Fandango (1985)

Five college buddies from the University of Texas circa 1971 embark on a final road trip odyssey across the Mexican border before facing up to uncertain futures, in Vietnam and otherwise.

Director:

Kevin Reynolds

Writer:

Kevin Reynolds

Stars:

Kevin Costner, Judd Nelson, Sam Robards

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Kevin Costner	...	Gardner Barnes
Judd Nelson	...	Phil Hicks
Sam Robards	...	Kenneth Waggener
Chuck Bush	...	Dorman
Brian Cesak	...	Lester Griffin
Marvin J. McIntyre	...	Truman Sparks
Suzy Amis	...	The Girl
Glenne Headly	...	Trelis
Pepe Serna	...	Gas Station Mechanic
Elizabeth Daily	...	Judy
Robyn Rose	...	Lorna
Stanley Grover	...	Phil's Dad
Jane A. Johnston	...	Phil's Mom
Don Brunner	...	Heckler #1
Michael Conn	...	Heckler #2

Storyline

It's 1971 at the University of Texas, Austin. College buddies, facing graduation, marriage, and the draft, skip out of their own graduation party and head to the Mexican border for some adventure, a buried secret, and one last go-around at "the privileges of youth".

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Plot Keywords:

based on short film | college | texas | trip | vomiting | 

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Taglines:

It's the privilege of youth.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Certificate:

PG

Did You Know?

Trivia

The first of three directorial and starring collaborations between Kevin Reynolds and Kevin Costner. Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991) and Waterworld (1995) followed. So as this film was released in 1985, Reynolds and Costner worked together over ten years.

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Goofs

Right after the car screeches to a halt in front of the parachuting school sign, Hicks takes off his glasses twice.

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Quotes

Phil Hicks, Groover: Angels!

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Connections

Featured in A Night with Suzy Amis Cameron (2020)

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Soundtracks

Symphony #8 (Third Movement)
by Dmitri Shostakovich

User Reviews

About to leave your 18th year and your friends behind you, riding an old 50ies beauty to nowhere and learning to fly...

It starts looking cool enough, I thought, although not overwhelmingly original: under a blue, blue sky, four young guys, as different as can be, drive to seemingly nowhere in a beautiful car from the roaring fifties. Singing, drinking, screaming. It looks like they're having a lot of fun, which of course will prove to be a doomed mood: their lives are suspended between youth and whatever comes next, just like them driving in the middle of Texas' desert landscapes with the unlikely goal of attending one of the mates' wedding... Everything is on the verge of changing for them; their friendship, the way they lead their lives, the way they consider the future.

What Kevin Reynolds achieves here masterfully is making the whole thing look, at first, like just another buddy-movie. Yet I think there is a lot more to it. Fun, slapstick, grotesque situations, and still, every time or so, we're given a hint that those people have no idea where they're going, that they try to ignore the (real) world that's waiting for them.

The one most representative of that borderline state and who remains, by default, the big brother telling the others where to go next, is Gardner Barnes, played by Kevin Costner. Very young-looking (to whoever, like me, hasn't seen him in a picture made 16 years ago), he radiates a kind of natural quality, telling us he may just be the most frightened and unsure one of those four mostly-losers. Anyone who has apreciated Costner in at least one movie should definitely have a look at this one.

There'll never be anything even remotely tragic in this story, nor any solid insight into any of those old kids. Not even into Gardner, the one with a haunting love on his mind, who claims he's never token a woman seriously. Some moments might strike you as either clichee, heavy or childish... Yet, after the finale, Reynolds has gotten us where we're supposed to be: feeling the dry cut apart from the time where our dreams where, to ourselves, a solid option for what our future might look like. The loss of what kept the world together until this very moment.

I should add that, having listened precisely in my beginning twenties to the Pat Metheny Group like mad, I was totally taken away when the whole wedding scene appeared to be choreographed around two of his magic compositions.

This movie has something fresh, universal, sincere. It's full of ideas and benefits from a truly inventive photography as well as a from a perfectly well-tuned rythm.

Anyone on a day where he feels up to re-live those cheers AND nostalgia, in the company of a bunch of excellent actors, would do himself a favor by taking a while to watch it. And, maybe, reconciliate with that little mix of sadness and joy we think we should have left behind us.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 January 1985 (USA)

Also Known As:

Fandango

Filming Locations:

Alpine, Texas, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$50,437, 27 January 1985

Gross USA:

$91,666

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$91,666

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros., Amblin Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

91 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1