Looked forward to seeing this movie, and thought the casting was a good opportunity to make a good Knievel movie. George Eads seemed he could put in a good performance as Evel, and you can't take your eyes off Jamie Pressley in every scene she's in. Add Beau Bridges and Lance Henriksen, and it sounds like the makings of a good biography that has never been properly made. Not sure what went wrong here, but there were so many odd mistakes in the shooting, and what seem to be unnecessary changes to historical details that create distractions in watching the movie, and make the overall product seen cheap and "hammy". I tried to stay entertained, but the movie does not have factual credibility and lacks any production polish, it makes it hard to watch. The story flows in a choppy manner, including scenes that detail odd perspectives of his life that go nowhere, and then skips chunks of events and even ends abruptly. The product lacks a theme or specific point. Not an offensive movie, nor painful to watch, but I am more convinced after this movie that a quality movie about the legendary figure of Evel Knievel has yet to be made. Upon discovering this movie (it was 5 or 6 years old by the time I saw it) was a made-for-TV movie on TNT or some other station, the production limitations are obvious, and I am impressed the movie was even as good as it was.
Reviews
3 Reviews
Stacked
(2005–2006)
Real Sit-Com Entertainment
11 March 2010
Pamela Anderson hits a home run with this show. She is very comfortable as this character, and this ensemble works perfectly together along with consistent writing. A very simple set-up, using almost exclusively one setting, dialog is fresh and funny without being busy or repetitive. All characters are well-played by confident staff. This is a quintessential example of a situation-comedy: not preachy, not pushy, not offensive, and not boring. Unusually fresh and relaxed, it is a pleasure and true enjoyment to watch. Too bad people will remember Anderson for 2nd rate products like "VIP", and a shining performance like this goes largely unknown.
Use your imagination, and stay focused on the emotional theme this movie communicates.
31 October 2009
Warning: Spoilers
I had never heard of this movie before it was on TV, and I watched it because Linda Hamilton was in it, there was nothing better on, and I had not seen it before. It is intended as a warm family film, but it addresses a recent and sudden death of a father figure that was greatly loved by his family. But his death reveals a hidden life he had before his family. It is a bizarre backdrop for such a heavy family trauma, but it could work with a warm family spirit with a happy resolution. It starts out interesting with a lot of quirky townsfolk and estranged family, and has some funny ingredients like children who can fly, special healing powers, and animals that play roles for turning points in characters and comic relief. Other great elements are breathtaking scenery that makes you want to move there, allusions to long histories of travelers, and ethnic references to Irish tinkerers, but much of the initially interesting story lines become derivative and irrelevant. Many of the interpersonal situations are not detailed, and leave more than too much to the viewer's imagination (many implied themes are appropriate, but too many lead to varied conclusions by each viewer and breaks the continuity of the story). Each viewer should take what they want from the story, but ultimately, it reveals a story of a family who feel they are lost when the father dies, and can only become more lost as they try to learn more about the father's past. The ultimate story of this family is not really what the movie is about, but rather about how losing the life you know is horrible and traumatic, but it doesn't mean you can't create a new one instead of trying to search endlessly for one that you really don't know to replace it. This is not a crime thriller movie, so details do not need to be accurate, logical, or believable. Use your imagination, and stay focused on the emotional theme this movie communicates.
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