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Ricky Schroder from The Champ has gone all tough on us. He's dropped the last syllable of his name for the much butcher "Rick", put on a heavy leather jacket, rides a motorbike and smokes cigarettes. To top it all off, he uses bad language and even managed to grow a bit of facial hair.

But just so that we know he's a good boy at heart, he wears white trousers, which is very impractical when you're riding a motorbike on dirt tracks.

I must say, I do not consider myself a drama fan. If it's up to me, I prefer watching an action or a comedy rather than a drama film. This one wasn't different, I got bored, turned on the TV -- only this time, I simply got hooked.

This movie really provides drama the best way there could possibly be. There's nothing too brilliant nor original about it, nevertheless, the good acting and the realistic script is what makes it so good.

Rick Schroder as Danny Evetts, the lead character, is doing a great job. He basically fills his role as the young, rebellious & emotionally mixed son of a divorced couple, played by Mary Kay Place & Richard Jenkins (Which are, by the way, familiar faces, although I can not really recall which movies they took part in), which play their roles just as good.

Danny is upset because of his family's situation. His father is getting remarried, his mother has a 'boyfriend' (which lives with his mom, himself and his sister), and Danny is just feeling left out. He and his dad have a special relationship, as friends do (or so he would like to think), therefore he blames everything on his mother, which is having a hard time dealing with him, and prefers to lean more on her new life partner. Obviously Danny can not stand his mother's behavior (even though he acts as if he does not need her), one thing leads to another, and because of his behavior (Drugs use, alcohol, violence) Danny ends up in a special institute, for teenagers whose parents decided to give them away for a sort of a therapy. Danny can not stand the institute.. and for the rest, you'll just have to watch it yourself.

Perhaps this film touched me so much because I am about at Danny's age (even though I don't have any of his problems, hehe), but I still think it delivers an interesting, touching and realistic story, played out wonderfully. I guess this is just one of those low budget STVs (STV > Straight To Video, this movie was not shown in theaters) that outperform many theater movies, which I was wondering if whether they were a myth or not.

I give it a perfect 10/10, it is an excellent drama, which gives the viewer exactly what he looks for in this genre.

I have to disagree with the other comments made on this movie! This was an awesome movie! This movie was totally believable. It does show the pain and agony that some kids are put in when they are in "they system!" There are some really bad parents out there and this move shows how some parents can be perceived as being unconcerned! I saw this movie at a time in my life when I actually believed that Rick Schroeder was playing my life! You would have to be in a similar situation to understand the incredible emotion Rick portrayed in some scenes! This movie helped show what an awesome actor Rick is. I think the movie was done very well. I am currently trying to get a copy through Ebay!

I think that the critic that reviewed this film for People Magazine put it the best, he said that it is a fourth rate "One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest". I wouldn't even give it that much! This is one of the worst tv films that I ever saw. It is so bad that I was looking at the director's credits to see if Ed Wood directed it! Ricky Schroder (oh I am so sorry its RICK now!) is one of the few child actors who ever made a real and sucessful transition to adult roles (he starred on NYPD Blue for example). He is very talented and I just thought he deserved so much better than this. What was so bad was the script, it was like it was written by somone who thought he knew how young people talked but who was an old fart who didn't know anything. I mean some of the lines that Schroder is forced to deliver are absolutely painful. This film is meant to be a searing indictment of our juvenile justice system, a Dickensonian mental health care system that abuses its patients, or just parents who don't give a damn about their children. There are so many important social issues that need to be addressed and this film fails MISERABLY on all counts!!!It is laughable and a joke. Take my advice folks, if you want to see a really good family film that will make you feel good and that features RICK Schroder in it, rent The Last Flight Of Noah's Ark. My sister got the DVD for me at Christmas and it is a good film that you can watch with your kids. That is so rare nowadays.