Crossing the Bridge (1992) User Reviews

Crossing a bridge as an allegory for a more important transition

[Havan_IronOak · 7/10 · 25 August 2001]

Bridges have always been symbolic of transitions, whether from a major to a minor key, from Canada to the US, or from adolescence to adulthood. This film is about those transitions. It seems that all men have stories about when they `came-of-age', about the person they were then and about the friends they shared their lives with. This is another of those films.

This one had a particular resonance for me, as it's set in Michigan in the mid 70's. I lived in Michigan in the mid 70's and have been across the Ambassador Bridge many times. It was also interesting in that I had just seen `Threesome' in which Josh Charles plays a character in love with Stephen Baldwin's character. Add to that, the great songs of the period, that brought back so many memories and the unexpected appearance of David Schwimmer in an early minor role and this was an unexpectedly enjoyable movie experience.

If stories about young men coming of age and becoming the person that they will later be are enjoyable to you then I can highly recommend this movie.

I'd recommend this movie if you want to help teens learn some values in life

[reesy2 · 5/10 · 18 November 2005]

Decent coming of age story about three guys (one is a thug) who learn the value of doing the right things in life even if it's inconvenient. I watched it solely because a couple of my favorite wrestlers were in it though I didn't know how long their part was or what their part was. I knew it would be bit parts since they were listed in the credits as Senior # 1 and Senior # 2 or something like that. They were Jerry Lynn and Sean Waltman. I was right about their roles. They were small but what disappointed me was that they were two of the pioneers of extreme style wrestling and instead of being asked to use their talents they (well, Jerry)...got the crap beat out of him. Sean jumped on the back of the guy doing the beating but poor Jerry even got his face smacked into the fender or bumper of a car. Now I know he seems to thrive on pain in the ring but that is ridiculous! Maybe that was his first experience at ECW (extreme championship wrestling.)

A side note is that one of the lead characters, Mort, looked very familiar. He portrayed Knox Overstreet in a similar movie that was infinitely better, Dead Poet's Society. That film basically had the same message. It's time to grow up and take responsibility for your actions. That's a message I do promote.

Mort

[Wadevanbuck · 7/10 · 1 October 2020]

Such a classic Morty. I feel like he continues the existence of weak little men named Mort. For that they were spot on.

Unsure to the fullest.

Okay movie, but HUGE plot hole

[bitbangr · 3/10 · 4 August 2002]

Overall, even though there wasn't much originality in the story, the movie managed to hold my interest and was somewhat entertaining. However, there was what I consider a huge plot hole that sort of makes the whole movie seem ridiculous. The plot involves the protagonists having to make a tough decision as to whether or not they should go through with a drug courier assignment that is going awry. So of course, they are caught between making some "easy money" and the risk of facing some serious jail time. WARNING, possible small spoiler coming up...

After they've delivered the money and accepted the drugs, now they are getting cold feet about whether or not to risk trying to cross the border with the drugs (don't worry, I won't reveal what their decision was). All they seem to be concerned about is getting busted, losing their courier fee, their friendship and loyalty, etc. However, the BIG thing that they totally don't even take into consideration at all is this: if they don't deliver the drugs, aren't the dealers, who are waiting for the drugs, going to be pretty darned p***d off?!?! The dealers have paid a suitcase of money, so if they don't get their drugs, the young buddies would presumably be hunted down like dogs. This whole angle is not even mentioned!!! These guys should be more worried about this danger than losing their courier fee which is chump change compared to what the drugs would be worth to the waiting dealers. Am I missing something here?

I love this movie

[Charles_Bronson · 10/10 · 17 March 2004]

I learned of the great movie that was Crossing the Bridge around 2002. It is one of those good movies that are rarely ever aired on TV. Josh Charles, Jason Gedrick and Stephen Baldwin make the perfect team. The three main characters are like guys we know in real life and went to school with: One type who played ball and was popular with the ladies, the hot head who would always pick a fight and then there is the guy who has dreams of love and making something of himself.

The guys are three years out of high school and cruise around in their Buick which they call "[the] War Wagon". They then learn about a drug run scheme that was brought to light by a dope head [David Scwhimmer]. Aside from that, the movie has some laughs and some cool characters that you can relate to. Well worth a watch. I hope this movie comes on DVD soon!

One of the Best Period Pieces Around

[firebreak9 · 9/10 · 9 May 2002]

1970's Michigan- Mike Binder's "Crossing the Bridge" is such an effective encapsulation of that time and place that you might have to check the credits to make sure this movie wasn't made in 1975. This film was among my favorites as a teenager and has a tone that's somewhere in between All the Right Moves and the string of Coppola/SE Hinton films of the early 80's. Stephen Baldwin (in his best performance), Josh Charles, and Jason Gedrick, are three suburban Detroit buddies two years removed from high school. The dynamic and dialogue between the three actors superceeds the plot, none of which I will give away here. All in all, this is a great movie with an intangible quality that cements it the category of my all time favorites. Definately one to check out.

youthful friendship means so much...

[one star · 8/10 · 3 September 1999]

I remember watching this movie in English class, during my senior year of high school with great fondness. I sat next to my best friend and we loved every moment of this movie. As I sit here and think about it now, I realize that our appreciation for this film had probably very little to do with the fundamentals of good movie-making (ex: acting, direction, musical score), but can instead be attributed to the fact that it displays friendship in one of its purest forms. The film is an illustrated test of loyalty, and what being friends as an adolescent is all about. It made me appreciate my best friend that much more, and in the end, I left class feeling a little bit better about being a kid.

Good Movie

[Willie-12 · 8/10 · 13 September 1998]

This was a very good movie about friendship and loyalty, and what can happen when you decide to put everything on the line. It teaches a very good lesson about life, and climaxes at a moment of truth where the characters will make a decision that will determine the future of their lives. I suggest this movie to anyone who can enjoy a movie that might not have necessarily been the biggset blockbuster of all time, but was real and genuine, and about real people in the real world.

Ambassador Bridge, baby

[PIST-OFF · 9/10 · 26 December 1999]

This movie is pretty cool. I rented it because it's the only movie filmed in Winsdor, Ontario. Winsdor happens to be a favorite road trip destination of mine, and I even smuggled a little Canadian beer and some cubans back with me so this movie reminds me of me and my two friends. The acting is good enough, and I didn't think of Jason Gedrick's role in Heavenly Kid until the credits role. This movie really speaks to me, it's characters are a few years removed from high school, their hobbies are fighting and drinking beer and there's this nostalgia thing throughout. I give it 9 out of ten now. Maybe in 10 years that will change.

Great Flick

[steve-216 · 9/10 · 23 October 1998]

This is one great movie that most people will pass up in the video store, because they've never heard of it. It reminded me of my own trials and tribulations growing up. I recommend this film to everyone sixteen years of age and older.

My favorite movie :)

[Breaker-4 · 10/10 · 18 September 1999]

I first saw this movie on TV late one night. I was about to turn off the TV and go to bed at a decent hour when I heard the opening lines, "this is the tale of the War Wagon"...It grabbed my attention and as the movie progressed, I sat in rapture. This is an excellent movie with good acting, good actors and good directing. The soundtrack is full of hits that fit right into the plot and strengthen the setting, like any good soundtrack does. This is one of those "life" movies that ranks right up there with "Breakfast Club" and "The Diner"...check it out if you ever see it in the video rental store...

Compelling story with some funny moments

[Yzerdan16 · 10/10 · 15 February 2003]

I didn't think this movie would be that good since it has Jason Gedric and Stephen Baldwin as main characters, but I was surprised and really like this movie. Gedric plays the role of the ex-football star from high school who works at a gas station after graduating, and Gedric's performance was phenomenal; his portrayal of the character was perfection. Baldwin was ok, and Josh Charles, the guy from the great underated tv show "Sports Night", was pretty good also. The best scene in the movie is where Gedric gets into a fight with some younger guys from his hometown.

Every day you make a million decisions. But it only takes one to change your life. Forever

[JakeRfilmfreak · 8/10 · 24 March 2024]

Crossing The Bridge is a 1992 drama that follows three friends struggling with life after high school who get made an offer that's hard to refuse.

This is one of my favorite movies of all time, and one that most don't seem to know about. It might not be high on the radar, but it's a fantastic film about three friends, who are stuck in the past and don't really know what the next step in life is. The cast is outstanding with great performances from Josh Charles, Jason Gedrick, and Stephen Baldwin. The story is simple but completely intriguing with good characters that pull you in and keep you interested. It's a movie that takes a hard look at how the decisions we make can affect the rest of our lives.

I absolutely love this film, and if you've never seen it before, I would definitely recommend checking it out.

Coming of age in 1975 Detroit

[gimlet_eye · 8/10 · 4 February 2022]

This is a coming of age movie written and directed by Mike Binder. As with much fiction, and especially movies that are framed by the later perspectives of a participant narrator (here one of the principal characters, Mort Golden) I expect that Binder's creation is to a considerable degree autobiographical, and I see that he was in fact born in Detroit and would have been just a few years younger than Mort.

Set in Detroit in 1975, it features Mort and two close friends from high school, all aged about 21, and of very different personalities but united by their common situation: largely rootless and morally adrift in a decadent urban environment (that extends across the Ambassador Bridge into Canada), and still driven primarily by the testosterone that nature has presumably bestowed on the male sex to ensure that the community has a sufficient supply of young warriors to defend it. However, there is no functional community here, no adequate fathers in the picture, and no organizational structure like the military draft to discipline and direct the easily provoked aggressions of these young men, and to provide them with a recognizable path to adulthood. So instead they are drifting gradually into a life of crime.

It has been said that the primary imperative of society is to tame young men. In support of this proposition, the vast majority of crimes of violence are perpetrated by young men, principally of the ages of 17-25. Mostly these are crimes of impulse, and in the absence of skills and planning they often result in run-ins with the law or its surrogates, or alternatively with hardened criminals for whom the young men are no match. These experiences can be sufficiently painful to shock them into the beginnings of maturity, but fortunately, one way or another, the vast majority of young men do survive and one way or another find their way out of this potential or actual criminal phase of their lives. Scientific research has found that the brains (and therefore the psyches) of young men are generally slower to mature than those of women, slower in particular to establish the impulse control that the frontal lobes crucially feed back to our underlying emotion-drived animal brains, our core selves. Whether this delay is a direct consequence of the much higher testosterone levels that all biological males have compared to all females, or whether it just the testosterone speaking for itself, hasn't, to my knowledge, been established.

These general remarks are meant to elucidate the themes and backdrop of this movie, which, as I write, is grossly under-rated on IMDB at 6.3. I expect that this is in part because these three candidate musketeers are for most of the movie quite unlikable, and the milieu they inhabit is grungy and decadent. Then too, the movie is the conventional hetero male equivalent of a "chick flick", so probably lost some ratings points by viewers who weren't able to relate.

But the characters and their lives are real and believable, and if the dramatization of their story is largely an exercise in literary and dramatic realism, it is nonetheless effective, has the ring of authenticity, and in place of the conventional happy Hollywood ending, concludes on a satisfyingly hopeful note.

Great 70's coming of age film

[brucehanson · 9/10 · 7 June 2008]

This film has a lot of charm and compelling characters. I grew up during this period and think the film captures well the spirit of the times and the way people talked. The soundtrack couldn't have been better chosen and adds a lot to the nostalgic feel of the film. What's especially fun for me are the film locations- Minneapolis is standing in for Detroit in most of the scenes. The river hangout scene is very close to where I live now and the high school fight scene took place at my alma mater. Great themes and character development. I think everyone can identify in some way with the characters in this film. There are only a couple of weak scenes which do not significantly detract from the plot line or characters.