Kansas

After watching Kansas I still haven't figured out why Andrew McCarthy just didn't call his friend and tell him my car died in Utah and there ain't no way I can make the wedding, get yourself another best man. Of course there would be no picture if he did that.

Nevertheless McCarthy decided because he was a romantic he'd like to try bumming rides in freight cars on the railroad maybe because you meet such interesting people. In McCarthy's case he meets an amiable Matt Dillon going home to Kansas and the small town he grew up in.

Dillon might seem amiable, but he soon enough gets McCarthy involved in a bank robbery and the two are fleeing. McCarthy has the loot and he buries it in a tree. But then on a heroic impulse he jumps in a river to save a drowning girl and the stranger is now a town hero.

In the meantime Dillon flees far enough and then turns around to get McCarthy and the money.

The tension in Kansas is whether McCarthy will be discovered as a bank robber just when things are going well for him. He's even taken interest in country girl Leslie Hope. Dillon on his return back shows what a truly sociopathic character he is with several acts of brutality.

Watching Kansas put me in mind of I Was A Fugitive From A Chain Gang and how Paul Muni got caught up in something he was really not involved in. McCarthy is a bit less innocent than Muni was. Still it was not an enviable situation.

Kansas is a well constructed film with very good tension buildup and helped by location shooting in the title state. McCarthy and Dillon acquit themselves in roles they are well type cast in.

I'd see this one when broadcast.

(1988) Kansas DRAMA

Doyle Kennedy(Matt Dillon) helps Wade Corey (Andrew McCarthy) onto a train cart as a result of him having trouble with his car. While in the train cart, instead of heading up to a friend's wedding up in New York, Wade consciously decides to allow Doyle to manipulate him to visit his hometown of "Kansas"-hence the title. It is there, Doyle goes on a robbing spree in which he first breaks into a family's house to robbing the town bank. Once they split up as a result of being sought after, Wade then hides the money before saving the governor's daughter. Doyle then goes on a tracking rant to locate Wade to demand for his share for the money. It is during then after they split up, he crosses paths with his love interest, Lori Baykes (Leslie Hope) whose father owns a farm. I've like seen better.

Wow, hard to imagine the positive reviews for this misbegotten turkey. The script makes a hash of character and motivation: unbelievable that anyone would do the things these characters do or speak the cliche lines they are given. Small town Kansans are treated like idiot rubes. Writer does not seem to know how to end the story, so tacks on a ridiculous wrap-up.

Director seems to cut to moody shots of farm machinery whenever he can't figure out what else to do. Special mention for a soundtrack that is a crime against humanity.

Dillon does Dillon (broody and crazy), McCarthy does McCarthy (inappropriate awkward grins). No other actors even register.

Except for a gratuitous and cringeworthy sex scene, feels like a poor basic cable TV movie. By the end, I was actually angry at how bad it was.

The two lead actors Andrew McCarthy and Matt Dillon did an admirable job in their roles as two drifters who by happen stance meet while freeloading on a moving train through Kansas. I really enjoyed the opening 10 minutes of the film and the Director's (David Stevens) use of the wheat combines chomping through a Kansas wheat field as the opening credits rolled along. I believed I was in for a pretty good film. Within the first 30 minutes a lot had occurred which I do not want to spoil for the viewers who have not yet watched the film so no spoiler alert is required.

As the plot progresses and the two lead characters roles emerge Doyle Kennedy (Matt Dillon) as the alpha male and his unsuspecting accomplice Wade Corey (Andrew McCarthy) continue on their mini crime spree it does not take them long to realize that they need to go their separate ways to avoid arrest and they agree to meet up later.

Doyle being a bit psychotic without a conscience wants to have a few drinks and connect with an old girlfriend. While Wade is looking for a way to continue his route to New York where he is expected as the Best Man at his friends wedding. So Wade stumbles upon a farm that is willing to give him a couple of weeks work in the wheat fields. Wade falls for the bosses daughter and he finds himself in a dilemma with his recent new criminal associate Doyle who wants to get the money they stole and move on out of town. Unfortunately for Doyle his criminal past and his distinguishing features (duh Wade!) leave the local police with an easy target to re-apprehend him.

The latter half of the film was predictable and a bit hokey. I thought because of the strong performances and cinema appeal of the first half of the film that maybe the production ran out of time and/or money and so a different director may have been used to complete the film. Since the first half of the film was so appealing I felt the latter half was a bit of a let down by the director David Stevens.

As a result I have rated the film a 6 out of 10. It is worth watching still but don't expect a great ending to a film that started off very strong.

Wade Corey (Andrew McCarthy) rides the rails hobo-style to get to NYC to be the best man in his friend's wedding. He befriends fellow rider Doyle Kennedy (Matt Dillon). They stop at Doyle's Kansas home town. Wade is pulled into Doyle's break'n enter and then a bank robbery. While hiding under a bridge, Wade comes to the rescue of the governor's daughter trapped in a sinking car. He runs away after the rescue only captured by the governor's photographer's camera. He is caught trying to steal by Lori Bayles (Leslie Hope) and her father gives him work on their farm. Wade's heroism becomes a media sensation inflamed by the governor's men while the cops continue their search for the one suspected bank robber.

The movie starts like an old-timey movie and it never really shakes that feeling. I don't know if people are still riding the rails like hobos but Andrew McCarthy never strikes me as somebody who would do that. He's more apt to hitchhike with his pretty face if push comes to shove. Matt Dillon has good criminal undertones and delivers on his part. Honestly, this movie would improve if Wade and Doyle first meet on a Greyhound bus. At least, that wouldn't stick out like a sore thumb.