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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 Cage 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 had 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. 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, 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 in the head 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 shows.
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 awaiting Nicky.
All in all, Racing with the Moon is a decent coming-of-age film that's genuine in human spirit.