Merolliv
I really wanted to like this movie. I feel terribly cynical trashing it, and that's why I'm giving it a middling 5. Actually, I'm giving it a 5 because there were some superb performances.
Andrei Pavlov
Please pay attention to the year when this movie was created - 1984. And it seems to be the very first review on IMDb about this film. This situation must be changed, especially now, when the DVDs with this masterpiece are available.There is one word to describe this movie: unbelievable. Do not know exactly how many times saw this movie but definitely more than thrice. If you like good music - you will not be disappointed, if you know Russian - you will be rolling on the floor with laughter, if you do not know a Russian word - you will still enjoy the natural acting, ridiculous characters, and peculiar songs. There are a lot of goofs in this movie but this is absolutely irrelevant. The movie is childish but at the same time clever and groovy.It is a pure example of what talent properly used can achieve. Some phrases (if you know Russian) will stay with you forever. The same is true to a number of scenes: Olya flying high on her wings of glory after being struck with a door by a "hooligan", two ever brawling girls with their way of imposing "ekibana" on Vasechkin, the super energetic fight of Petrov and Vasechkin against the real bad boy Gus (a nickname which actually means "goose"), the slow-motion sequence during the "drowsing" scene, the fictitious duel where you can see Vasechkin-"Pushkin", Petrov-"Lermontov" and Gus-"Dantes" (what a confrontation!), the picturesque scene on a cliff with Petrov tragically playing on a keyboard after Vasechkin's "grisly death", and so on. The real hooligan is a character indeed - in his shabby cowboy-like hat, bad temper, gym-shoes, peculiar intonation of speech, and old cheap guitar (its purpose is not to be played upon, but to fall with "clink!" and to hit somebody with "bang!").To watch this movie means to have a glimpse of a more or less perfect human life: all the characters are really nice people and kids (even the hooligan is not wicked by today's standards and is ready to get better and become a good and reliable person). The effect of this cool goodness can be compared to a gulp of fresh air.It seems that this movie can easily beat any other film for children or adults. Music, dialogue, acting, costumes - all is perfect. In 1983 there was another movie about Petrov and Vasechkin, which also was of the highest rate, but this one seems to surpass it in all aspects. Entertainment value is unlimited. It is not just "funny" - it is ridiculously childish and poetically clever at the same time. And don't forget the biting satire. The brain of the viewer will have a chance to think on it. Strong mixture.It is one of those few films, which you want so badly to be continued... But, alas, they end on a sour note. Have a look at Gus and Vasechkin at the end of the film - you can feel "the ruin of all children's hopes" and "a macabre return to the harsh reality". No "Forrest Gump" can drive me to serious tears, but the final frames of "Kanikuly..." can easily. There was never another screened adventure of the two "hoodlums". The innocent childhood was gone forever. What a pity! And one more thing: Mrs Tatyana Ostrovskaya deserves a separate praise for the perfect music score which keeps a good pace with the whole production and lets it fly so high that it's dizzy all right.The vote for the movie must be 10 out of 10. It is too good to be true, but it really exists. Thank you very much for attention.
