Promised Land (1987)

Gritty drama that follows two high school acquaintances, Hancock, a basketball star, and Danny, a geek turned drifter, after they graduate.

Director:

Michael Hoffman

Writer:

Michael Hoffman

Stars:

Jason Gedrick, Kiefer Sutherland, Meg Ryan

3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jason Gedrick	...	Hancock
Tracy Pollan	...	Mary
Kiefer Sutherland	...	Danny
Meg Ryan	...	Bev
Googy Gress	...	Baines
Deborah Richter	...	Pammie
Oscar Rowland	...	Mr. Rivers
Sandra Seacat	...	Mrs. Rivers
Jay Underwood	...	Circle K Clerk
Herta Ware	...	Mrs. Higgins
Logan Field	...	High School Coach (as Walt Logan Field)
Kelly Ausland	...	Schroeder / Ashville Basketball Player #1
Todd Anderson	...	Pat Rivers
Dave Valenza	...	Glenn
Theron Read	...	Harting

Storyline

Gritty drama that follows two high school acquaintances, Hancock, a basketball star, and Danny, a geek turned drifter, after they graduate. The first film commissioned by the Sundance Film Festival, it portrays the other half of the American dream, as Hancock and his cheerleader girlfriend Mary wander to a middle-class mediocrity out itself out of reach for Danny and his psychotic wife Bev.

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Plot Keywords:

bare chested male | male underwear | briefs | white briefs | tighty whities | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

R

Did You Know?

Trivia

Referenced in Lawrence Kasdan's Dreamcatcher (2003).

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Quotes

[waking up the "morning after"]
Bev: Where's the cat?
Danny: What cat?
Bev: The cat that shit in my mouth.

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Crazy Credits

Best Dog ... Cheetah

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Connections

Featured in MsMojo: Top 10 Iconic Meg Ryan Romance Movies (2019)

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Soundtracks

O Magnum Mysterium
Written by Giovanni Palestrina
Performed by Choir of Kings College Cambridge (as King's College Choir, Cambridge)
Conducted by Philip Ledger
Courtesy of EMI Records Limited, 30 Gloucester Place, London W1A IES

User Reviews

Bleak small budget film about the small town folks and their sometimes small dreams and lives.

Dave Hancock is a small town athletic star who goes away to college as a basketball player on scholarship. When he washes out of the team he drops out of college and comes home to find a job on the local Police department where he's comfortable among the folks he's always known and able to relax in his former glory.

Mary his head cheerleader girl friend goes away to school to study art but also longs for the small-town life and the boy she's left behind. She's got big dreams but is afraid to leave the comfort of the small town and afraid to tell her family she wants to stay.

Danny Rivers, tagged `the Senator' was a nobody in high school and can't wait to leave for the world outside the town he's grown up in and the bleak undemonstrative family that raised him.

When Danny meets and marries a crazy do-as-she-pleases girl he decides to return home and all of their lives are changed forever...

I found this movie to be evocative of a period and had better than average character development but this film will not appeal to all. It is a sketch of a time and a place and the people there. They are not archtypes, they are not universal but they are realistic and you can care about them and as with many sketches the viewer is left with the desire for more, a more complete picture, a better sense of what comes next and even a few more details about the present.

Details

Country:

USA UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

22 January 1988 (USA)

Also Known As:

Promised Land

Filming Locations:

Reno, Nevada, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$31,401, 24 January 1988

Gross USA:

$316,199

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$316,199

Company Credits

Production Co:

Great American Films Limited Partnership, The Oxford Film Company, Vestron Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

102 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1