Hard Miles (#545)


HARD MILES is yet another movie based on a true life event.  This time the subject is long distance bicycling and a 742 mile journey from Denver to the Grand Canyon by a teacher and four students in a boys disciplinary school—essentially a prison for troubled teens.  A white-haired and elderly looking Matthew Modine does an excellent job portraying the shop teacher with heart and mobility problems but also a long distance biker who puts together a makeshift crew of unhappy boys to join him on his vacation trek.  They are accompanied  by another teacher or aide or administrator from the "school" in a van carrying food and supplies.  The boys are trouble, totally inexperienced in bike riding, riding bikes they constructed themselves in the teacher's shop, and if that weren't enough, the school/prison is in danger of being shut down because of funding and disciplinary problems.  It is a dramatic adventure, through some wonderful scenery including the Grand Canyon, and the whole cast does its job well, particularly Modine.  I fondly remember the one other bicycle film I saw, Breaking Away, a dramatic comedy starring newcomer Dennis Christopher (Chariot of Fire) and a very young Dennis Quaid (this was in 1979 when I was a mere lad of 50).  Hard Miles is not nearly as good, but it kept my attention, had some poignant scenes and had some messages.  I liked it, and so did critics (88%) and audiences (94%).  Another feel-good movie!

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