Grandview, U.S.A. (1984)

I like the storyline of this show,it attract me so much

Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

The biggest problem with this movie is it’s a little better than you think it might be, which somehow makes it worse. As in, it takes itself a bit too seriously, which makes most of the movie feel kind of dull.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

This is a strange movie and another spicy relationship from Kleiser coming back from Santorin. Usually, Smalltown, USA is almost paradise and this one says the opposite : it's a pit, faraway of modern life and hard for professional life or romances as every one knows every body ! That was indeed my feeling in my own hometown before leaving for the big city… The movie takes a long time to get settled (while it's only 100 minutes), but it's worth staying because this coming of age story (a theme that has always resonates in me) is about a grad teen having a crush for Jamie Lee ! Sure her occupation is crazy (manager of stunt cars) but in her cowboy clothes or in the teen fantasies as a rock star, she is totally stunning and thus i was really connected with what's happening between them. Swayze was solid as a poor hick unable to save his weeding while Jenny was a big disappointment : she thus plays her unfaithful wife but like the future Tralala from Red Hook, she is too much into teasing and nothing else… As this small town is near Chicago, we have also as bonus, the locals siblings from the area, maybe in their 1st appearance as both sister and brother are still young !

This is a troubling movie to review. It's neither not good. More good pass the time movie fare in the world of ordinary, although you do get caught up in the characters and their hardships, problems, aspirations, mistakes, etc. It's well acted by all, and if you're a C Thomas Howell fan, like me, it's a plus, although like Soul Man, here, I didn't buy that Oceanography was his passion, a similar study to what the late Paul Walker did, him choosing marine biology. Anyhow, he gets caught up in an affair with an older woman, the always capable and talented Jamie Lee Curtis. Her best friend and ex lover (the late Swayze) a car derby driver who revels in his profession, is now going out with a trashy, but delicious looking sort (Jennifer Jason Leigh, in one of the film's standout and memorable performances) who's doing others, besides him. It is fun watching Swayze, get angry and go ballistic, and just watch what happens, when provoked. The film has an average script, and less so plot, but one feels the movie is not built around that. It only has video appeal. It'd bomb at the cinema. If you disregard that, and just live through the characters here, you'll come off okay, while a plus, is being a Christopher Howell fan. Another asset is two dream sequences, one featuring Howell in a choreographed dancing number in front of a locomotive, surrounding by an entourage of beauties and studs, where the prize inside the carriage is Jamie Lee Curtis who I myself, has never found this horror icon, attractive. Also an intimate lovemaking scene, on the derby ground, between the more mature Curtis and younger gent, Howell, in a brake locked car, which executes a perfect donut. An enjoyable time passer with memorable moments, and characters, but don't look higher than that. Here too, before Soul Man, Howell takes one in the gulliver.

During field tests with a local corn seed supplier I had to work on site and the work was based out of Pontiac, IL. People didn't revel in their small town status. They hated it and left as soon as they could, if they could. It was horrible. Everything. Try getting a decent meal out when the locals are actually afraid of spices. Not, "I prefer blander food" or such, but true horror at the thought that they might accidentally get slipped something cooked with the appropriate spices. I don't mean hot, I mean anything other than salt and pepper. And pepper's considered pretty darn exotic.Jamie Lee used to show up at the bar I used to frequent after work, during the shoot. That didn't even make it interesting. In fact, she was a bloody nuisance. Real attention seeker. First time I saw her I'd been in there about 10 minutes and a roadie walked in and she flashed her breasts at him and said, "How do you like these sets?"I suppose the movie does capture the grinding nothingness of it all. I found the plot insipid and the acting pretty bad. Patrick Swayze was just irritating. Surely you have something better to do than to watch this movie. I guess those that rated it highly are engaging in a kind of rationalization. Trapped in someplace like Fairbury, IL they convince themselves that they love small town Americana. Maybe they're afraid to leave. I mean, if spices scare you, the world might seem pretty terrifying. I guarantee it won't intrude on you in central Illinois!

This movie is really great about life in a mid western town, a great cast in this movie. A young soon to be high school grad,Tim Pearson,played by C. Thomas Howell(The Outsiders, Red Dawn, and Soul Man)has his dreams. He has his moments in life,especially after the prom. Tim makes out with his girlfriend, Bonnie, played by Elizabeth Gorcey(Footloose), in his dad's brand new Cadillac. Tim goes to Cody's Speed Way where they have demolition derbies there, he meets Michelle"Mike"Cody, played by Jamie Lee Curtis(Halloween, True Lies, and Freaky Friday). Patrick Swayze(The Outsiders, Red Dawn, and Point Break) as Ernie"Slam"Webster, is awesome. Ernie is a former boyfriend of Mike Cody, Ernie is married to Candy, played by Jennifer Jason-Leigh(Fast Times At Ridgemont High, Single White Female, and Rush), who is cheating on Ernie with a guy named Donny Vinton, played by 1950's heart throb Troy Donahue. A love triangle goes on between Tim,Mike,and Slam. Mike has her troubles too cause the county want to shut down the Speed Way, they feel her pace is unsafe, but the real estate man, Roger Pearson, played by Ramon Bieri, Tim's dad has plans for the site the Speed Way. Tim has a romantic night with Mike Cody,they start to be more close. Slam has problems with his marriage and wants to get close to Mike. Things get crazier when Slam gets even with his wife and her lover by using a bulldozer to tear down the house. Tim and his dad have some differences, but Roger realizes that he should have done things different. Tim tells his father that he wants to follow his dream. The Speed Way gets burned down cause of Mike's little brother, nicknamed Cowboy, who like gum very much. Cowboy was upset cause Mike sold the cars that he thought were his. Things do get better for all. Mike and Slam start over together, Tim Pearson goes to Florida cause of Mike and Slam giving him his car.I think this movie is underrated and should have been giving a lot more credit.Grandview U.S.A. has a good supporting cast like Michael Winslow(The Police Academy movies, Spaceballs)as the announcer at the Speed Way.M. Emmet Walsh(Blade Runner, Back To School, and Missing In Action)as Bonnie's father.John Cusack(Better Off Dead, One Crazy Summer, and The Grifters)as Tim Pearson's friend,Johnny. Joan Cusack as Johnny's sister.Carole Cook as Mike Cody's mother, Betty Welles.John Philbin(Children Of The Corn and Point Break)as Cowboy.I give this movie a 2 thumbs up and 10/10, I had the honor to see it filmed, I was staying with my aunt in Pontiac, Illinois, where the movie was filmed.