I became interested in this movie because I was curious about movies that had a large discrepancy between the Critics and Audience score on Rotten Tomatoes. Rad actually is the record-holder--84% of the audience liked the movie, but a whopping 0% of the critics. I was fascinated by what kind of movie could provoke this reaction--a very loyal fanbase and unanimous critical disapproval. It turned out that there were only 5 critics' reviews, so that was part of the reason. But the main issue was that this is simply a likable bad movie.
Rad is actually a sports movie--BMX bike racing. The BMX circuit comes to a small town, and a local boy is very talented and dreams of winning the race. He meets a girl from the touring company and there is a romance (surprise) and he does battle with the evil favorite Rocky style. Talia Shire, who was Rocky's wife, plays the kid's mom and does the same sort of nervous mugging for the camera. Bart Conner, the Olympic gymnast, plays the villain in his first movie role. Bill Allen and Lori Loughlin from Family Ties play the hero and his love interest.
Now, already, you can see the makings of a train wreck (or bike wreck?), but the fact of the matter is that the movie does a decent job of doing exactly what you would expect. Also, the BMX stunts are terrific, and some of the gags are pretty funny. It is easy to see how this movie could become a cult film (which it has) with rabidly loyal followers. Nonetheless, it really is pretty silly, so if you're into this sort of thing, great. Personally I think three stars is about right.
Rad is actually a sports movie--BMX bike racing. The BMX circuit comes to a small town, and a local boy is very talented and dreams of winning the race. He meets a girl from the touring company and there is a romance (surprise) and he does battle with the evil favorite Rocky style. Talia Shire, who was Rocky's wife, plays the kid's mom and does the same sort of nervous mugging for the camera. Bart Conner, the Olympic gymnast, plays the villain in his first movie role. Bill Allen and Lori Loughlin from Family Ties play the hero and his love interest.
Now, already, you can see the makings of a train wreck (or bike wreck?), but the fact of the matter is that the movie does a decent job of doing exactly what you would expect. Also, the BMX stunts are terrific, and some of the gags are pretty funny. It is easy to see how this movie could become a cult film (which it has) with rabidly loyal followers. Nonetheless, it really is pretty silly, so if you're into this sort of thing, great. Personally I think three stars is about right.