...even as I hoped for better. With Madison as my hometown, and indeed being a spectator at the very race featured in the movie, I was greatly anticipating the release of this eponymous movie. My rating of 6.0 comes with the effort of trying to divorce my evaluation from such personal facts. Much of the acting was wooden (especially between the McCormicks), and there were too many inexplicable occurrences. As one example, Jim McCormick's son doesn't seem to be much bothered by having his mother leaving his dad for her mother's house. My rating also allows for the needed artistic license that was taken. For instance, the replacement Allison engine was not "borrowed" as depicted in the movie. And Chicago was not a stop on the hydroplane circuit, and most certainly would not have been the scene of the APBA gathering. While a personal matter, the sound track (ie, the pop/rock songs popular at the time) didn't add a usual complementary element. Conversely, the production values were very good, and the racing scenes were realistic. I got a bit confused on the boats depicted in the movie, and can only figure they were using what was available at the time of shooting the movie. But Atlas Van Lines and Budweiser were certainly top boats at the time (along with the absent Miss Exide). The Budweiser folks were portrayed as arrogant, but I suppose a villain was needed. Separately, at some point they should have said how fast these boats go. The portrait of Madison was fair, but underplayed its historic significance and physical beauty. As a gauge, my evaluation of the other Hoosier-themed sports movies depicting great odds being overcome has Hoosiers at a "10" and Breaking Away an "8". And finally, if you want to see the movie, the ten people in attendance yesterday indicates you'd better do it soon!
