This is a rite of passage film and focuses on two young men at the time of Vietnam and their attempt at avoidance of the draft. There is insight into the strong political feelings of the college campus, including rioting. Keifer Sutherland plays the more sensitive, sensible one who looks out for Robert Downey Jr's more reckless personality. Robert Downey Jr.'s character experiments with drugs and nearly dies after an LSD trip. They spend some time 'on the road' meeting people from the hippy culture of the day. There is great music of the time throughout the film, including a wonderful track by Chrissie Hynde called 'The Windows of the World' at the end. The relationships between the two family groups and how they deal with the death of a son in the war, is poignant and truly depicts the era, culminating in the inevitability of the two young men having to become soldiers. This film captures the paranoia and heartbreak of the Vietnam era in America and shows how many of its people felt it was not their war. The acting is good, especially Bruce Dern as the greiving father and Keifer Sutherland. This is an excellent film, particularly for those of us who remember the 60's and the music.