30 Day Movie Challenge: Day 21- Rad (1986)

There were a few challenges that were put in place when I was coming up with this version of the 30 Day Movie Challenge that catered to my liking. I also want to say that the timing couldn't have been any better thanks to Vinegar Syndrome, a company bringing lost classics from the 80's, 70's, and so much more. Thanks to their half way to black Friday sale, I was able to get my hands on a copy of 1986's Rad which was directed by Hal Needham (Smokey And The Bandit) and is my answer to today's challenge which was to watch an 80's film. The film stars Bill Allen (Born On The Fourth Of July) as Cru Jones, a 17 year old BMX prodigy who just wants to win a BMX race at a local track called Helltrack, but he'll have to beat the odds which are highly stacked against him. The film also stars Lori Loughlin (Full House) as Christian, Talia Shire (The Godfather: Part II) as Mrs. Jones, Ray Walston (Fast Times At Ridgemont High) as Burton Timmer, Jack Weston (Short Circuit 2) as Duke Best, Bart Conner (Stick It) as Bart Taylor, Marta Kober (Friday The 13TH Part 2) as Becky, Jamie Clarke as Luke, H.B. Haggerty (The One And Only) as Sgt. Smith, Chad and Carey W. Hayes (The Conjuring 2) as Rex and Rod Reynolds, Laura Jacoby (The Night They Saved Christmas) as Wesley Jones, and Alfie Wise (Smokey And The Bandit) as Eliot Dole.

I absolutely loved everything about this movie because it had all the fixings of an 80's movie from beginning to end. It has the long opening credits sequence with the catchy 80's song with all the BMX bikers doing tricks to the dance sequence at the high where the main characters take center stage, but instead of dance moves it's moves with the BMX bikes to the music. The film also has an incredible soundtrack that will satisfy any 80's music fan with the surprise to me being Real Life's Send Me An Angel which I didn't expect to hear in the film, but I loved it. It has all the typical 80's subplots where our main character seems to constantly be pushed against the wall as he overcomes every obstacle in front of him. The only thing I could have asked for was a little more of Talia Shire who plays Cru's mom, but she is barely in the film and I was satisfied with her lines. Other than that, the film features some really cool cinematography especially with all the qualifying races and the main race at the end of the film. One of my favorite scenes for the way it was shot was the scene where Cru is being chased by the cop, it just features some stunts that your like how the hell is he doing that. The overall acting was really good as well as everyone did their jobs, but the standouts were obviously Allen, Loughlin, Weston, and Walston who always brings his a-game to every film. I definitely recommend this to anyone who loves the 80's, x-games, and so much more as I am going to give the film an A- for a final grade because it was highly entertaining.