The Dirt Bike Kid (1985)

Good story, Not enough for a whole film

A different way of telling a story

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

Jack (Pete Billingsley) buys a magic dirt bike that becomes his new best friend. He uses the bike to save a hot dog stand from a greedy banker. He stands up to bullies and criminals who try to take his bike. Then he lets another kid take his bike.Now let's look at this from an adult perspective. Jack's mother needs him buy groceries when they can barely afford to eat. He blows off the money on a dirt bike that some guy says is magic. His mother makes him sell the bike, but it keeps coming back to him, which he decides to keep, even though it doesn't belong to him anymore. When a local banker can no longer fund a hot dog stand because he needs to make a profit, Jack will do what ever he can to save it. This kid has no regard for the rules and no respect for authority. He breaks into meetings where he is not welcome and illegally saves the hot dog stand. He is now the hero because the banker is clearly the villain for trying to make money. Jack suffers no consequences for his actions.It was a good movie. How can anyone not love Pete Billingsley. Jack is a good kid. He cares about other people and is not afraid to stand up for what is right. I admire him for being an activist. What I don't like is how one-sided this movie is. Was the banker the clear villain? Sure, he probably had a lot of money and was going to tear down a place that meant a lot to many people, so he could make more money. But people in business do that all the time. Does that mean they're all evil? Jack wanted to stand up for those who didn't have much of a voice, but took know consideration to the other side. Could he have still fought for what was right without breaking all of the rules? I think that would have sent a stronger message.

If you are around my age (31 in 2013) you might remember seeing this VHS tape sitting in the video store, you know, the one with Ralphie from A Christmas Story riding a dirtbike. I never rented it because I thought it would be a cheesy piece of crap, but now that I have watched it for free on YouTube, I can now say that my original instincts were only half-correct. It was cheesy, but I still kind of enjoyed it. I was looking for something uncomplicated that I could watch to help unwind after a long day at work. It did the job perfectly.This is not a good movie in terms of acting, effects, screen writing, or especially plot (save the struggling hot dog place from getting foreclosed on!) but there is still a lot to like. It is very 80s, made most evident by the the synth-heavy soundtrack. Also the whole "extreme" attitude is in full effect toward BMX bikes and dirtbikes and other radical tubular things.The movie has a lot of memorable moments. My favorite: the local bank sponsors a little league team and then extorts the umpire into calling games in the team's favor because the bank has his mortgage! Right from the start, I had a hard time separating the kid's character in this movie from his role as a wide-eyed youngster in A Christmas Story. This probably has a lot to do with the fact that he plays both parts exactly the same — with manic boyish enthusiasm. In many ways they could be the same kid just in two different time periods.The plot is your typical stuff, but there was one interesting departure — the kid did not have a love interest. They saved all expressions of heterosexuality for the kid's best friend. In fact Ralphie might have been dirtbike-sexual for all we know. I guess the filmmakers were aiming the movie at young boys who haven't discovered girls yet.The kid's crazed look at the beginning of the film made me think of alternate interpretation: Ralphie is a poor child of a single parent. A kindly old man offers to sell him a dirtbike yet there is no way he could afford one in a million years. Rather than accept the reality of his destitute situation, Ralphie constructs a fantasy world where he is a hero kid with a magic bike, a starting position on the little league team, a smart-aleck womanizing best friend, and virtuoso computer hacking skills.So all in all it was worth it to watch this so many years after glancing at it in the video store. It probably would be better to watch this in a group so you can make fun of it together.

Don't listen to the above. This is one of the best pre-teen, teen-age movies of the mid-80's. While watching this movie today as an adult you see the flaws, but as a kid this movie has it all. The kid who serves as the hero, the evil bank villain, the baseball team, the hot mom, everything. If you want to escape life for 2hrs, this is one of your best bets to do so. Great time for kids and adults alike. Peter Billingsley and his motorcycle are one of the best duos of our time.Watch this movie and...SAVE MIKE'S DOGHOUSE!!!

when my friend told me there was a film about a kid and his crazy flying bike, i said "you're a bold faced liar." but then he got it and i ate my words. not only was the film about a boy and his wacky bike, it was about the love a boy has for being a naive idiot. i swear to you that i've never seen worse acting for a youngin' but that made the movie that much better. with constant continuity errors and a ridiculous plot, this film has it all. i've never enjoyed a film quite as much as the dirt bike kid.