Yawn. Poorly Filmed Snooze Fest.

Truly Dreadful Film

Disappointment for a huge fan!

There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

Terribly directed and acted family conflict drama that would be rightly and completely forgotten if it did not contain Brad Pitt in the cast. He is extremely callow and still has a lot to learn here but at least his bland performance can be put down to the fact that he was still a beginner. Rick Schroder on the other hand is too old to be believable as a high school student and is awful and overwrought. Carrie Snodgrass is okay as the mom, unlike the rest of the dreadful supporting cast, but the script really doesn't give her much too work with. Speaking of the script it is full of huge holes of plausibility and lacks any kind of common sense. To top it all off the score is full of horrid ersatz hard rock. Don't bother.

Joe Maloney (Brad Pitt) is an all-star runner on his high school track team. Billy Maloney (Rick Schroder) is a troubled youth who is in with the law, and about to be kicked out of the family. Trying to be a good older brother, Joe asks Billy if he wants to run with him in the mornings before school. Billy gives it a shot, and much to everyone's surprise turns out to be quite a little runner. Joe convinces Billy to try out for his schools track team (Billy is in a different school because he's caused too much trouble in previous ones) and it's a good thing he does, because that sets up the rest of the movie. It's a pretty cliché tale of everyone struggling but overcoming their inner demons at just the right moment. Carrie Snodgress does do a great job as the mom who refuses to move on from the point where her husband died. Overall, I'd say it is worth a shot; you won't learn anything new but you will feel better about yourself and life around you. As a last thought, the only problem I had was that as soon as the protagonist made the decision to change they didn't have to face the past. So the movie was a little fantastical that way, but that can be pretty easily overlooked. Rating: 24/40

So-so movie featuring Ricky - oops, I mean "Rick" - Schroder and a 27 year old Brad Pitt playing high school students. There isn't too much of a story here, and I'm not really sure what the point is. It is good in a way, but the plot just didn't interest me too much. Maybe they should have just released this as a TV-movie instead of a feature film. I guess it is OK if you are bored, but I'd only recommend renting it if you are a fan of Brad Pitt, Rick Schroder, or track. Oh, and the kid who plays Blossom's older brother is in it. Why did this movie receive an "R" rating??

The snappiest thing about this film is the title. Two American teenage brothers, one a swat and a goody two shoes on the athletic track, and the other a rebellious delinquent (born on the wrong side of the tracks, get it?), end up at the same school after bad boy Billy (Rick Schroder) gets a second chance after a spell at a Borstal.Members of Billy's delinquent melee try to reclaim him for the bad side, but we all know that is not going to happen. Joe, the elder brother (Brad Pitt), is trying for a scholarship to a prestigious university by running a faster race than anyone else. This is where the story falls apart.Brad Pitt has by far the more convincing physique. Rick Schroder is good looking enough, provided he stops slicking his blond locks back with a cartload of grease, but he is no athlete. The clever cinematic device of dressing him in black shorts and shirt for the running sequences cannot hide the flab. The slow motion sections (a la Chariots of Fire) only accentuate this.Watch this if you want to see obviously twenty-something year olds trying to be school kids; if you enjoy folk belting round the running track; if you want to remind yourself of what Brad Pitt looked liked before he became a real actor.Two redeeming quotations from the film are "The only thing personal is the size of your d**k" and "I thought you were as straight as a virgin's d**k". Memorable because, as I remember, at the age the characters are supposed to be, these comments pepper every day conversation. That there are only two during the 1 hour 40 minutes is an indictment of authenticity.