I watched it last year after not seeing it for 20 years or so. I much, much preferred it second time around. I really appreciated the story and as for Dreyfuss, he was just superb.
I think it was more the generalisation than anything else. There will obviously be kids who fit into his original description, that's just the law of averages but to paint the whole demographic with the same brush is pretty narrow minded.
Absolutely adore that album. I was hugely into them around that time. Had a chat with Carl (the singer) and he told me the guy on the cover was their old manager. They just told him to look a little bit sketchy for the photo