From anti-war protests at Kent State University to the Watergate scandal in Washington, D.C., four friends literally experience it all in NBC’s movie “The ’70s.” These friends share their laughter and tears, successes and fears, as they strive to make sense of this tumultuous time, forcing themselves to find comfort in knowing that “at least we’re all in this together.”Scheduled to premiere on NBC Sunday and Monday from 9 to 11 p.m., “The ’70s” is written as a dramatic documentary of the decade that spawned everything from Watergate to platform shoes to disco. Real news footage that appears throughout the movie as well as popular music hits help illustrate a time that was marked by changes in society. Although the acting in this movie isn’t exactly Oscar-caliber, it’s good enough to keep the audience’s attention as the tale of this turbulent era unwinds. “The ’70s” begins before the infamous tragedy at Kent State, where four friends attend college. Byron (Brad Rowe) and Eileen (Vinessa Shaw) are talking intimately outside of a party when Dexter (Guy Torry) tells them the R.O.T.C. building is burning down. The three friends, who are joined by Byron’s sister and Eileen’s best friend Christie (Amy Smart), watch the fire that was set by anti-war demonstrators. As Christie watches in disbelief, she gently realizes, “Crazy thing is, now the war’s coming home to us.”The event leads to the killing of four college students in 1970 by the National Guard. This tragedy forces the four friends to begin searching for their identities. Byron’s and Dylan’s friendship is faced with the ultimate adversity as the pair of best pals find themselves on opposite ends of the political spectrum. A tragedy forces both men to reevaluate what’s more important – their friendship or their beliefs. The rest of the movie examines the Feminist Movement, the push for environmental protection, the destructiveness of cults and, of course, disco.Classic rock illustrates this musical era with hits that even the most sheltered listener has heard, including “Three Birds” by Bob Marley and the Whalers and “Jessica” by the Allman Brothers Band. The choice of songs and their placement in the movie help shape its mood. Executive Producer Denise Di Novi adds this television movie to her long list of feature film credits, such as “Little Women” and most recently “Message in a Bottle.”Peter Werner succeeds in directing another historical movie – he earned an Emmy nomination for “LBJ: The Early Years” – as he guides these characters into their roles. The ambiance of the set, style of the clothes, and attitudes of the characters help exemplify the lives of the people who lived during this decade. “The ’70s,” however, has at least one major drawback that can’t be overlooked. The movie’s characters are not only affected by the decade’s major events, they seem to stumble directly into each situation. While he was attending law school at Columbia University in New York, Byron gets hired to work for President Nixon’s reelection campaign. He then finds himself personally involved in Watergate. After that he moves to Alaska to help build the Trans-Alaska Pipeline, and single-handedly seems to advocate for the environmental clean up of the spills. Similar historical events seem to affect every character’s life until it’s obvious that this movie wasn’t made to appear realistic. In general, it was a bad attempt at remaking “Forest Gump.”For those people who didn’t grow up during the 1970s, and even for those who did, this movie can be an educational tool for reliving the era. For this reason alone, the movie is worth watching. But for those people who can’t make a four-hour commitment, “The ’70s” is a movie that definitely can be missed.