American Flyers (1985)

Kevin Costner and David Marshall Grant are a pair of brothers named Summers who are not the closest pair going. Both are bicycle racers. Costner was a champion and has now retired from the sport and is a sports medicine doctor. The other one is a talented racer but a playboy and won't settle down to train for the sport and has no great career ambitions.It's Costner who gets Grant to train seriously by promising to come out of retirement and race with him in the great Colorado bike race known as American Hell because of the stark barrenness of the landscape they race on. What Grant doesn't know is that Costner has an aneurysm which can break at any time and cause instant but painless death. It gives Costner an added incentive to get Grant to straighten up and fly right.There are some nice scenes with Costner and Grant and Janice Rule who plays their mother. Their dad died of this same thing and the tendency to aneurysm is inherited. There's a couple of women attracted to the Summers boys, Rae Dawn Chong and Alexandra Paul who become biker groupies. I suppose every sport and every musician has them.The cycling scenes are beautifully photographed in Colorado and are worth seeing the film alone. But the essence of American Flyers isn't sport or scenery, it's the conflict between the brothers who come together in the end as good families do.You might want to take up cycling yourself after seeing American Flyers.

David (David Marshall Grant) is ecstatic when his brother Marcus Sommers (Kevin Costner) visits home in St. Louis. Marcus is concerned about David failing at school. Their father died from a cerebral aneurysm and their mother is concerned that David also has it. There is family friction. Marcus works in sports medicine and convinces David to join him at Wisconsin State University. Marcus, his girlfriend Sarah (Rae Dawn Chong), and Leslie (Jennifer Grey) work for Dr. Conrad (John Amos). David gets a clean bill of health but he mistakenly assumes that he has the aneurysm. David, Marcus, and Sarah travel to Colorado for the bicycle race Hell of the West. Along the way, David picks up ex-hippie hitchhiker Becky (Alexandra Paul). Their biggest opponent is Sarah's ex Muzzin, friend Jerome, and the Soviet Belov.There are a couple of interesting new actors. Costner is pre-success and Jennifer Grey is pre-Dirty Dancing. The brotherly conflicted relationship is great. This has some family drama but the second half is where the bicycling sports fun exists. It explains the strategy rather well and the racing is done with drama. The racing looks great and the vista is beautiful. This is a solid bicycling movie.

Delightful film, directed by John Badham, stars Kevin Costner and David Grant as brothers who decide to participate in a Colorado race as a team--one of the two dying of a brain illness--and it's a difficult, grueling three-stage(each stage is one day)affair where they will be competing with the very best bikers in the world, including a Russian Olympiad and the previous winner(who Costner could've beaten had he not been content with second, letting off so that Cannibal could win). It's one of those kinds of adventure dramas with plenty of heart, sincerity, and tenderness, maybe a bit too "feel good" for some. The story is ultimately about brotherly love and even develops a romance with a hitchhiking traveler trekking cross country(an adorable Alexandra Paul) and Grant. Ray Dawn Chong is Costner's love interest who drives the team van, assisting them when they need repairs. Costner is really good as the big brother who has been keeping a secret from his sibling and has reasons for motivating him to join him in the Colorado race. Not only is the cast irresistible, but the race is quite thrilling and compelling, albeit predictable in the ROCKY/KARATE KID tradition. A real winner, I believe, with a satisfying conclusion containing a great message about perseverance against multiple obstacles. I have always been partial to bike race movies(or stunt bike movies)and believe this would be an ideal pairing with BREAKING AWAY. Luca Bercovici is the Brother Sommers' nemesis, Muzzin(nicknamed the Cannibal), once married to Chong's character. Paul and Grant have wonderful chemistry on screen and the love Costner and Chong share is quite genuine and heart-felt. I really think the film hums nicely when the Sommers ride together where you can see the joy visible on both of their faces. John Amos, as Costner's business partner operating a fitness gym, is wonderful. Paul really shines here, her engaging smile and exuberant personality really won me over.

..o.k., a three, maybe.Firstly, even given the age of this dog, this movie is so-o-o-o unrealistic when it comes to the subject of bike racing. Didn't anyone get it back then? I mean, no scenes of a tight peleton or any drafting. Folks taking flyers off the front with no coordinated breaks and no teamwork to speak of. Absolutely no depiction of legitimate racing tactics, no blocking, no pacelines, etc.But the real corker was the dialog. I mean, why pay rental bucks on this one (or even TIVO it on cable) just to watch over-the-top product placement. For example, the guy gets seduced by the girl who attributes their meeting to the fact that she had to wait for a quarter pounder at Mickey D's? C'mon.How could Rick Denman (of "Bikes, Camera, Action", who did the racing shots in Kansas) get sucked in so bad? Hollywood infects everyone! This one's off the back and dropped like a bad habit.