American Flyers

There are all manner of sports movies out there with most of them showcasing the big five: basketball, baseball, hockey, football and soccer (or football).  Boxing is an interesting one that might be more popular on screen than it is in real life.  Anyway, it’s always intriguing to see a film spotlight something less popular like figure skating (The Cutting Edge), horse racing (Seabiscuit) or even arm wrestling (Over the Top).  Well, American Flyers takes on competitive cycling where a large group of riders navigate a punishing outdoor course that could include mountainous terrain and last a hundred miles.  Sounds ripe for your usual scrappy-upstart-takes-on-the-pros-and-omg-he’s-like-amazing-and-has-a-real-chance-of-winning-it-all type arc.

While the picture does deal with that business there’s another layer thrown in for dramatic flair.  David (David Marshall Grant (The Devil Wears Prada)) is a young fellow who lives at home with his mother in St. Louis and doesn’t know what to do with his life.  He tried pre-med, pre-law and is now studying eastern philosophy.  He loves to cycle though including all through the apartment.  It’s his passion.  It’s also Marcus’ passion, his older brother (Kevin Costner (Message in a Bottle)).  He’s good enough to have made the 1980 Olympic team as an alternate.  They love each other but there’s tension in the family because their father died of an incurable brain disease and Marcus blames their mother for shutting down during that moment of crisis.  Marcus split shortly after and has had tepid relations ever since.  David holds a grudge against Marcus for leaving and blaming their mother for perhaps not doing as much as she could for their father.  In other words, it’s complicated.

Marcus, now a doctor, shows up on their doorstep some time later looking to reconnect with David and take him back to Wisconsin for a medical examination and to cycle around.  You see they fear that one or both of them might have the same brain disease that took their father so they want to run some tests.  This is also a bit of a ruse to get David to join Marcus in a big time bike competition called Hell of the West that takes place in Colorado.  It’s Marcus’ last time and he wants his brother to be by his side for it.  Naturally it’s a go so they load up and head out.

I know that’s a lot of backstory I dumped on you but it’s the first half of the film and plays heavily into the entire plot.  Now while there’s cycling throughout it’s the second half where we get to see the real action of the contest.  And it’s definitely pretty exciting.  There are loads of cool shots of riders taking fast turns, chugging up steep hills, sweating and breathing profusely, wiping out and all sorts of other events.  Not to mention the absolutely gorgeous landscape they compete in.  The race is split up into three days with each course in a different location and the most beautiful has got to be the second leg.  It takes place in Colorado National Monument Park that’s dubbed the excellent “Tour of the Moon” due to the stunning quasi alien-like scenery.

It's questionable how authentic the racing actually is though.  There are times when the athletes push, punch and grab at each other which seems illegal but then again I don’t know jack shit about this sport.  The one part where someone tries to murder David by driving him towards the edge of a cliff might be grounds for a time penalty at the very least.  Who the fuck does that?

Speaking of which, naturally there’s a rival villain who you’d think would be the brutish looking Soviet competitor but he’s relegated to a lower level antagonist.  Our main one is some joker called The Cannibal (Luca Brecovici (Dir: Ghoulies (!))).  I mean he has a real name but who cares?  This guy’s set up to be a real sonuvabitch who wants to make Marcus suffer before he ultimately beats him.  They were teammates once and Marcus’ girlfriend/pit crewmember (Rae Dawn Chong (Hideaway)) is The Cannibal’s ex-wife.  It’s never stated how he got that nickname or what the bad blood is between he and Marucs exactly but based on evidence given I suppose he wins at any cost even if that means stepping on his own teammates?  I dunno.  He’s a pretty one-dimensional anger machine for the most part.  Except there’s one scene where he explodes on a reporter out of nowhere declaring his major resentment towards America.  He was supposed to compete in the 1980 Olympics but they were held in Moscow so the US (plus many other countries) boycotted due to the Cold War (true story).  He missed his window.  Admittedly this is a fascinating angle and legitimate reason for the character to be so goddamn bitter.  This doesn’t explain why he hates Marcus so much though.  Really this character isn’t necessary.  The brain disease is the bad guy.  It messed up the family and continues to stalk them years later.

On the flip side Grant and Costner do have good chemistry and you can tell they genuinely care for each other.  There are scenes that are fun like the one where Marcus has a crazed dog chase them during a training ride to up their speed and stamina.  But there are also touching ones like when they argue if they should continue in the competition due to complications that arise (the twist is kinda obvious).  Yes, that’s a typical scene in these sorts of pictures but the backstory and lead up is richer than normal so the payoff feels more earned here.  Grant plays it with a likeable innocence combined with a hard work ethic that makes you want to root for him.  And Costner plays the older brother part to a tee where he’s concerned for David but also wants to push him outside his comfort zone and expose him to new situations while essentially being a father figure.  Both of them are making up for lost time so they make the most of the road trip/competition.

However, not everything is great.  There are a few clunky transitions and character turns that sometimes come out of nowhere.  Rae Dawn Chong in particular is awkwardly distant and serious throughout for some reason.  And the backstory isn’t laid out the clearest either.  On one hand I like that they don’t over explain but it also feels like we’re thrown into a situation that we never fully get ahold of.  Like the mother is made out to be maybe, possibly a somewhat terrible person but we’re never told why.

One thing you damn sure can’t miss is who paid for this frickin’ thing.  McDonald’s, Coors and 7-Eleven must have put up some bucks because they’re everywhere.  7-Eleven sponsors The Cannibal’s team so you see their name on their jerseys for half the movie.  And more than once David and Marcus stop at McDonald’s to catch a bite during training!  Then towards the end of the film the last leg of the race begins at the Coors plant.  Honestly this type of shit is funny to me because of how blatant it is.

Steve Tesich also wrote the cycling centric Breaking Away which is a coming of age story about a teen who’s obsessed with the sport and his parents and friends don’t quite understand.  You could argue that’s a better more endearing film, and I might even agree, but I find something like American Flyers with its mostly formulaic overcoming-the-odds-in-competition plot more entertaining.  Strangely, the characters act a bit peculiar in both so that must be a Tesich trademark.

This is another solid effort from director John Badham of Saturday Night Fever fame.  He knows how to deliver the thrills like in War Games and Drop Zone but also the tenderness like in Short Circuit.  And he knows how to deliver one helluva Christopher Walken performance in Nick of Time.

While this isn’t amazing or anything it’s certainly an enjoyable sports drama.  Whether it does a good job of introducing the world of road cycling I can’t say but I was into it.  Ride on down if this sounds like your cup of Schwinn.