Racing with the Moon (1984)

Directed by Richard Benjamin. Starring Sean Penn, Elizabeth McGovern, Nicolas Cage, John Karlen, Rutanya Alda, Suzanne Adkinson, Max Showalter, Julie Philips. [PG]

Young love for WWII-era Northern California kids in the weeks before one of them gets deployed. Sean Penn plays the boy with a crush; Elizabeth McGovern is the girl who likes him back, but a misunderstanding gets in the way of their short-time happiness; and Nicolas Cage is the boy’s best bud, a fellow U.S. Marine also about to head off to war. Little moments add up to more than they may seem, and it’s refreshing to see the filmmakers avoid the pitfalls of easy nostalgia or the potential of pending tragedy, but the feelings and memories being invoked are insubstantial for its few swipes at heavier, fatalistic thoughts. The subplot with Cage trying to scrounge up the cash needed to pay for his girlfriend’s abortion isn’t given the screentime or sensitive attention to warrant its inclusion, leaning too hard into that aforementioned misunderstanding and the half-considered class divide theme. The three main characters register satisfactory performances, marked by superficial complexities and affected emotions. Carol Kane has a minor role, and look for a handful of then-unknowns in bit parts: Crispin Glover, Michael Madsen, Dana Carvey, etc.

65/100