Classic Movie Review 8 Seconds

8 Seconds (1994) 

Directed by John G. Avildsen

Written by Monte Merrick

Starring Luke Perry, Stephen Baldwin, Cynthia Geary, James Rebhorn

Release Date February 25th, 1994 

Published February 27th, 2024 

8 Seconds is a painfully boring film. The mostly true story of famed bull rider, Lane Frost, played by Luke Perry, 8 Seconds is a by the numbers sports movie with all the innovation and excitement of a damp rag. Bull Riding is a sport, of sorts. It takes a great deal of dedication and very strong hands. It also requires the bull to be basically tortured. Controversial opinion, if your sport requires an opponent that doesn't want to be your opponent, to the point where they may kill just to get you to leave them be, it's not really a competition, it's animal cruelty with judges, points, and a time. 

So, yeah, I wasn't really the audience for a schmaltzy, dizzying, dimwitted movie like 8 Seconds. Lane Frost died tragically young and, as demonstrated in 8 Seconds, his accomplishments were relatively limited. He was a multiple time champion of his sport and was kind to children. Lovely qualities that are at odd with the moody, broody, young man who could turn on a dime and be cruel to his loyal and loving wife, Kellie (Cynthia Geary), who takes the brunt of Lane's unpredictable mood swings, often related to his anger toward his father, Clyde, a man who cannot tell his son that he loves him. 

Find my full length review at Geeks.Media 

Movie Review Lean on Me

Lean on Me (1989) 

Directed by John G. Avildsen 

Written by Michael Schiffer 

Starring Morgan Freeman, Beverly Todd, Robert Guillaume, Tony Todd 

Release Date March 3rd, 1989 

Published August 7th, 2002 

Morgan Freeman is one of the most commanding screen presences in film history. In great movies like Glory and Seven and even bad movies like Along Came A Spider and Deep Impact, Freeman's sharp intense stare gave his characters the respect and dignity that most characters have to earn.

In 1989's Lean On Me, Freeman took on the role of another commanding presence, that of the principle of New Jersey's ugliest High School, Eastside High. Crazy Joe Clark made national headlines with his promise too carry a baseball bat in the halls of the school and chain the schools exits to keep out the drug-dealers.

For over 10 years, Joe Clark was an elementary school principal chafing at his ineffectual position when school superintendent Dr. Napier (Robert "Benson" Guilliaume)offers Joe his dream job as principal at the school where he got his start, Paterson New Jersey's Eastside High School. Oh but things have changed a lot in the near 20 years since Joe had been at Eastside. Drug dealers now run the halls selling their product locker to locker. Gang members fought in class and teachers hid in the teacher’s lounge, too afraid to go to class.

While Eastside's staff is terrified by the students around them, there is no intimidating Joe Clark whose first act as principal is to expel the students who caused the most trouble. The expulsions touch off a firestorm of criticisms lead by Leona Barrett (Lynn Thigpen), the mother of one of the expelled students.

Clark's unusual tactics using bullhorns, baseball bats, and chains on the doors made national headlines in the mid 1980's. Those headlines are what inspired this film and may be the reason why the film feels disjointed at times. The editing of the film jumps the timelines ahead so quick that entire subplots are introduced and quickly discarded.

That criticism aside, Lean On Me is all about Freeman and his perfectly pitched performance. Using his unique vocal cadence, constantly annoyed and always near screaming, his voice and soul crushing gaze create an intimidating but charismatic character that makes you wonder what the real Joe Clark is like.

Joe Clark left Eastside in the early 1990's to accept a position at New Jersey's Essex County Youth Facility where once again his disciplinary style made national headlines. We will have to wait and see if that will be good enough for a sequel.