Race the Sun (1996)

User Rating:

5.1/10   

Director:

Charles T. Kanganis

Writer (WGA):

Barry Morrow (written by)

Release Date:

22 March 1996 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Adventure | Comedy

Tagline:

A dream can make all the difference under the sun.

Plot:

A bunch of high school misfits in Hawaii, introduced by their new teacher, attend a science fair in...

Plot Keywords:

Hawaii | Australia | Beautiful Woman | Teenager | Solar Power

Cast

Halle Berry	...	Miss Sandra Beecher
Casey Affleck	...	Daniel Webster
Eliza Dushku	...	Cindy Johnson
Kevin Tighe	...	Jack Fryman
Anthony Ruivivar	...	Eduardo Braz
Steve Zahn	...	Hans Kooiman
Dion Basco	...	Marco Kito
J. Moki Cho	...	Gilbert Tutu
Nadja Pionilla	...	Oni Nagano
Adriane Napualani Uganiza	...	Luana Kanahele
Sara Tanaka	...	Uni Kakamura
Bill Hunter	...	Commissioner Hawkes
James Belushi	...	Frank Machi
Robert Hughes
Jeff Truman

MPAA:

Rated PG for mild language and a brief incident of teen drinking.

Runtime:

82 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

SDDS (8 channels)

Certification:

Iceland:L | Australia:PG | Spain:T | USA:PG | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Adelaide Town Hall, King William Street, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia

Company:

TriStar Pictures

Trivia:

At the science fair, Marco calls the students from the competing team mahu(s) which is the Hawaiian word for homosexuals.

Goofs:

Continuity: When introducing herself to the students, Ms. Beecher prints her name on the blackboard. It repeatedly changes between printed and cursive throughout the scene.

Soundtrack:

Send Me On My Way

Nice Little Film

For curious movie buffs, "Race the Sun" is a blend of "Breaking Away", "Walkabout", and "Summer School"; making it quite unique and considerably better than its rating. It's neither ambitious nor technically brilliant; in fact the cinematography somehow manages to NOT capture the inherent scenic beauty of a series of Hawaiian and Australian locations. But the casting and directing are solid and the story has so much charm that you don't mind it being corny and predictable.

Halle Berry and James Belushi play teachers at a Hawaiian technical high school who reluctantly sponsor a team of students building a solar-powered car. "Race the Sun" was inspired by a group of Hawaiian students who actually entered the World Solar Challenge in 1980. The film would have been better if the cartoonish corporate villain had been replaced by some actual scientific explanations and a bit of background on the race itself. Speaking of cartoons, the solar cars look like something out of "Wacky Races" but there is no sign of Penelope Pitstop in this entertaining race.

The school is in Hawaii, which makes for some interesting cultural details (as does the race's Austrialian setting), but for viewer identification purposes the settings could be anywhere.

Thankfully the film avoids a couple of obvious traps. Berry and Belushi end up liking and respecting each other but there are no obligatory romantic sparks between them. Likewise for Casey Affleck and Elisha Dushku-who plays his step-sister.

Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.