Grandview, U.S.A. (1984)

GRANDVIEW, U.S.A.  (1984)  ¢ ¢ ¢ ¢
    D: Randal Kleiser
    Jamie Lee Curtis, C. Thomas Howell, Patrick Swayze,
    Jennifer Jason Leigh, Troy Donahue, William Windom,
    M. Emmett Walsh, John Cusack, Joan Cusack
Trailer-park Americana starring Jamie Lee Curtis as the tenacious owner of a down-and-out demolition-derby track that the local city fathers consider an eyesore and want to get rid of. (They also want to cash in on the property, once it's condemned.) Patrick Swayze plays the hot-headed driver Jamie finds herself attracted to, against her better judgment. Jennifer Jason Leigh plays Swayze's wandering wife. C. Thomas Howell plays a kid who's got a crush on Jamie. And shit happens. The scope might be modest, but that's an asset in a movie like this, a reminder that the universe - on film and elsewhere - doesn't always revolve around high-end gadgets and whiz-bang effects and superheroes saving the world. Sometimes it's more like a pack of smokes and the smell of gasoline and a cold beer on a hot day. That's the world Kleiser and company capture here, and Curtis has one of her best roles ever, smart, strong, funny, sexy, a compelling visual argument for blue jeans and a confident, grown-up model for tomboys everywhere.