Directed by Hal Needham
Written by Sam Bernard & Geoffrey Edwards
Cast: Bill Allen, Lori Loughlin, Talia Shire, Ray Walston, Alfie Wise, Jack Weston, Bart Conner, Marta Kober, Jamie Clarke, Laura Jacoby, H.B. Haggerty, Chad Hayes, Carey Hayes, Kellie McQuiggin, Beverly Hendry, Shawna Burnett, Graeme Davies, Logan T. Wotton, Jeff Kress, Gordon Signer, Nancy MacDonald, Rick McNair, Christian Roerig
Soundtrack: James Di Pasquale
It’s no great revelation to say the world is decidedly un-rad at the moment, so I say take joy in whatever simple pleasures you can.
In that spirit, we come to Rad, a movie I could easily pick apart if I wanted to (sub-par acting, questionable stakes, boilerplate sports movie plot), but I don’t want to, because at the end of the day it is some warm, delightful Eighties comfort food, and that’s all we need it to be.
Directed by long-time stuntman (and Burt Reynolds collaborator) Hal Needham, Rad is the story of Christopher “Cru” Jones (played by a very charming Bill Allen, and stunt double Eddie Fiola): a high school upperclassman, morning paperboy, and afternoon busboy with a love for BMX (that’s Bicycle Motocross, if you didn’t know). As fate would have it, the biggest race in BMX history, HELLTRACK, comes to Cru’s small hometown of Cochrane, USA (Cochrane, Alberta, Canada in real life), bringing with it all the top professional riders, and a very pretty top amateur, Christian Hollings (played by Lori Loughlin). Thanks to pressure from local business owners, Cru and other area riders are allowed into qualifying, and, well, you can imagine where it goes from there.
Despite its title, Rad is nothing so radical. It’s not particularly groundbreaking (outside of giving BMX a spotlight, I suppose), edgy, or offensive. It’s perfectly pleasant.
But, it excels in its visuals and, perhaps more importantly, music. On the whole, the soundtrack isn’t quite at, say, Rocky IV-levels, but it comes as close as anything else from the decade, and that’s notable.
If nothing else, Rad is a nice, shiny time-capsule filled with likable heroes, disagreeable villains, and all the Eighties fashion you could ask for. Clean cut, family friendly, and just the right amount of zazz.
Rating: ★★★½ (out of five)
P.S.
This movie stars Lori Loughlin,
star of Full House along with the Olsen Twins,
stars of How the West Was Fun,
shot by Rad cinematographer Richard Leiterman and directed by Stuart Margolin,
the guy who gives Charles Bronson his gun in Death Wish.
What does it all mean?
Absolutely nothing.