L'équipée infernale

Well, not full-blown comedy, but this movie definitely has a lighter tone than most of Dudikoff's, and is one of his few that's not rated R. Dudikoff is a smuggler who reluctantly agrees to help nerdish high schooler Stephen Dorff when the most popular girl (Ami Dolenz) at his school, and the object of Dorff's dreams, is kidnapped. Watching Dudikoff interact with a young co-star is nice, seeing as how such a pairing hardly ever happens in his movies. Dudikoff also doesn't rely much on his martial arts, instead playing the character as someone who doesn't really like to get involved with action, which is a nice change. Not one of my most favorite Dudikoff flicks, but okay for when you want to see him in a different type of film.

First time I watched Rescue Me was on TV in 1996. As a memorable quote from Marty(1955), I would say the same that Marty has said for his situation of searching for love: "I've been looking for a girl every Saturday afternoon of my life." I've never been in love, so been Fraser(Stephen Dorff).

Rescue Me is the type of movie when you watch at the age of 14, as I did, you will be totally inspired of the joy of being a teen. As a joyful road trip movie, ideologically Rescue Me seeks the meaning of life for a high-school kid. Willy nilly, Fraser seeks that meaning in school lessons, he couldn't find; he seeks that meaning in becoming popular among girls, he doesn't get satisfied; he seeks that meaning in finding love, he loses his self-belief. Finally he seeks that meaning in framing a career plan, and finds it; which must be the best thing ever happened to a teenager.

After seeing Rescue Me for the first time in 1996, I've taken a note on my notebook to get to myself finding a pretty girl and to make her love me. It was a full review of mine upon Rescue Me, that I've thought to tell as the very first starting speech to the girl I dreamed to find.

Rescue Me is the kind of movie, which you may enjoy on your own and it's for secondary or high school teens to get a good taste of it.

The underlying premise of Rescue Me is the often proved notion that the adolescent male will do just about anything to win the affections of the female of the species. Post puberty is one dangerous age, some of us actually never grow out of it.

Stephen Dorff is this gawky 16 something who wants more than anything to win cheerleader Ami Dolenz. But in the pecking order of high school she's the property of jock Danny Nucci and he's the jealous type. But when a pair of dangerous, but not terribly bright criminals kidnap Dolenz to get ransom from her rich daddy, it's Dorff to the rescue, aided and abetted by former Green Beret Michael Dudikoff.

In this comedy, that doesn't quite click all the time, the best acting is done by the crooks William Lucking and Peter DeLuise. DeLuise especially is a whole suit short of a full deck. Good thing he's so dumb or Dorff would have been dead meat. As it is he's got to be pulled from harm's way several times by Dudikoff.

Rescue Me is your typical teen comedy that with the presence of action star Michael Dudikoff tries to expand a bit the normal audience for such things. You've got to have a juvenile mind to truly enjoy Rescue Me.

That is, the half with Steven Dorff. The half with the crooks is badly discordant with the other. It's basically slapstick kidnapping and feels very uncomfortable when it veers close to rape-y.

I guess that sometimes works- Fargo basically had a similar structure. Doesn't work here though.

But the Dorff half is pretty good. It's a bit half baked. Seems like they could have just had Dorff be a photographer without the stalker angle.

Dorff *very* strongly evokes River Phoenix to me. Vaguely in appearance, but definitely in his mannerisms and voice. If I'm not looking at the screen, I keep thinking it is Phoenix talking.

It's all so strong, I wonder if they had the same acting training/coaches. Or perhaps since Dorff was three years younger than Phoenix, Dorff was patterning himself after Phoenix.

I saw this years ago on our pay channel, and loved it, so ever since I've been collecting glamorous titles with pretty actresses, I've been trying to find this, without success. But I've forgotten most of the details, and mostly just remember the shower scene at the beginning of the movie, the two young protagonists preparing for dates. And the hot pursuit, on a motor cycle, of the baddies. Recently downloaded the trailer, and when you take a look at that, it is hard to understand why there has been no DVD release, because this sure looks good. But a search for RESCUE ME just reveals the darn TV series, perhaps I should search for STREET HUNTER next time? And I promise to write a decent review if I ever see this movie again, but sadly, I won't :( Suffice to say that having seen it once, say far more than twenty-one years ago, I just know that I'd really love to see it again, so that is saying something.

News update! News update! Yesterday, May fourteenth, 2021, I finally finally finally got a download. I'd been peeking at YouTube, but we all know you couldn't download, so I was just bummed. A contact has an app, though, so finally...! Bribe involved, of course. Watching on a cellphone is not my preferred medium, but I'm busy doing that, and posting quotes. I am surprised at just exactly how weak the setup really is. But take it as slapstick comedy and all is well.

Seems I at long last at least (kinda) realized this objective. Notice given that this entry here on IMDb will undergo major updates!