Hopper had long been a wild man in his private life, but in 1969's EASY RIDER, he put himself in the position of being a voice of the counterculture. In FLASHBACK, a surprising comedy from director Franco Amurri and writer David Loughery, he plays off that image in the role of Huey Walker. Walker is an Abbie Hoffman-esque rebel from the 60's. Though he spoke out a lot against the establishment, he's best known for a prank he pulled on then-Vice President Spiro Agnew (when Agnew was on a train, Walker pulled out the screw separating Agnew's car from the rest of the train, so when the train left, Agnew was stranded), a prank the FBI has been looking to bust him on ever since. Finally, 20 years later, after an anonymous phone call, Walker is picked up in Spokane, Washington, and John Buckner (Kiefer Sutherland), a young, clean-cut FBI agent, is assigned by his boss (Paul Dooley) to escort Walker back to San Francisco and to jail.
Except it doesn't quite turn out that way. Of course, Buckner and Walker can't stand each other on sight, as Walker thinks Buckner's a tight-ass, and Buckner thinks Walker is a commie relic. But during the train ride they take, they thaw enough to play chess, and Walker distracts Buckner enough to slip some acid in his drink - or so he claims. Of course he didn't, but Buckner doesn't know that, so Walker now has the upper hand. Soon, when they pull into an Oregon station to check in with Sheriff Hightower (Cliff De Young), who's holding a jail cell for Walker to stay in overnight, Walker is now the FBI agent, with Buckner dressed as the prisoner. This may sound like the makings of a mistaken-identity movie, but that's not where this movie's going. In fact, one of the great things about the movie is how everytime you think you've figured it out, it throws you another curve. Walker is not who he seems to be, and neither is Buckner. And neither is the plot.
