Crossing the Line

My review was written in September 1990 after watching the film on RCA/Columbia video cassette.

"Crossing the Line" is a teen melodrama about motocross racing, shot in South Africa. Some young talent is introduced in an otherwise ho-hum effort.

You have to have an eagle eye to spot the terrain and other identifiers (mainly in the supporting cast) of a Capetown quickie here. The all-American youthful frontline cast is led by Rick Hearst as a rebel without a cause, a spoiled rich kid whose dad (John Saxon) is ashamed of him.

At the urging of his incredibly beautiful girlfriend (Colleen Morris, who deserves better roles), Hearst joins a dirt bike racing team coached by Aussie action star Vernon Wells. This leads to ineffective sentimentality (Hearst crying over his long-dead mom and reconciling with daddy Saxon) and a motocross championship race.

Cameraman turned director Gary Graver films the big race in boring fashion with a remote camera, followed by several anticlimaxes in the final reel. Having worked with everyone from Orson Welles to the slain porn star Shauna Grant, Graver has little to show for his trip to Jo'burg.