Grandview, U.S.A.

High school senior Tim Pearson (C. Thomas Howell) isn't sure what he wants to do with his life. The night of his prom he meets Michelle "Mike" Cody (Jamie Lee Curtis), the owner of a demolition derby, and becomes smitten with her. This complicates his life as Tim's father (Ramon Bieri) is a city commissioner intent on shutting the track down for his own benefit.

Not sure how this comedy-drama escaped me for so many years. It checks off all the "coming of age" and "life struggles" tropes, but I was still quite entertained by it even if it switches in tone quite a bit. There are several emotional moments and director Randal Kleiser handles them well. Unfortunately, there are also two out of place musical numbers (daydreams for Howell's character) that instantly date the movie. Filmed in Pontiac, Illinois, it is the kind of film that they don't seem to make anymore (or at least big studios don't make anymore) about blue collar struggles. If it was made today, the only thing for certain is there would be one million think pieces about the relationship between the Howell and Curtis characters. There is a stellar supporting cast including Patrick Swayze as demolition driver and Cody's other love interest, Jennifer Jason Leigh as his cheating wife, Troy Donahue as her lover, William Windom as Cody's uncle, and John Philbin as a mentally slow track hand. Also look for small roles by John Cusack, Joan Cusack, M. Emmett Walsh, and Michael Winslow as the track MC doing his thing.

Set in a small town in the mid-west,"Grandview USA" is neither the best nor the worst of the films to come along in the wake of "American Graffiti".Nothing much really happens,but C. Thomas Howell's recurrent music video fantasies are entertaining,and the snippets of small-town America during the opening credits are fun.The little kid who's sharing her ice-cream cone with her dog was my favorite.A pleasant,unoffensive,little film.

This is a strange movie and another spicy relationship from Kleiser coming back from Santorin. Usually, Smalltown, USA is almost paradise and this one says the opposite : it's a pit, faraway of modern life and hard for professional life or romances as every one knows every body ! That was indeed my feeling in my own hometown before leaving for the big city… The movie takes a long time to get settled (while it's only 100 minutes), but it's worth staying because this coming of age story (a theme that has always resonates in me) is about a grad teen having a crush for Jamie Lee ! Sure her occupation is crazy (manager of stunt cars) but in her cowboy clothes or in the teen fantasies as a rock star, she is totally stunning and thus i was really connected with what's happening between them. Swayze was solid as a poor hick unable to save his weeding while Jenny was a big disappointment : she thus plays her unfaithful wife but like the future Tralala from Red Hook, she is too much into teasing and nothing else… As this small town is near Chicago, we have also as bonus, the locals siblings from the area, maybe in their 1st appearance as both sister and brother are still young !

There have been more bad critical reviews and comments about THIS movie than good. I don't see how it's THAT bad to most viewers. It is one of my top favorites. It contains an excellent blend of comedy and drama about life in a rural American location (no mention of state or town but Texas is a good possibility). Great character acting. They just don't make them like this anymore.

OK I must say that this movie isn't the greatest, but hey it was the 80s. This movie is special to me because it was filmed in my home town of Pontiac,IL. I was a little kid when they were filming it and I got to meet Jamie Lee. it was awesome. In Pontiac,IL not much goes on, so you can only imagine how fun it was to have a movie with real stars being made there! The place where they had the race track, was where I played Pony League. They used my high school, and many other parts of the town that I have been to. It's fun to watch this and look out for stuff that's there, not there and see some of my friends in little pieces of the film. So if you are from or have ever been to Pontiac,IL I suggest you watch this film!!