Why don't they make 'em like this any more? HARPER VALLEY P.T.A is one of a handful of flicks from the late 70s and early 80s that mixed social satire with hilarity(9 TO 5 and HOW TO BEAT THE HIGH COST OF LIVING were two others). Barbara Edan is Stella Johnson, a hard-working single mother who attracts the ire of the self-righteous town Parent-Teacher Association. As those of you who remember how the country song this film was based on goes, Stella gets a not-too-tolerant letter cataloging her many indiscretions(which are merely rumors)and responds by giving the members what-for at a public meeting. When this results in public rejection(not to mention rocks through the Johnson house windows)Stella takes action, setting in motion a series of elaborate revenges against the P.T.A members that not only even the score but show up each person's hypocrisies. It's great to see beautiful Barbara Eden fight the stuck-up blue-bloods, pompous elected officials, and self-righteous educators who make up the P.T.A., because everyone can see a little of their own communities in Harper Valley.
Review of Harper Valley P.T.A.
