Good start, but then it gets ruined

a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

A film with more than the usual spoiler issues. Talking about it in any detail feels akin to handing you a gift-wrapped present and saying, "I hope you like it -- It's a thriller about a diabolical secret experiment."

While it is a pity that the story wasn't told with more visual finesse, this is trivial compared to our real-world problems. It takes a good movie to put that into perspective.

After watching Kansas I still haven't figured out why Andrew McCarthy just didn't call his friend and tell him my car died in Utah and there ain't no way I can make the wedding, get yourself another best man. Of course there would be no picture if he did that.Nevertheless McCarthy decided because he was a romantic he'd like to try bumming rides in freight cars on the railroad maybe because you meet such interesting people. In McCarthy's case he meets an amiable Matt Dillon going home to Kansas and the small town he grew up in.Dillon might seem amiable, but he soon enough gets McCarthy involved in a bank robbery and the two are fleeing. McCarthy has the loot and he buries it in a tree. But then on a heroic impulse he jumps in a river to save a drowning girl and the stranger is now a town hero.In the meantime Dillon flees far enough and then turns around to get McCarthy and the money.The tension in Kansas is whether McCarthy will be discovered as a bank robber just when things are going well for him. He's even taken interest in country girl Leslie Hope. Dillon on his return back shows what a truly sociopathic character he is with several acts of brutality.Watching Kansas put me in mind of I Was A Fugitive From A Chain Gang and how Paul Muni got caught up in something he was really not involved in. McCarthy is a bit less innocent than Muni was. Still it was not an enviable situation.Kansas is a well constructed film with very good tension buildup and helped by location shooting in the title state. McCarthy and Dillon acquit themselves in roles they are well type cast in.I'd see this one when broadcast.

The two lead actors Andrew McCarthy and Matt Dillon did an admirable job in their roles as two drifters who by happen stance meet while freeloading on a moving train through Kansas. I really enjoyed the opening 10 minutes of the film and the Director's (David Stevens) use of the wheat combines chomping through a Kansas wheat field as the opening credits rolled along. I believed I was in for a pretty good film. Within the first 30 minutes a lot had occurred which I do not want to spoil for the viewers who have not yet watched the film so no spoiler alert is required.As the plot progresses and the two lead characters roles emerge Doyle Kennedy (Matt Dillon) as the alpha male and his unsuspecting accomplice Wade Corey (Andrew McCarthy) continue on their mini crime spree it does not take them long to realize that they need to go their separate ways to avoid arrest and they agree to meet up later.Doyle being a bit psychotic without a conscience wants to have a few drinks and connect with an old girlfriend. While Wade is looking for a way to continue his route to New York where he is expected as the Best Man at his friends wedding. So Wade stumbles upon a farm that is willing to give him a couple of weeks work in the wheat fields. Wade falls for the bosses daughter and he finds himself in a dilemma with his recent new criminal associate Doyle who wants to get the money they stole and move on out of town. Unfortunately for Doyle his criminal past and his distinguishing features (duh Wade!) leave the local police with an easy target to re-apprehend him.The latter half of the film was predictable and a bit hokey. I thought because of the strong performances and cinema appeal of the first half of the film that maybe the production ran out of time and/or money and so a different director may have been used to complete the film. Since the first half of the film was so appealing I felt the latter half was a bit of a let down by the director David Stevens.As a result I have rated the film a 6 out of 10. It is worth watching still but don't expect a great ending to a film that started off very strong.

Where was most of this movie taped at? I know the Tee-Pee gas station scene was shot at Us HWY 24/40 AND 59 in Lawrence, Ks, and a lot of the other scenes where also shot not far away in Leavenworth County and Douglas County. I live close by, in Leavenworth County. I like seeing movies that have been tape close by kinda like Article 99 which was taped mostly in downtown Kansas City, Mo. I know a lot of stand ins from my area where a part of this movie. The chase scenes and other driving scenes where shot in the rural areas around Desoto,Ks. Not a bad movie, I like it because it was based on a robber in my home state. I wish movie makers would start doing this again more, taking their movies into the heartland and into other locations to film. There where a few more movies that I know that where shot around here, but I can't remember them right off. Still a good movie to watch, and or buy.

The settings and wide open photography that must have been ahead of it's time make "Kansas" a pleasure to watch, a picturesque drama through the mid-west. On his way to his best friend's wedding, Andrew McCarthy hops a freight car and meets drifter and recently-released ex-con Matt Dillon - who is on his way to rob the bank in his former hometown. McCarthy is part of the crime before he knows it, unfortunately linked to Dillon's violent & vindictive character. Looking to lay low until it all blows over, McCarthy finds refuge in anonymity on a family farm. This part of the story, evidenced by the unfolding of Generation X in years immediately following the films release, could act to the discerning viewer as a subtle outline of Gen X's reluctance to take a spotlight for fear of it's wrath. Still, for those of other generations, "Kansas" is fun to watch, a pleasure to look at, and another good vehicle for Matt Dillon's ability to create interesting characters.