her. He's confused by the proposal since they just met. She points out that she is pregnant and they could tell the Army that Claude is an expectant father, then he wouldn't have to report given the draft rules. As Claude mulls over the proposal, Sheila arrives in the park to apologize for the group for her father calling the police on them. Claude begins freaking out from the acid and runs away from the group. Berger and Sheila try to find him, but have trouble in the crowd. The tribe searches for Claude well into the night, until they finally find him standing in a clearing by himself as the drug slowly starts to wear off. Berger notices a pond nearby. He strips off his clothes and leaps in. Hud and Woof join him. They call for the others to join them. Jeannie insists she is too pregnant for swimming. Claude joins and manages to convince Sheila to strip down and join them as well. While Claude and Sheila swim together, Sheila eventually notices that their clothes are no longer along the shore and that Berger, Woof and Hud are no longer in the pond as well. Sheila demands that Jeannie tell her where her clothes are. Jeannie laughs, but says she doesn't know exactly where she went. Sheila begins yelling at Claude. He tries to get her to calm down, but she is too angry and storms off. In the morning, Claude walks through the city alone ("Where Do I Go?"). He eventually reports to the draft board and is shipped off to Nevada for basic training.
That winter, Claude writes Sheila a letter from his Army barracks explaining what he is up to. She brings the letter to Berger and the others to share news of Claude. As Berger is devising a scheme to visit Claude in Nevada, they are visited by Hud's fiance, Dionne (Patina Miller), and young child that he left behind to join the hippie lifestyle. Dionne pleads with Hud to come back home with him ("Easy To Be Hard"). Hud storms off, but Berger manages to calm him down and get him to talk to Dionne. The group takes a car from Sheila's father's garage. As they are beginning to drive west, Hud asks Berger to make a stop to pick up Dionne and his kid. The car drives away from New York City.
After several days of driving, the group finally sees a sign welcoming them to Nevada ("Good Morning Starshine"). They arrive at the gates of the base, but are turned away by the MP officer manning the gate. Berger tries to explain that they just want to see their friend, but the guard tells Berger that he doesn't like the look of them and orders them to leave the area. That night, the group goes to a bar in town. They notice an Army Sergeant, Fenton (Marc Blucas), drinking alone at the bar. Berger convinces Sheila to go chat him up. Fenton asks Sheila to leave with him. She agrees and they leave and go out to his car where he begins trying to have sex with her. She tells him to stop, but he doesn't. Berger, Hud and Woof emerge and throw the man out of the car and kick him. They steal his car and uniform. Berger then announces that he has a plan.
In the morning, Jeannie is cutting all of Berger's hair off until he looks like a clean-cut military man in Fenton's uniform. Berger drives Fenton's car onto the base and is able to find Claude. Berger offers to swap places with Claude for the next head count so that Claude can see Sheila and others one more time before he's shipped off to the war. Claude thanks Berger and drives away from the base, leaving Berger in his place. Shortly after Claude slips away, the base becomes fully activated for immediate ship-outs for Vietnam. Berger is herded onto a plane to be shipped out. Claude arrives back at the base to find the barracks empty. He tries chasing after the plane in Fenton's car to get it to stop, but it is no good and the plane takes off with Berger on-board. ("The Flesh Failures").
Three years later, Claude, Sheila, Woof, Hud, Jeannie and Dionne all visit Berger's grave in Arlington National Cemetery. Claude cries, insisting that Berger's death is all his fault. Sheila comforts Claude and leads him away from the grave. Woof and Hud insist that Berger wouldn't want to be tearfully mourned, but rather celebrated ("Let the Sunshine In").
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