Racing with the Moon Blu Ray Review (Fun City)

Racing with the Moon is a 1984 comedy directed by Richard Benjamin (My Favorite Year, City Heat, Little Nikita, Made in America, Mermaids, My Stepmother Is an Alien, The Goodbye Girl, and The Money Pit). It was written by Steve Kloves (Flesh and Bone, The Amazing Spider-Man, The Fabulous Baker Boys, Harry Potter franchise, and Wonder Boys). It was produced by John Kohn (Theater of Blood, Shanghai Surprise, Reach for Glory, and The Collector). The budget was $6,500,000, it grossed $6,045,647 in the U.S. and Canada. Henry aKa “Hopper” (played by: Sean Penn from Mystic River, Dead Man Walking, Carlito’s Way, Colors, State of Grace, and Fast Times at Ridgemont High) and his best friend Nicky (played by: Nicolas Cage from Face/Off, Leaving Las Vegas, Longlegs, Wild at Heart, Willy’s Wonderland, and The Rock) are enjoying their last boyish exploits in California before they both enter the Marines. Nicky ends up in a tough situation with his girlfriend Sally (played by: Suzanne Adkinson from Alice, Father Murphy, and Trapper John M.D.). Henry meets the mysterious Caddie (played by: Elizabeth McGovern from Ordinary People, Downton Abbey, She’s Having a Baby, Johnny Handsome, and Once Upon a Time in America) and they end up in a relationship. Everything is perfect until her help is needed for something really serious. Both friends are lower class and they struggle for money. They notice Caddie lives in a huge house on the right side of town. They assume that she’s rich and they end up asking her for a huge favor that causes problems between everyone. Will this close group be able to survive this issue? or Is it the end for them all???? Racing with the Moon is a coming of age comedy. It deals with two lifelong friends that are about to leave to serve their country so they decide to have some fun before it. Both guys are two different people and they have opposite goals despite joining the marines together. It’s directed by veteran film maker and actor Richard Benjamin. Sean Penn gives one of his most underrated performances as Hopper. He thought he had everything that he needed in his life until he meets the new girl in town before he leaves. He’s the loyal person that always tries to help his friends and family out. Nicolas Cage is great as the reckless Nicky. He can’t stay out of trouble and he’s always getting into the worst scenarios. Elizabeth McGovern steals the show as Caddie. She doesn’t want anything serious until she starts hanging out with Hopper. She’s hesitant at first but she falls hard really quick. She lives in a fancy house on the rich side of town but she never claimed to be wealthy. She wants to come clean but Hopper seems so fascinated about it so she doesn’t say anything. The chemistry with all 3 leads are incredible. Everything feels so natural with them. The rest of the supporting cast includes Suzanne Adkinson, Crispin Glover (Back to the Future), Michael Madsen (Reservoir Dogs), Dana Carvey (Wayne’s World), Carol Kane (When a Stranger Calls), Scott McGinnis (Secret Admirer), Shawn Schepps (The Terminator), John Karlen (Dark Shadows), Rutanya Alda (The Deer Hunter), Max Showalter (Sixteen Candles), John Brandon (Scarface), Eve Brent (Fade to Black), and Michael Talbott (Carrie). Racing with the Moon doesn’t shy away from sensitive subjects like abortion and it’s a definitely more mature than most of the other comedies made at the same time. Nicky is such a bad influence on Hopper and it really shows in the pool hall scene. Racing with the Moon is more of a dramedy than a straight up comedy because there’s some serious things here. I can’t believe that I have never heard of this one until it was announced from Fun City. I think it flew under the radar for lots of people so hopefully this home video release gives it a brand new audience like it did with myself. Penn, Cage, and McGovern really shines when it comes to this 80’s production. Racing with the Moon has a little bit of everything in it so it’s perfect to watch with almost anyone. It keeps itself entertaining and fun, it has some strong replay value to it. This was much better than expected, RECOMMENDED!!!! Let’s discuss this high definition presentation and special features from Fun City! This 1080p (1.85:1) is from a brand new 4K restoration from the original camera negative. It looks fantastic in HD, I compared to it some of the older previous versions and it blows them out of the water. It’s a massive improvement when it comes to the visuals. It has a few different audio options which includes English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono, and French: Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono on the disc. This is not the type of feature that’s going to go crazy when it comes to the audio but I will say that the soundtrack stands out the most for it. All of the dialogue is crisp, the drama is elevated, and the music has a killer boost to it. It has English SDH subtitles. It has an archive “Audio Commentary” with director Richard Benjamin. It has a brand new exclusive “Audio Commentary” with film critics Bill Ackerman and Marya E. Gates. It has the almost 13 minute “Making of Racing with the Moon Part 1” from 2004. It has interviews with Richard Benjamin, Elizabeth McGovern, Sherry Lansing, Stanley R. Jaffe, and Alain Bernheim. They chat about the origins, the script, changes made, the cast, and the characters. They all talk about it grabbing their attention and wanting to work on it. They go over how it got developed. They all show their appreciation for Richard Benjamin. It has the almost 20 minute “Making of Racing with the Moon Part 2” from 2004. It has interviews with Richard Benjamin, Elizabeth McGovern, Sherry Lansing, Stanley R. Jaffe, and Alain Bernheim. They go over the process and challenges of turning the script into a film. They mention how important the screenplay and group of actors were. They chat about the timeframe and how It molded everything into what it became. They all talk about loving their locations for the film. It has the little over 6 minute “Making of Racing with the Moon Part 3” from 2004. It has interviews with Richard Benjamin, Elizabeth McGovern, Sherry Lansing, Stanley R. Jaffe, and Alain Bernheim. They all go over their personal experiences from the production. They chat about the music for the movie. They talk about everyone enjoying it when it was originally screened. It has an almost 8 minute “Image Gallery”. It has a “Theatrical Trailer” for Racing with the Moon. It has reversible artwork. It’s available everywhere right now, CHECK IT OUT!!!!