Across the Tracks

This is the most amazing movie in the world. Being a runner myself, this movie puts you into the emotional roller coaster that is high school running. There are many times when you feel like you will not or cannot accomplish the county championship but if you have someone like your brother to lean on then anything is possible. This movie has inspired me more than Chariots of Fire, PRE, and Without Limits combined. The acting and raw emotions that these characters experience will live on for ever. Where is the Academy Award for GREATEST FILM EVER MADE? By the way Pitt looks JACKED and he is the man in this move. Best performance of his life. PS if those are the standards to get into Standford then my whole XC team from junior year should be there. But that doesn't matter.

So-so movie featuring Ricky - oops, I mean "Rick" - Schroder and a 27 year old Brad Pitt playing high school students. There isn't too much of a story here, and I'm not really sure what the point is. It is good in a way, but the plot just didn't interest me too much. Maybe they should have just released this as a TV-movie instead of a feature film. I guess it is OK if you are bored, but I'd only recommend renting it if you are a fan of Brad Pitt, Rick Schroder, or track. Oh, and the kid who plays Blossom's older brother is in it. Why did this movie receive an "R" rating??

I recommend this movie as one that stands up 25 years later. It is written and directed by Sandy Tung and done so with great empathy for two brothers who both suffer from the loss of their father and the struggles of their mothers, yet do so in two completely different ways. The film being actually shot in Compton gives it a very real feel, rather than a cliched setting. The class issue is one that resonates today, as does the story of why a struggling adolescent can so easily fall victim to the criminal justice system, and how hard it can be for the single working mom. Considering the opiod epidemic, the growing struggles of working people, the hardship for so many to attend college, I found this film to be an intense viewing experience in 2019. Ricky Schroder was captivating. The tale was timeless.

The snappiest thing about this film is the title. Two American teenage brothers, one a swat and a goody two shoes on the athletic track, and the other a rebellious delinquent (born on the wrong side of the tracks, get it?), end up at the same school after bad boy Billy (Rick Schroder) gets a second chance after a spell at a Borstal.

Members of Billy's delinquent melee try to reclaim him for the bad side, but we all know that is not going to happen. Joe, the elder brother (Brad Pitt), is trying for a scholarship to a prestigious university by running a faster race than anyone else. This is where the story falls apart.

Brad Pitt has by far the more convincing physique. Rick Schroder is good looking enough, provided he stops slicking his blond locks back with a cartload of grease, but he is no athlete. The clever cinematic device of dressing him in black shorts and shirt for the running sequences cannot hide the flab. The slow motion sections (a la Chariots of Fire) only accentuate this.

Watch this if you want to see obviously twenty-something year olds trying to be school kids; if you enjoy folk belting round the running track; if you want to remind yourself of what Brad Pitt looked liked before he became a real actor.

Two redeeming quotations from the film are "The only thing personal is the size of your d**k" and "I thought you were as straight as a virgin's d**k". Memorable because, as I remember, at the age the characters are supposed to be, these comments pepper every day conversation. That there are only two during the 1 hour 40 minutes is an indictment of authenticity.

In what looks like the Los Angeles area, pot-smoking hot blond Rick Schroder (as William "Billy" Maloney) steals a car and gets caught by the cops, while skuzzy pal David Anthony Marshall (as Louie) escapes by dumpster diving. After a year in reform school, Mr. Schroder is granted probation. He goes home to live with poor widowed mother Carrie Snodgress (as Rosemary) and older brother Brad Pitt (as Joe "Joey" Maloney), a high school track star aching for a Stanford scholarship...

Screw-up Schroder is enrolled in a (nicer) high school on the other side of town, due to some program set up with the reformatory. This sets up the storyline as the brothers may eventually face-off "Across the Tracks" on opposing track teams. Apparently, Mr. Pitt did not get long well with his kid brother, and gives him a really hard time. Schroder has sweaty nightmares and must resist strong lures to return to his delinquent lifestyle. Mother Snodgress loves both of her sons with all of her heart...

This story of sibling rivalry takes a long time to get off the ground as the opening acts do little to make it convincing. Schroder and Pitt do not initially impress as brothers. Pitt employs some obvious "high school gosh" for his characterization; with a good tail wind, his bangs threaten to win the race on their own. Surprisingly, considering their subsequent acting reputations, Schroder is the one who builds-up some believability, minus the partying. Turnabout is fair play, in brotherly love and acting.

****** Across the Tracks (1991) Sandy Tung ~ Rick Schroder, Brad Pitt, Carrie Snodgress, David Anthony Marshall