Tough (1974) User Reviews

Should be called 401 BLOWS

[jscottamy-2 · 7/10 · 19 March 2007]

To say that this is an homage to Trufaut's 400 BLOWS would be an understatement. It's a good thing that France never got the chance to see this movie - they'd be in an uproar. Despite that, Johnny Tough is a raw, honest portrayal of a kid with self-indulgent parents, a demeaning teacher and tons of other problems. I'd say he's got like 401 Blows (especially with that surprise ending. If your jaw doesn't drop when the girls go the bathroom, then you must be a psychic. The school scenes are surprisingly touching by the end - it's got to be one of the most real teacher scenes currently in cinema. Not sure when or if ever it will be on DVD, but it's a keeper.

Curio Piece of the early 1970s

[hillari · 5/10 · 23 July 2001]

Johnny is a mischievous kid. He tells the teacher he didn't get his homework done because his mother just died. Of course, the teacher finds out that Johnny's mother is very much among the living. Johnny's antics become much worse when he discovers his parents are having marital problems. This film is not shot well; most of it looks very amateurish. However, it is an interesting time capsule of African-American life in the early to mid 1970s.

A nice slice of the 70's black films.

[kaiart · 7/10 · 20 January 2005]

"He's bad...he's black...he's beautiful...and Tough! And that's no jive." I'm what you call a gifted film historian. Especially films of my era...the 70's. As shown, I can quote many films, the trailers, and the tag-lines. Another one from this was..."He'll steal your heart. He'sTough. Rated PG". I saw this when it was released with a double feature of "Together Brothers". Another rare black film. "Tough" was funny &dramatic with lessons to be learned. Remember when Johnny Tough's father made him spend the night in Jail? Then that tragicending. It makes you wonder today,"did the check bounce?". That's an old saying in Hollywood when a film suddenly ends with no explanation. they have to shut production down. I don't believe that was the case with "Tough". I miss the days when we had so many of our films to choose from that showcased a predominantly black cast. Who most times were "sticking it to the man"!

I remember leaving this movie, thinking "I better be good!"

[jttsmurf · 28 January 2004]

Oh boy, I was 10yrs when this movie came out, and played at the Capri Theatre in downtown Dallas, when streets were safe for little African-American kids to be left alone. I was too young to care about the cinematic flaws of the movie, but not too young to 'feel' the impact of the repercussions for being a bad kid!!! My friends and I talked about this movie for YEARS afterwards, and I'm sure, I had more than one reflective thought during my growth, that helped keep me out of trouble! Maybe the youth of today could do well by viewing this!!! So many people have never even heard of Johnny Tough!!!!

It Takes a Village to Raise a Child

[caspian1978 · 6/10 · 15 August 2020]

Johnny Tough is a unique movie for both 1974 and the Black-exploitation genre. At first, I assumed the movie would deal more on race than youth. I was wrong on both. Although the movie is centered around Johnny, the movie deals more with the parents and how they are not parenting. The typical media stereotype on the "black family" will showcase a single parent home with an absent Father with a lifestyle that is poor and a bad neighborhood. Here, we do not see any of this. Johnny lives in a good neighborhood, in a good house with plenty of food. Money is not an issue. Both parents live together as they are well dressed and well feed. Still, Johnny has troubles. The concept of parents not being parents is displayed. Just like Johnny's teacher, he is calling it in and doesn't want to be a teacher. He too has lost respect and isn't teaching anything other then telling his students to be quiet and not to move. Johnny's parents are either busy with their side hobbies or are too tired by the end of the day to be parents. It is this unique story line that is expressing the idea that it takes more than being present to be effective.

A rather clunky, but overall sincere and touching social drama

[Woodyanders · 8/10 · 27 September 2007]

Mischievous Johnny Banes (scrappy Dion Gossett) has an unfortunate knack for getting into all kinds of trouble: he smokes, lies, steals, rudely disrupts class, doesn't do his schoolwork, and even mugs an old guy for his money! Worse yet, Johnny's vain struggling actress mother Denise (nicely played by Sandy Reed) and hard-working insurance salesman stepfather Phil (a strong and likable performance by Renny Roker) spend more time squabbling with each other than they do with Johnny. Writer/director Horace Jackson concocts a somewhat clumsy, but well-meaning and insightful social drama that pertinently addresses how severe parental neglect contributes substantially to juvenile delinquency. Moreover, Jackson tosses in occasional "what the hell?" unexpected oddball moments: Denise gives Johnny a rubdown in a scene that's simmering with incestuous undertones and in one especially startling sequence a creepy pedophile assaults a little girl in a bathroom. The jolting downbeat ending packs a pretty potent punch, too. The kid actors are all appealingly natural (Gossett in particular impresses as the moody and unhappy Johnny). Rich Holmes is memorably hateful as stern history teacher Mr. Bishop. Dennis Coffey's funky, syncopated score and Mark Rasmussen's plain, no-frills cinematography further enhance the gritty realism of this moving and effective picture.