Movie Review Fandango

Fandango (1985)

Directed by Kevin Reynolds 

Written by Kevin Reynolds 

Starring Kevin Costner, Sam Robards, Judd Nelson

Release Date January 25th, 1985

Published January 25th, 2015 

This weekend, January 24th to 26th, in 1985 Kevin Costner took his first leading man role in the mostly forgotten road comedy “Fandango.” Co-starring Sam Robards, Chuck Bush and Judd Nelson, “Fandango” follows four friends from the University of Texas on one, final, epic road trip before each heads off to Vietnam or maybe Mexico.

The year is 1971 and the day before Kenneth’s (Sam Robards) wedding, his graduation day from the University of Texas, he finds out he’s been drafted. So has his best friend Gardner (Costner) while their roommate Hicks (Nelson) has already volunteered to go. With their future’s uncertain the friends pile into a generic movie road trip car and head for the border with plans to dig up a relic of their earlier college years.

That’s the set up of “Fandango” but the film is more than just a road movie. Directed by Kevin Reynolds, Costner’s go-to director before their “Waterworld” falling out, “Fandango” is yet another 80’s movie still attempting to process the feelings inspired by the war in Vietnam. Set in 1971, in the midst of the worst of the war, we watch characters who’ve skirted the war effort as privileged college students now facing down the real possibility of death.

For all of the shiny, neon, plastic, phoniness of the 1980’s there were moments of true depth and sadness and much of it had to do with the lingering specter of  Vietnam. In the 80’s Hollywood was finally ready to examine the tragedy of Vietnam and perform the post-mortem examination with some of the great war movies of all time in “Platoon” and “”Full Metal Jacket.” And then there were smaller reckonings like “Fandango” which masked the angsty, life and death fears of Vietnam with a humor that barely concealed terror.

This comic angst is never more present in “Fandango” than in a brief scene set in a cemetery on one of the road trip’s many detours. Having run out of gas in a small town our heroes happen upon a pair of teenage girls who buy them dinner and take them around town. They wind up in a cemetery playing with fireworks which come to resemble the bombs dropping over Vietnam once Kenneth stumbles over a grave marked for an Army Corporal who died just that year in Vietnam.

The scene is a tad heavy-handed but Robards and Costner sell the moment with the fear on their faces while director Reynolds gives the moment time to breath. The fireworks lighting up the graves and the grave faces of Robards and Costner give the scene a strong visual quality even, as I mentioned early, as the scene is more than a little over-wrought with subtext.

For some reason I tried to be put off by “Fandango.” I fought the film’s charm early on because I was expecting a cheesy teen appeal road comedy. By the end of the film I was deeply charmed by the characters and the humor and camaraderie they use to fend off the feeling of impending doom engendered by their future trip to Vietnam. Costner is especially effective near the end of the movie when his memories of a lost love collide with his duty to his best friend and their terrifyingly uncertain future.

The movie ends with an only in the movies style impromptu wedding. Having convinced the residents of a small Texas border-town to help them honor Kenneth’s wish for a last second wedding to ‘The Girl,’ played by Suzy Amis, we watch a truly charming scene of homemade food and craft burst to life in the middle of the dusty town. The scene should not work but it does because everyone involved is so committed to it.

In the end, the combination of a charming cast and serious Vietnam related angst combine to make a surprisingly satisfying dramatic comedy. Is it surprising that “Fandango” isn’t well remembered 30 years later? No, it is by nature a road comedy, a sub-genre that has never been known for having a shelf life. However, I am quite pleasantly surprised to find myself a fan of “Fandango.”

Movie Review: Catch that Kid

Catch that Kid (2004) 

Directed by Bart Freundlich 

Written by Michael Brandt, Derek Haas 

Starring Kristen Stewart, Sam Robards, Jennifer Beals, Max Thierot, Corbin Bleu, James LeGros

Release Date February 6th, 2004

Published February 5th, 2004

With the success of Spy Kids, a whole genre is springing up - the Kids Action-Adventure movie. The newest example of this burgeoning genre is the kiddy heist flick Catch That Kid. Based on a Danish blockbuster called Klatretosen, Catch That Kid is a clever little heist picture with three terrific young actors and a director, Bart Freundlich, who's previous work would never lead you to believe he could pull this off.

Kristen Stewart stars as Maddy Phillips, the adventurous daughter of a mountain climber (Sam Robards), who once climbed Mount Everest. Unfortunately, Dad had a massive fall in his climb and now would prefer his daughter not climb. Maddy's mother Molly (Jennifer Beals) absolutely forbids her daughter from climbing. Of course, when we first meet Maddy she is scaling a water tower while on her cell phone lying to her mom.

Maddy's dad owns a local go-cart track where Maddy's friend Gus (Max Thierot) is a mechanic building engines for his brother’s go-carts. Maddy doesn't know it but Gus has a huge crush on her. So does Maddy's other friend Austin (Corbin Bleu), a computer geek who's skills will no doubt come in handy later in the film.

The film’s heist plot is set in motion when Maddy's Dad is suddenly struck paralyzed from the neck down, a recurring injury from his fall. The doctors say he will never walk again unless he can get to Europe for an experimental surgery. Unfortunately, that surgery costs 250 grand, money the family surely does not have. There is hope that Maddy's Mom may be able to get a loan from the local bank where she is currently installing a high tech security system but the evil bank manager Mr. Brisbane (Michael Des Barres) denies the loan.

So with the help of her friends, Maddy concocts an elaborate heist that will incorporate Gus' mechanical skills, Austin's computer skills and her climbing ability. While Gus plans the getaway and Austin cracks the security, Maddy must scale the bank walls and climb nearly one hundred feet in the air where the vault is suspended, part of a very cool, very complicated security setup that makes the film’s heist sequence a lot of fun and separates it from other heist films. Maddy must also watch her baby sister, while pulling this off, a nice comic touch.

While there is something a little unseemly about pre-teens who turn to crime in order to solve their problems, the film deftly dances around such moral quandaries. Director Bart Freundlich, who previous films were the adult dramas World Traveler and Myth Of Fingerprints, surprises us with his ability to direct such light, fun material. The pacing keeps the audience from worrying too much about the moral of the film and more focused on the action and the likable characters.

The young actors, especially Kristen Stewart, are terrific. It's the adult characters who are the problem. Jennifer Beals and Sam Robards don't have much screen time so they make little impression. Michael Des Barres as the villain is truly dreadful. The former rock singer preens and chews screen and just stinks up the screen whenever he is on. John Carroll Lynch has a small role as an assistant bank manager and like Des Barres, he is utterly grating.

Still there is enough good about Catch That Kid to outweigh the bad. Especially young Kristen Stewart who should have a big career ahead of her. The plot is fun and surprisingly original and exciting. As long as the film keeps it's pace and it's villains to a minimum, it's not a bad flick. A good way for mom and dad to kill an afternoon with the kids. On an odd note, the film was released under two different titles, Catch That Kid and Mission Without Permission. The film retained the title Mission Without Permission for certain foreign markets.