Cooley High

VHS, PG, 107 minutes, MGM

Often called 'the black American Graffiti' -- but with "far more vitality and more variety" (The New York Times), "Cooley High" takes a nostalgic, poignant -- and hilariously funny -- look at black teen life in 1960's Chicago. It's 1964. JFK has just been assassinated. Martha & The Vandellas, Little Stevie Wonder and The Four Tops rule the airwaves. And two high school students discover themselves -- and the taste of freedom -- for the first time. Preach (Glynn Turman), a serious-minded writer, and his best friend Cochise (Lawrence-Hilton Jacobs), a basketball hero headed for college, are best friends at Cooley High. Together they cut classes to go to the zoo, crash parties, put the hustle on some hustlers and dream about getting out of their impoverished, rough neighborhood. But when an innocent joy ride makes them the targets of two vengeful hoods, their already uncertain futures seem even further out of reach. Featuring a "well-handled mix of comedy and drama with a soundtrack of Motown gold" (Blockbuster Entertainment Guide) and a "universal appeal" (Los Angeles Times), "Cooley High" is "the best American comedy so far this year" (Village Voice)!. Digital Video Transfer, 1975.