Bryan Dixon Emerald
342-3358
o
o T
O Now serving
O full liquor bar.
Starter Kit films Short film
skits by local film makers
° o
21 and ove
An entertaining and intelligent satire of the Victorian Empire
^ and its rigid attitudes, especially toward sex
January 18-February 10,2001
By Caryl Churchill Directed by Corey Pearlstein
TICKETS 465-1 506
Limited Student Tickets Available!
$5 for Thursday 1/18, $7 for Sunday 1 /20
■ BMX-bike flick revives the
awesome feeling of big hair
and parachute pants
FORGOTTEN FILM
‘Rad’
Columbia TriStar
By Lisa Griffing and Mason West
Oregon Daily Emerald
Remember the ‘80s? The big hair.
Those piercing, synthesized sounds
coming out of keyboard guitars. Fluo
rescent everything. The days when
you could get away with using words
like “gnarly” and even “rad.”
In fact, the latter term was once so
influential, it was the title of a
movie. Every transportation fad
will eventually have a movie made
about it. The skateboard movie was
“Gleaming the Cube.” The
rollerblade movie was “Airborne.”
“Meatballs 4” was the water sports
movie ... kinda. “Rad” is the cult
classic BMX biking movie from
1986.
Mason — I am pretty sure that
within a few years Disney will have
a rad movie out about a young boy
and his Razor™ scooter.
Lisa — Rejection! I can’t imagine
12-year-olds going 10 to 30 miles
per hour on Razor scooters while
doing airborne back flips. Seems
like a scary prediction, Mason.
In “Rad,” Bill Allen plays Cru
Jones, a BMX-obsessed high-school
student from the small town of
Cochran. A local entrepreneur, Mr.
Timmer, played by everybody’s fa
vorite martian, Ray Walston, brings
a national BMX race to the town.
Racers from across the country and
big bike businesses will compete for
$100,000 and a new Corvette by be
ing the first to complete ... HELL
TRACK.
OK, the plot isn’t exactly what
makes this movie rad. The real gold
is in scenes such as the BMX slow
dance to the song “Send Me an An
gel,” which was in 80 percent of all
‘80s movies. In this memorable
scene, Cru’s bike skills are matched
by none other than Full House’s
Aunt Becky, Lori Loughlin. Now,
take away the bikes, and the danc
ing should be watched with wine
and crackers.
Mason—Whatever happened to
predictability?
Lisa — The milkman, the paper
boy, evening television?
Mason — Ha ha ha ha ha. That
was rad.
Lisa— Mason, the correct termi
nology is radical. Anyhow, why did
you quit singing?
Speaking of other notable appear
ances, Talia Shire, better known as
Adrian from the Rocky series, plays
Cru’s mom. And making a surpris
ing appearance as the BMX rival
Bart Taylor is Olympic gold-medal
ist Bart Conner.
This movie is rad. Really, could it
be anything else? Back in ‘86, the
BMX stunts executed in “Rad” rep
resented the pinnacle of “cycle
skill.” The movie starts and ends
with superfluous footage of faceless
riders doing tricks, but this movie
isn’t all about image. There are
some real cathartic moments, like
when Cm completes his USA To
day™ paper route by 7:15 a.m. That
makes us feel all warm and mushy
inside.
On the other hand, this movie was
forgotten for a reason. The technolo
gy didn’t allow for the cinematogra
phy seen in contemporary flicks and
the dialogue fell short of realistic.
But, it’s humorous when watched
with the knowledge that “Rad” is a
great shuttle for feeling that ‘80s nos
talgia. Just don’t feel inspired to start
wearing hot pants and tiger-striped
spandex jumpsuits.
As if those didn’t make people
look bad enough, listen to some of
the things they had to say.
“If you don’t take that back, I’m
gonna punch your lights out.” —
Wesley Jones, Cru’s sister
“OK dudes, let’s walk this suck
er.”—Cru
“How about some applause for
our rad dude. ”—Luke, one of Cru’s
BMX friends
“You know, it’s kind of a shame
to bring this up, but this is all your
fault.” — evil lackey
“I’m beginning to see you as
something I might have stepped
in. ”—Mr. Timmer
“Go balls out.” — Sergeant Smith
This movie makes you believe in
the hometown hero. It makes you
believe in miracles...
Mason — ... and it makes me be
lieve that I will get chicks to like me
iflridearad BMX.
Lisa—Remember to take off your
training wheels.
Mason — Hey, I have an inner ear
problem! Rad!
Lisa — Sure you do Mason, sure
you do.