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Plot |
Joe (Craig Sheffer) is in a boy’s correctional camp for driving a car that he did not own into a department store window. The movie starts with the camp’s Boss (Jon Polito) directing Joe on a run and having a bunch of other boys chase after him. While Joe traverses the woods he spots Lisa (Virginia Madsen) posing for a picture that she is taking of herself. Lisa gets a glimpse of Joe before he runs off. Later they notice each other again when they walk into the same movie house. Because it is against the rules for Lisa to visit Joe in his correctional camp she advises a plan in the form of a school dance to get them together, but this soon proves not to be enough time together for the couple so Joe plans with his best friend the Mapmaker (J.J. Cohen) to find a romantic getaway for two. |
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Character Development |
Like Romeo and Juliet this is a tale of love that was not meant to be and pretty much all the character development that took place was in this relationship. All the other characters were lightweight and one dimensional, which at times reacted poorly just so the plot could be moved along. |
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Acting |
The principal actors did a fine job and some of the other cast did pull their weight. Others did a little over acting like Jon Polito playing the character “Boss”. One reaction that stood out as comical was when an officer aimed a rifle at the lovers and someone had to knock the gun up in the air and it went off. That is definitely going overboard on the drama and not making it realistic. |
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Overview |
For an 80s film it does seem a little dated and with the only characters of interest being the two lovers there is something to be said about this not being the best of films. Still if you desperately wanted to see Virginia Madsen in one of her earlier features this would be a good bet because the one film that I really would like to see released onto the market is “Electric Dreams” (1984). I thought that was a much better film and one that is nearly impossible to get a copy of, though they do sell the soundtrack. It is funny how in that movie she is playing a young woman who is much older than the character Lisa in “Fire with Fire”, even though she was two years older in that younger role. |
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