jon@sdcrdcf.UUCP (Jonathan Gingerich) (08/18/85)
a
American Flyers SPOILED
I just saw "American Flyers" and having seen two favorable reviews of it
on the net, I can hardly contain myself. The movie is wretched! Now, I
was prepared for a hokey plot with good cycling sequences as some local
reviews warned, but I was not ready for the absurd shortcuts in the
narrative of the racing itself. Get this. The younger brother, who
apparently hasn't participated in sports, yet is a phenomenally gifted physical
specimen, trains for an international level bike race, his first, by
riding from Madison to Colorado, joins his brother without dealing
with any other member of the team, then manages to defeat the finest
racers from several continents! Along the way, he shatters his brothers
treadmill record, beats the cut of the competitors field by the narrowest
margin, wins the 4 sprints he must win, and beats the leader by 11 seconds
to take it all. (Not to risk underdoing things, his brother wins the one
race he competes in.) Racing itself apparently consists of a bunch of
people aimless carrying on and shouting, "Watch your line!" Then there is
the bearded (!?!) Russian who grunts a lot so we know he is Russian.
Both the crowds and the pack struck me as too thin. Everytime an
"in the pack" shot starts getting interesting (i.e. by the time your eyes
adjust to the speed) the camera cuts away, and the mildly interesting
long range shots are spoiled by the sweeping coils the camera copter makes.
These last faults I must blame on Badham who seems to think that he
is still filming (destroying?) the final scenes of Wargames. Rock music
of indistinguishable lyrics blares out every time something "exciting" is
happening and the quick cuts seems totally inappropriate to a human drama
centered around the ordeal of a bike race, where gratification comes only
after long and arduous effort (In real life the race is a multi-week affair
not the three day event depicted).
Then there is the originality of the space shuttle implies copulation
scene. Speaking of which, is this what we are to expect from future PG-13
films? A tiny shot of nipple, a quick flash of buttocks? I find it
incrediably gratuitous in a film that could easily attract an audience with
its action and drama. It makes teenage sexplotation films seem full of
integrity.
Badham seem no less heavy handed in his handling of the drama. Suffice
to say that the brothers may have a FATAL disese that killed their father.
They LOVE each other, but they are ANGRY, because they feel BETRAYED, so
they YELL at each other a lot. They EMBARASS a women invited over for
dinner whose only apparent role is to serve as a catalyst for BAD FEELINGS
to run rampant, although they hardly seem to need an excuse. Speaking of
useless characters, I can think of absolutely nothing Alexandra Paul added
to the movie on any level. I mean, they did not even need a fourth for
bridge.
Other than Paul, the acting is o.k., although the minor roles of Amos
and "Randolf" completely steal the show with little effort. Rae Dawn
Chong evokes both the lustly sensuallity and the deep compassion of the
supposed male fantasy, much malinged but oh so enchanting, and is one
of the few redeeming aspects of the movie.
I'm sorry to spill so much bile, and of course these are my opinions not
yours, nor should they be necessarily, but I think Tesich is capable of
far, far better work. "Breaking Away" pulled out all the stops, pushed all
the buttons, yet in its light, deft way, it did celebrate the small victories,
the decision to go to college, to reconcile with ones family, that seemed
honestly within the reach of its protagonists. It was shameless, yet there
is no shame in asking people to live up to (not over) their potential. I
loved it! I enjoyed "Eyewitness" also, well crafted and starring two of
my favorite actors (besides I liked the politics, did the critics not?).
Beside them "American Flyers" is crude and garish.