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Racing with the Moon (1984)
Rate:
7
Viewed:
1/21
1/21:
Racing with the Moon is a lightweight pre-WWII period picture with tremendous star power in a couple
of up-and-coming actors.
During the first half, I was feeling a bit bored with the slightly sappy story, and then things started to pick
up for the rest of the way. Racing with the Moon is a better film when its whole is evaluated instead of
parts. It's interesting to see how people ran bowling alleys back then.
Shot on location in Fort Bragg and Mendocino, California, John Bailey's cinematography is outstanding throughout.
To make for a strong starting point is the screenplay by Steve Kloves who'll go on to direct an expertly made
picture called Flesh and Bone with Dennis Quaid, Meg Ryan, James Caan,
and Gwyneth Paltrow and write the adapted screenplays for all Harry Potter pictures.
Propelling Racing with the Moon even further is the unique pairing of Sean Penn and Nicolas Cage. They're
very good with the latter stealing a bit of his co-star's thunder at times. Whenever both are in the same scene,
there's a ton of star power. Of course, one is grounded, and the other is wild. It's not hard to figure out who
is which.
Sadly, it'll be the only film Sean Penn and Nicolas Cage have done together; that's because they aren't friends
anymore after the former said, "Nic Cage is not an actor. He could be again, but now he's more like
a...performer." That was when he started doing bombastic popcorn films like
Con Air and Face/Off. Nicolas Cage fired back:
"He pretended to be our best friend. We all went out for drinks and supper and he kept calling us his family, and
then, the next day, he stabs me in the back."
Anyway, there's a plot twist when Hopper finally finds out his love interest isn't a Gatsby girl after all. I
have to say that, at this point, I wasn't even thinking about it. When the moment happened, I was like, "Okay,
well...so?" Instead, I view the film as a series of little incidents, and it so happens that the twist is one
of them.
If The Best Years of Our Lives is the right bookend of WWII
pictures, it's safe to say Racing with the Moon is the left. They're both highly similar but different
in a couple of important points. Without a care in the world, Hopper and Nicky aren't aware of what's coming to
them. The characters in the 1946 picture returned to their former lives shell-shocked, having experienced the
full horrors of war. The first two had it so easy by not needing to deal with life; the other group was hit
hard by reality.
There are some gems among the young cast: Carol Kane, Crispin Glover, Michael Madsen, and Michael Talbott. Dana
Carvey is supposed to be in it, but I didn't see him. Sean Penn sure got schooled badly when he had a moment
with Michael Madsen. Fresh from her appearance in
Once Upon a Time in America, Elizabeth McGovern is perfect for
the role. She and Sean Penn were actually engaged during the time, and their chemistry obviously reflected that.
I wonder what would happen to Hopper and Nicky afterwards. My guess is the former will survive the
war while the latter dies during an act of bravery by doing something absolutely stupid (then again, it's
Nicolas Cage we're talking about). Perhaps they'll surprise me by returning in one piece, but alcoholism is a
fate that awaits Nicky.
All in all, Racing with the Moon is a decent coming-of-age film that's genuine in human spirit.