A Volta por Cima

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.

I haven't seen "Grandview, U.S.A." is many moons. After watching it last night my crush on Jamie Lee Curtis is back in full swing. She's so cool and very dreamy in this movie. The rest of the cast is also very good with the standouts being Ramon Bieri and Patrick Swayze. Bieri plays his tricky character just right and Swayze has never been better. This is also a great looking movie with terrific locations. "Grandview, U.S.A." is a very satisfying watch.

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.

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.

Americana-style comedy-drama about a county commissioner who tries to run the local demolition derby out of business so he and his investors can build a country club on its property. The commissioner's son falls in love with the woman owner of the derby, thereby creating an obvious rift with his dad. The feature has gotten mixed reviews over the years, though it does have its entertaining moments.