Chasing Dreams

This was the best WORST movie ever! Don't be fooled by Kevin Costner on the cover. How did Kevin Costner get into this movie is my question

I remember my poor mom rented this for us right after Field of Dreams came out. Who could blame her, Kevin Costner is featured right on the cover! I seem to recall the plot revolved around some idiot getting hit in the head with a baseball and entering a walking coma or something. Kevin Costner drove a truck and had about 5 minutes of dialogue. A truly awful movie and my first experience with fraudulent video promotion. For that, I'll probably remember it forever - congratulations to the filmmakers!

People see this movie for a lark. I watched it to the end simply because it was so bad. Kevin Costner is pasted all over the cover of the box, but he is in it for about 2 minutes.I will forever call this movie the worst of all time. The only reason that this movie has such a high rating (3.7) is that some think they are voting for Field of Dreams, which this is definitely not. If any of you have a "worst movie ever" VCR challenge, bring this movie. You will win in a landslide.

My review was written in May 1989 after watching the movie on Prism video cassette.

"Chasing Dreams" is a lackluster attempt at an inspirational film, notable only for a brief cameo appearance in yet another baseball-themed movie by the reigning genre king, Kevin Costner.

Lensed in 1981, pic gets a belated home video release primarily because of Costner's fleeting presence on screen.

Young David G. Brown toplines and penned this lame tale of a junior college freshman who had taken a year off after high school "to find himself" and now is attracted to baseball, favorite sport of his wheelchair-ridden, ailing younger brother Ben (Matthew Clark).

Though college coach John Fife quickly befriends Brown, artificial plot device has his dad forcing the "unmotivated" yo9uth to devote all his free time to farm chores. Getting little sleep, he devotes himself to baseball practice on the sly as well and predictably becomes the team hero. Final reel creaks with ridiculous melodramatic gimmicks (sudden death of cute little Ben while Brown is away on a pro scout visit Borwn's sudden catatonia when beaned in a championship game) and hokey sentimental finish.

Production and most of the cast is at best semi-pro. Costner's easygoing manner and delivery is as confident and developed here as in "Field of Dreams".

With others tyet to be released (including New World's 1983 Canadian pic "The Gunrunner", Costner has more movie marginalia in his past than virtually any toher contemporary star. In this one his role is limited to giving the hero (his younger brother) a peptalk in opening scene on his way to medical school. Cast talks a lot about him but unfortunately for the filmmakers Costner never shows up again.

Rarely does a film emerge which displays this level of ineptitude allied to a deep commitment to The Happy Ending.

Quite how the lead (Gavin) was cast will always remain a mystery to me. Abysmal acting allied to a huge honker, Gavin is one of the great romantic leads in the movie canon. And the moment at which Pam pronounces her undying love for Gavin has to be seen to be believed.

Add a kid in a wheelchair, the disgruntled coach and a character called Gaylord, and you have a film that gives Python, Naked Gun, Balzing Saddles and the Marx brothers a run for it's money.

A joy from start to finish.