Fandango (1985)

I have started working my way through Kevin Costner's filmography in order, starting with 1985's Fandango. Plot In A Paragraph: In 1971 a group of five friends who have just graduated from college set out on a final road trip for one last hurrah before Vietnam or adulthood claim them. The destination: Mexico, to dig up their old friend "Dom". Steven Spielberg saw Kevin Reynolds' short film Proof and was so impressed with it that he had him expand it into feature length. Spielberg also produced the flick through Amblin.Kevin Costner (in his first good role) is the leader of the gang of friends who call themselves The Groovers, with Phil Hicks (Judd Nelson) as his second in command. The other three Groovers include the hulking and bearded Kenneth (Sam Robards), the self- conscious Lester (Brian Cesak), and the narcoleptic Dorman (Chuck Bush). Part road trip movie, part coming of age drama. It's a mix of American Graffiti and Stand By Me. This movie is an absolute little gem. The first time I seen it (after finally tracking a copy down to fill the blanks in, in my KC collection) I was amazed I had never seen it before, come to think of it, I'd never heard anyone mention it before. It's not even available on DVD in my country!! Admittedly the title did nothing for it (although someone requests the Fandango be played at the end of the movie) It also had a poor uninspiring trailer.The movie has some serious laugh out loud moments and features a great soundtrack with Alan Silvestri's score and some classic songs. This for me is the first time KC delivers a good performance. He is a charming, smooth talking slacker. It's an enthusiastic performance, and it's impossible not to like his character. In fact his character could quite easily be Crash Davies from Bull Durham or Roy McCovoy from Tin Cup. Judd Nelson also delivers a top performance as the butt of most of the gangs jokes.Inexplicably Spielberg didn't like the results so he took his name off of it. He did however use leading man KC for an episode of Amazing Stories later.Whilst Spielberg didn't like it Quintin Tarantino is a huge fan, and you can see the influence in his work, when you watch this movie. He was quoted in Empire as follows: "Fandango is one of the best directorial debuts in the history of cinema. I saw Fandango five times at the movie theater and it only played for a f***ing week, all right.You can see the influence on him, this movie opens with a description of the word Fandango, just as Pulp Fiction does, and you can see the use of the songs on the soundtrack too.Fandango was barely released in theaters and didn't receive much attention as a result. Warner Bros need to sort themselves out, and give this a real DVD release.

..and it was great when it came out. A friend recommended I see this film in 1988 and it has been one of my absolute favorites ever since. I think the magic of this film is the successful intertwining of mental-patient humor with very poignant scenes.I think I was expecting another Animal House ( A stellar movie in it's own right..) but it ends up being so much different and so much more. One of my favorite scenes is the 'tow the car behind the train'. Dorman's casual walk as the slack is taken up is genius. Throw in 'The Girl', laundry, Dom, the great soundtrack, airplanes, the wedding and it makes for a great movie.I'm not sure why this movie wasn't more successful when it came out but it seems to have a stronger following year by year. Also Costner's best film.An absolute must see.

I actually was one of the dozen or so people that saw this film at the theater. I was a senior in high school so the timing was perfect to appreciate this movie. I have probably seen the film 40 times and still enjoying letting it run n the background when I am working at home on the weekends. It is truly a guy flick but even can appreciate the interaction between the characters. With most of the boys in the film slated to be shipped to Vietnam they are looking for one last Hoorah before there push into adulthood and possible demise. If I could change one thing about the film it would be the very last 5 seconds of the film. You have to see it to understand.Definitely Costner's best performance. This was back in the day when he was still hungry and not so caught up in the business. In the film he is reckless and short-sighted and carries the movie to the very end. Judd Nelson plays the friend in the group you always wanted to punch in the nose. But his constant negativity and whining are a perfect foil to Costner and the friction between the two is great.The soundtrack is fantastic. The scenery shot in south Texas is beautiful (I am a Texan born and bred so I am partial).I think it is an amazing early film for the director and I was quite surprised to read that Spielberg wanted nothing to do with the finished product.I actually bumped into Brian Cesak, who played the comatose Lester Griffin in the film, one night at a bar. Unfortunately for him I was drunk and I cornered him with about 50 questions about the film. He is now a successful Chiropractor here in Dallas. Nicest guy you'd ever want meetHis total script went: Well, listen, l'm gonna try and catch a ride with somebody. lt's been real. Call me sometime. Arthur Andersen in Dallas.For those of you that really love the film you should check out the Script online - script-o-rama.com. If you have seen the film as many times as I have you can hear the songs start at just the right point in the script (e.g Costner - "How bout a Fandango?")As with all movies some will love this one and others will hate it. But if you have not seen it check it out for yourself.Another hard to find but cult classic film you should check out is "The 9th Configuration" with Stacy Keach. Good luck finding it.

In one of the great performances of all time Kevin Costner stars as the doomed,James Dean obsessed gardener Barnes.His future all but void as he finishes(not graduates)the university of Texas,Mr.Burns(as Truman Sparks calls him)assembles his crew of groovers for the last best road trip of their lives.The movie's loaded with suspension of disbelief flaws and overdone,kinda hackneyed symbolism.Take for instance,the skydiving sequence as an example of both.Or the fireworks shootout at the graveyard as an example of the latter.Or the impromptu wedding ceremony that closes the film...actually no.Completely unforgettable,that scene.When Gardener realizes his best friend really is marrying his one true love,that he really is past the best days of his life,wow.The unflappable Gardener tells Phil(Judd Nelson) at one prior point that all love mostly is,is "thoughts".He'll never grow old enough to realize how wrong he is.what an amazing character,that you love with all his flaws.Just like this movie.