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Plot |
When David Sommers (David Marshall Grant) is not struggling as a college student, he is an avid cyclist who routinely goes on long bike runs. Recently his father died of a brain aneurysm and his mother fears that David has inherited the same condition as her husband. One night David’s brother, Marcus (Kevin Costner), comes over for a visit. Marcus is a seasoned cyclist who has competed in several big races. He is also a practicing doctor with a steady girlfriend named Sarah (Rae Dawn Chong). After a series of tests are performed by Marcus, David gets a clean bill of health, but when David overhears Marcus talking he believes he really is going to die. Little does David know that the one who is endangered of dying of a brain aneurysm is his brother Marcus. Marcus had intended to keep this piece of information a secret because he didn’t want anything to stand in the way of the big race he had planned to enter with his younger brother. Only Sara and a trusted friend know he may die any day now. Soon Marcus, David and Sara are off to train on the way to Colorado. Along the way the trio finds their way to a fast food restaurant where David meets Becky (Alexandra Paul) awaiting her hamburger order. She agrees to join him on his journey and become a part of Team Sommers. |
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Character Development |
Because events are moving so quickly there most likely wouldn’t be time for character development, yet some characters are noticeable changed to a degree. It is a little more than a crack of light, but it is there. One character that comes along is the mother, yet this character only has a bit part so the overall effect is marginal at best. David becomes a little more worldly and Marcus seems more grounded and at peace with himself. They are all layers of degrees. |
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Acting |
The acting was fairly solid with the lend actors and the surrounding cast, though there was one scene I found cringe-worthy every time I see it. Even though it is during an emotional moment I thought it was completely over the top. Thankfully the scene was short and there were no more scenes that display this similar type of awkwardness. The only other time where events reached near this point was at a dinner party that got out of hand, but I can forgive this because in comparison this was a slight imperfection. I think the lesson to be learned here is that oftentimes less is more because over acting is drawing too much attention to one performer and not letting the writing and the other actors pull their own weight. |
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Overview |
This is an enjoyable film that I have seen a number of times. It has some nice shots early on during the opening and some outstanding ones during the big race. The producers really went all out with quite a few of them. I wouldn’t be surprise to hear that riders were injured during the course of filming. Needless to say the “Hell of the West”, the race the staring leads entered onto definitely looked dangerous, living up to the hype that the movie was trying to sell the viewer on and then some. |
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