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By Stephen Islip - originally published in Feelin No Pain 5/99
Being a Johnny come lately on the Dion seen I catch up with things long after the release date. Such a case is the Wanderers.
I had the various artist soundtrack featuring 3 Seasons and 2 of Dions songs (yes those hits once again) and would have worn the vinyl off it a long time ago - if it wasn't a CD. But it was the soundtrack of a classical mystical age for me (early 60's New York) when I was still in shorts and the editor of this magazine was still in nappies. Not much that could be termed doo-wop - perhaps the aforementioned tracks at a stretch, but great pop music anyway.
Having collected just about everything worth collecting on the Dion seen, I turned to this 1980's released film now on video. I had been unexpectedly impressed with The Bronx Tail when I'd seen it out my local film club so why not see the Wanderers which covered the same period.?
The film review book I have gave it a high star rating so I sat down for what I thought was going to be a good evenings viewing? Was I in for a disappointment. The film seemed disjointed - a teen exploitation movie where things seemed to happen for no reason - guys joining other gangs - cartoon like characters - a typical Hollywood of the good guys triumphing over the bad at a football match, come fight. No mention of the rational behind the Wanderers name - but I could live with that.
Yes all the great soundtrack tunes were there, but that was its only redeeming quality. If desperate I'd rather watch another repeat on Fonz and the Happy Days team than go back to that movie.
However for all my negative reaction, it left me thinking there must be something there, so I started to hunt for the original book by Richard Price. It didn't help that my editor had a bookshelf groaning with different collectable versions of the book - I couldn't find any in second hand or new bookshop. Eventually I tracked down a flee-bitten well-read version in a public library (and it had a few more folded pages by the time I'd finished with it).
This time I was in for a treat - the book is about a group of kids who reflect their local Bronx culture by forming a gang, based on that famous Dion song. While there is no strong story line it's a lot closure to life, a series of individuals who sometimes congregate as a gang, facing life's events. Yes the football match / fight does occur but its not climatic and you're no more certain at its conclusion about who, if anyone, was the victor. To simplify things Hollywood had ripped people out of one gang and put then in others - now in the book I could see their true meaningful relationships.
The book also bought out the intimate relationship between the youth of the area and Dion - how his changes in style reflected growing maturity. It perhaps gave me some insight into the way New York people still regard their main man.
The film could only have made sense if you had read the book before and could paper over the cracks or alternatively spent your evening in the drive-in doing what some Wanderers do on the back seat!
So full marks to the Book and the soundtrack and send the video back to the bargain bin where I found it.
