Racing with the Moon (1984)

In 1942 California, two young men await induction into the U.S. Marines and say goodbye to their girlfriends.

Director:

Richard Benjamin

Writer:

Steve Kloves

Stars:

Sean Penn, Elizabeth McGovern, Nicolas Cage

1 win.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Sean Penn	...	Henry 'Hopper' Nash
Elizabeth McGovern	...	Caddie Winger
Nicolas Cage	...	Nicky / Bud
John Karlen	...	Mr. Nash
Rutanya Alda	...	Mrs. Nash
Max Showalter	...	Mr. Arthur, Piano Teacher
Crispin Glover	...	Gatsby Boy
Barbara Howard	...	Gatsby Girl
Bob Maroff	...	Al
Dominic Nardini	...	Soldier with Annie
John Brandon	...	Mr. Kaiser
Eve Brent	...	Mrs. Kaiser
Suzanne Adkinson	...	Sally Kaiser
Shawn Schepps	...	Gretchen
Charles Miller	...	Arnie

Storyline

Henry and Nicky are small town pals from blue collar families with only a short time before they ship off to World War II. Henry begins romancing new-to-town Caddie Winger, believing her to be wealthy. Mischievious and irresponsible, Nicky gets into trouble which forces the other two to become involved, testing their relationship, as well as the friendship between the boys.

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Plot Keywords:

friendship | small town | cigarette smoking | train | nude swimming | 

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Taglines:

IT'S 1943 and they're trying to fit it all in before they have to leave it all behind [Australia Theatrical]

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

23 March 1984 (USA)

Also Known As:

Adiós a la inocencia

Filming Locations:

Fort Bragg, California, USA

Box Office

Gross:

$5,400,000 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Jaffe-Lansing, Paramount Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

108 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The name of the book (fictitious) that Henry Nash (Sean Penn) picked-up at the library was "When A Girl Grows Up" by author Susan Carter (fictitious).

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Goofs

Right before the fight scene in the bowling alley, Gatsby Boy bowls a strike. However, when Hopper charges down the alley after him, the 7 pin is shown still standing.

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Quotes

Henry 'Hopper' Nash/Lou: Tyrone Power never said fuck 'em.

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Connections

Referenced in Going to Pieces: The Rise and Fall of the Slasher Film (2006)

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Soundtracks

"Tangerine"
Written by J. Mercer and V. Schertzinger
Performed by Jimmy Dorsey and his Orchestra
Vocal by Bob Eberly

User Reviews

Sensitive and Wonderful Coming of Age Story

In the Christmas of 1942, in Point Muir, California, the seventeen years-old Henry "Hopper" Nash (Sean Penn) is the best friend of the reckless Nicky (Nicolas Cage), who dates the local Sally Kaiser (Suzanne Adkinson). Henry and Nicky have enlisted themselves in the U.S. Marines and they are waiting to be summoned to travel very soon.

When Henry sees the gorgeous Caddie Winger (Elizabeth McGovern), he has a crush on her and follows Caddie to find where she lives. He discovers that her address is a fancy manor on the top of the hill and Henry believes she is a wealthy teenager while she is actually the daughter of the maid.

Sooner Caddie and Henry date each other and they fall in love with each other. Meanwhile Sally gets pregnant and Nicky needs a large amount for an abortion. They try to raise the money and when Nicky is desperate, he takes an attitude that will test his friendship with Henry.

"Racing with the Moon" is a sensitive and wonderful coming of age story. This film is the second feature of Richard Benjamin that shows an excellent work of direction giving the right doses of drama, romance and humor to the story.

Sean Peen and Nicholas Cage give credibility to their irresponsible characters and the lovely Elizabeth McGovern is so beautiful that mesmerizes when the camera shows her beautiful face and eyes. The costumes and art direction are also fantastic and only yesterday I saw this film for the first time on DVD. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Adeus à Inocência" ("Farewell to the Innocence")