Miracle Mile (1988)

Good movie but grossly overrated

Absolutely brilliant

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties. It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

This movie has is 30 years old, but it looks like it has 130. Acting is poor, direction is poorer and script is bad. It starts as a romance, goes on as a farce and ends as a tragedy. A huge tragedy. Script writers should not fool their audience. If I am watching The Day After, I am prepared to what's going on. The screenplay is clever. You feel compassion for people in their generality. You feel sorry for Humanity. In this movie you should feel sympathy for single characters who will die in a small cloud of vapor. That is not fair to me. I did not like it. My wife was right when she said that old movies are at risk, unless they are masterpieces

In amid the unfunny comedies and silly romantic tales of the late '80s movie business comes this absorbing, interesting gem of a film dealing with the threat of nuclear war. Achieving wonders on what is a low budget, this is an intelligent, accurate slice of film-making which remains gripping from start to finish. The decision to make this a character-focused piece of drama, instead of a special effects intense film (think : Armageddon), makes it all the more thrilling in that we care about the people involved.A cast of mostly unknowns, only familiar from television, do a pretty good job to convey the fear as the clock ticks down to nuclear warfare. Another clever plot device is to have the film playing out in real time, so the viewer can also count the seconds ticking down to the strike, making it all the more intense. Anthony Edwards, while appearing somewhat wimpish and cowardly as the lead, does a great job, being as he is a messenger of death to most of the cast. You can really feel for his frantic plight as he rushes across the city and engages in all sorts of mishaps and violence. Many familiar faces turn up in bit parts, from Denise Crosby to the black police chief from ROBOCOP, who here plays the café owner. Also popping up are THE TERMINATOR's Doctor Silberman and Brian Thompson, the chief baddie in COBRA. Old timers John Agar and Lou Hancock provide a few laughs as the stubborn couple who are brought together by the threat - a cliché, yes, but a good one.There are plenty of tense, nail biting moments in this film. The café scene, where Edward struggles to convince the locals of the threat, is a great one, as is the petrol station incident which explodes into unexpected tragic violence. But it's in the final stages where the film really comes into it's own, showing a city in chaos, full of crashed cars, looters, and people who have lost all their scruples and are more than willing to kill in a bid to survive. It's clever how this film shows how such a threat can change people in different ways, reverting human society back to its basic principles. Widespread chaos is easily conveyed in some powerful, dramatic scenes of turmoil and confusion at the end, which are very impressive on a low budget and good at putting across the hopelessness of the situation.Okay, so the nuclear blast, when it comes, isn't very impressive (after all, they didn't have that big a budget, and I still think TERMINATOR 2 is the final word on portraying a horrific nuclear attack via spectacular effects), and the film does descend into some awful sentimentality in the dragged-out conclusion, with some terrible romantic stuff between Edwards and Winningham. But ignore these faults and instead focus on the ideas and issues behind this character-led piece of intense drama, and you'll have a great time.

OK - here's the spoiler: Anthony Edwards is chicken little, and by answering a pay phone's wrong number, he is told that the missiles are on their way. His announcement to everyone he meets that WWIII is starting sets off panic in the streets,rioting and pillaging, and half way through the film, he finally asks himself the obvious question: "How do I know this is really happening? What if that wrong number was just a prank? Am I the boy who cried wolf?" Finally he goes to a pay phone and dials the number correctly to find out the truth. From that moment on, it's no longer a joke... Starts off as a boy meets girl love story. Turns into a roller coaster ride of second guessing, and ends with a bang.

OK. So maybe this movie isn't exactly all that realistic. The storyline is rather contrived, but the way they pull it off was exceptional. Director Steve De Jarnatt knows how to build suspense, and keep you on edge throughout the film as it slowly builds. I also give credit to the amazing group, Tangerine Dream. They created an infamous theme for Risky Business, and did the same here in Miracle Mile with some memorable stuff. Miracle Mile is not just about the end of the world, or nuclear destruction, it's about love, with a beautiful love story between Harry (Anthony Edwards) and Julie (Mare Winningham) They portray the hero & heroine respectively. They manage to make you believe in their romance, and I was on their side the whole way. The infamous call sequence with the caller who informs Harry about the nuclear missiles, and the restaurant sequence which commences afterwards is one of the most chilling sequences you will find in a movie. It's drenched with suspense, and actually terrified me. The way these people act with end of the world threats, was actually quite accurate. You can't really depend on your fellow man to stay calm, or anything like that, everyone panics. Anthony Edwards is magnificent as the lead. His frantic and vulnerable performance was chilling at times, and his chemistry with Winningham was bang on. Mare Winningham isn't all that attractive in the classical sense, but I dare you to not try and fall in love with her, because you can't help but do so. I absolutely loved her. Kurt Fuller's hysterical, OTT performance was a blast to watch, and provides some laughs. The finale is adroitly done, and manages to make your emotions go all over the place. I tried predicting what was gonna happen, but I wasn't able to do so, because it kept throwing new things in my way. It also poses this question. What would you do with your hours left to live? How would you spend it? How would you react? Would you riot in the streets like they did in this movie? Spend it with your loved ones? Choose to get drunk, to have one final, fun night? End it before the world has a chance to end? It's really creepy to think about. I would definitely spend my last hours with Harry & Julie; they are two people worth spending my last hours with. Final Thoughts: A thought provoking film, and one that will stick with you. It's a frightening prescient social commentary, and from the IMDb rating, it seems I am not alone with thinking this film is underrated. It's sadly neglected when it comes to great 80's films, but not by me. It's a must see!8.6/10