Sometimes the Universe sends a message. You just have to be alert enough to recognise it.
I recently reviewed the Gal Gadot running movie The Runner and followed it up by reviewing the Alan Ritchson actioner Runner. Then this popped up on my Social Media feed:
The Runner – Runner – Run. I liked the synergy, so I sought out and watched the 1991 action movie Run, starring Patrick Dempsey.
Bueller…Bueller
The movie opens with Patrick Dempsey running. It keeps with the theme, but it’s just a recreational jog.
Dempsey plays Charlie, a cocky Boston Law student who enjoys fleecing his friends at poker with an annoying smirk that you just want to slap right off his face. Charlie is privileged with good luck but not wealth, so he works as a mechanic to pay the bills.
Charlie gets a job driving a customer’s red Porsche to Atlantic City, so of course he thrashes the hell out of it. It reminded me of Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.
In fact, Run could be Ferris Bueller’s darker, spiritual successor. Charlie has that same breezy, ‘nothing bad can happen to me’ attitude towards life. Many people hate Ferris for that exact reason. The remedy is to watch Run, pretend Charlie is Ferris and rub your hands together with glee as he finds out that bad things can, in fact, happen to you.
His Porsche breaks down in what I can only describe as the most corrupt town in America. Everyone, including the entire police force, is working for the mob.
Charlie drops the Porsche off at a garage. He’s hungry so he hails a cab. The cab driver, a ‘Ya mon’ Jamaican stereotype, assumes Charlie is rich (because of the Porsche) and takes him to a casino. I’m guessing he receives a finder’s fee for luring wealthy, naïve out-of-towner suckers to them.
Charlie plays poker and keeps winning with the same smartass smirk and the same ‘hey, life’s a gamble, man’ attitude that’s worked so well for him up until now.
But one of the players he keeps taking money from is Denny, a mob boss’s son and an absolute psycho. Safe to say he is immune to Charlie’s charisma and winning smile. Time for some schadenfreude!
Hello Kelly
Kelly Preston plays Karen the croupier, and instantly improves the movie by 26%.
When Denny hits the john, Karen tells Charlie to leave before he gets hurt. He tries but Denny attacks him, trips and bangs his head on a bar, killing himself.
Woops. Charlie gets blamed and spends the rest of the movie trying to escape the most corrupt town in America while being pursued by everyone, all the time, with hardly any let up.
It’s relentless. Literally everywhere he goes, someone immediately spots him, leading to another chase. But I love that his luck has ran out in the most spectacular way possible, to the point that he can barely catch his breath before being menaced again.
One scene sees Charlie entering a packed mall just as his face flashes up on multiple screens. A panic ensues as people flee. Police and security shoot at him and close the exits. But thanks to plot convenience, Karen is also at the mall, and reluctantly agrees to smuggle Charlie out in her car.
It’s the only time in the movie that Charlie manages to escape, and the only downtime as Charlie takes a shower at Karen’s house.
I wouldn’t mind if Karen wanted to join him, but she doesn’t. Showering is something you do after a long hard day, not when you’re still in mortal peril.
And We’re Off Again
Sure enough, it isn’t long before the police arrive and Charlie’s off to the races again – quite literally, seeing as the final act takes place at a greyhound track.
The action is well done, with a fair amount of running, shooting, running while shooting, car chases and great car stunts. A scene in a multi-storey car park is a highlight, as a police car dangles off the edge while Charlie hangs onto the front bumper to stop it falling.
The guys inside are dirty cops who have already betrayed him, but Charlie still tries to save them. Unfortunately, a lot of potential character nuance is swept away by the constant action. It’s not clear if Charlie changes or learns anything. He’s just trying to survive.
But you can’t say that Run doesn’t live up to its name. It gives you a virtual running experience by leaving you worn out on the couch. This is an important requirement for any movie with ‘run’ in the title. But for a movie where the word ‘run’ is the entire title, it’s essential.
Epilogue: I Just Like Running
All this running malarky has given me an idea for my next project once I’m finished with giant spiders: RUN MOVIES!
In addition to Run, Runner and The Runner, I have also reviewed The Running Man and…er, The Running Man for LastMovieOutpost. That’s five run movies in the bag already.
Maybe it’s just fate nudging me in a certain direction. I believe in fate, but not necessarily as an all-powerful force that strips us of all agency. It’s a nudge in a certain direction. I can still say no, but I won’t. This means something. This is important.
What run movie shall I do next? Off the top of my head, I can think of Midnight Run, Logan’s Run, and Run Fatboy Run. I’m sure there are many others. Let me know if you have a particular run movie you would like to see reviewed.
