Days of Thunder (1990)

Director: Tony Scott
Starring: Tom Cruise, Robert Duvall, Nicole Kidman, Randy Quaid, Cary Elwes

* * *

With Jerry Bruckheimer and Tony Scott on a film, it's a safe bet that the film will be pretty macho...wait...yeah; scratch that. Very macho. And so this is: once again Cruise has a need for speed as he did when the previous film the trio teamed up for, Top Gun; this time he just doesn't say it outloud. Thankfully. I'm not one to shy away from a macho film, generally speaking, and when I see the name Robert Towne in the writing credits I start getting hot flashes. Bob Towne wrote such 70's classics as Bonnie & Clyde (uncredited), The Last Detail, Shampoo, and one of my favorite films: Chinatown. With Days of Thunder, however, I think I started to wane when Tom Cruise and a rival driver drive rental cars at top speed down a public beach and slam into each other--destroying the cars in the process, of course--as they fly along the surf on their way to an important dinner appointment. That...that ruptured my suspension of disbelief right there. That was kind of...dumb. Other than that, it's a somewhat enjoyable--if straight by the book--sports film. You've got "the coach" (Robert Duvall) who seeks redemption for a dark secret in his past. You've got "the underdog/hero" (Tom Cruise) who can do incredible things if he only believed in himself. You've got "the hotshot/antagonist" (Cary Elwes) who always wins but doesn't have the heart that "the underdog/hero" has. Et cetera. It's enjoyable because Tony Scott tends to bring that shit. And bring it he does. It's nobody's best work, but for the popcorn-chomping thrill ride it admits to be, it's pretty fun. I recommend a large popcorn and lots of butter to saturate your brain so you don't think too much.

July 13
apartment TV, evening

* * *

D