CalTempe@aol.com

A clean miss and financial flop for Ridley Scott, which is unusual. Jeff Bridges is terribly miscast. The intentions were good-- coming of age in an adventurous setting. But the script is weak and the tragic and harrowing events cannot save the movie. Kevin Costner and Steven Spielberg should have counseled Ridley Scott: "Don't make a movie on the water."

I enjoyed this movie, in part, because it was shot in Seattle before Seattle was hip. Before Starbucks, grunge, Microsoft and the Mariners. It also featured a cameo of the then Seattle mayor. Trish Van Devere was a beauty and Michael Sarazin later played opposite her husband (George C. Scott- an odd coupling, I thought). The movie had a quick pace and the characters were interesting. I liked it then, and I like it now.

There are mega stars in this movie, and the biggest is Lee Marvin's Buick. "Hang in there, Leonard," Newman exhorts as they rumble through the sage brush. Watch this movie and then watch Junior Bonner. Newman and McQueen will team up later, and the similarities between the two movies are engaging.