Year: 1986
Rating: PG
Rating: * * 1/2 stars
Cast: Kevin Bacon, Jami Gertz, Paul Rodriguez
Kevin Bacon, hot off the heels from his sleeper mega hit Footloose (1984), decided to take on the
eccentric role of a floor trader turned bicycle messenger in the underrated,
but yet somewhat misguided Quicksilver.
I read somewhere that he called this flick "the lowest point of my
career." Well Kevin, I'm here to tell ya, it ain't that bad. There is a
lot to admire in this mid 80's nugget. It's got an incomparable
synthesizer-ready soundtrack, intense bicycle sequences that kill stuff from
duds like American Flyers (1985) (oh
don't forget the chase scenes. The movie takes place in San Francisco so just
think Bullitt on bikes), a little bit
of what I call bicycle "break dancing" (you'll see it about 20
minutes in), and an exciting, tantalizing opening credits montage that holds a
bit of a promise. Unfortunately, like most 2 and 1/2 Star movies, Quicksilver's flaws outweigh its
strengths. Let me put it this way; it's a film that doesn't quite know what it
wants to be. Somewhere along the line, it seemed like this thing wasn't quite
edited in time. A deadline had to be meant, Quicksilver
had to be unleashed into theaters, and you can tell that some scenes were left
on the cutting room floor. However, even with its moderately short running time
(1 hr. almost 40 minutes), it still feels like you're watching 3 different
movies at once. Back in 1986 (year it was released), theater owners probably should
have charged double admission (I hate to say it but it's justifiable).
Quicksilver plays
out like this: Kevin Bacon glides into the role of Jack Casey (by the way he is
really moody in this vehicle), a one time stock broker who loses all his life
savings (along with the life savings of his parents as well) on a bad trade and decides to quit the
business and become a bicycle messenger. In fact, it's explained early on that
a lot of bike messengers used to have big time, well paying jobs (it's also
explained that one of these dudes used to work for the mayor). At first, I
chalked this up to be sort of an unusual career change (he was in a cab that
raced a random cyclist and lost. That could have been his inspiration, who
knows) but then Bacon's character explains the whole thing in a tiny compelling
soliloquy while talking to a friend in a coffee shop. He explains that this job
is simple, less stressful, and the main thing is, he doesn't have a lot of
responsibility (take the package from here to there, “Que Sera Sera”). Since
taking this job, Casey barely pays his rent, lives in kind of a warehouse, and
shares the space with a snobby pretentious dancer (Whitney Kershaw who I'm
guessing is his girlfriend). So okay, you get the blueprint. But I will reveal
a little more later on in the review. It's not exactly an exercise bent on
storytelling in the cycling realm. That's for darn sure. I will say this
though, I learned a lot of about the bike messenger business from a recent
viewing. It seems to be run like a pizza delivery chain, a very lucrative pizza
delivery chain. Oh and be on the lookout for the outside of the building or
home base where all the messengers huddle while waiting for assignments. It
clearly looks like an almost blatant, fake, Hollywood set instead of an actual
shooting location.
So anyway, I stated earlier that this film didn't quite have
an idea what it wants to be. OK, let’s examine this rather large factoid. Is it
about Bacon wanting to return to his old job? Is it about his friend Terry
(Jami Gertz) delivering packages for a psychotic drug dealer named
"Gypsy" (Rudy Ramos) and not getting paid for it? Is it about Bacon's
friend Hector (the likable Paul Rodriguez) needing his help to start a hot dog
cart business, or is it about Bacon's parents disapproving of his new lifestyle
(his dad is in two powerful scenes that have value, but we never see him after
that)? Notice, I didn't really mention cycling. When the movie was about to
come out, it was clearly advertised this way but gosh, it feels like good old ten
speeds got pushed to the wayside.
Now as I said in the beginning of the review, I certainly
don't think that Quicksilver is a bad
film. There are some poignant and excitedly dark moments where tension is
mounted and we view the bare bones of a solid dramatic thriller. But alas, this
in an exercise where momentum is sometimes undercut by hardly relevant side
plots and massively underdeveloped characters. Now listen, don't be so
"quick" to judge it based on some of the things I've said. You just
gotta know what you're getting into. Entertaining yet flawed, promising yet
manipulative, this is a flick about bicycles that's not really about bicycles.
In truth, it's a solid nostalgic rental (if you can find it) and with multiple
viewings, it may just bring home the "Bacon." Natch!
Written by Jesse Burleson
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