Across the Tracks

The snappiest thing about this film is the title. Two American teenage brothers, one a swat and a goody two shoes on the athletic track, and the other a rebellious delinquent (born on the wrong side of the tracks, get it?), end up at the same school after bad boy Billy (Rick Schroder) gets a second chance after a spell at a Borstal.

Members of Billy's delinquent melee try to reclaim him for the bad side, but we all know that is not going to happen. Joe, the elder brother (Brad Pitt), is trying for a scholarship to a prestigious university by running a faster race than anyone else. This is where the story falls apart.

Brad Pitt has by far the more convincing physique. Rick Schroder is good looking enough, provided he stops slicking his blond locks back with a cartload of grease, but he is no athlete. The clever cinematic device of dressing him in black shorts and shirt for the running sequences cannot hide the flab. The slow motion sections (a la Chariots of Fire) only accentuate this.

Watch this if you want to see obviously twenty-something year olds trying to be school kids; if you enjoy folk belting round the running track; if you want to remind yourself of what Brad Pitt looked liked before he became a real actor.

Two redeeming quotations from the film are "The only thing personal is the size of your d**k" and "I thought you were as straight as a virgin's d**k". Memorable because, as I remember, at the age the characters are supposed to be, these comments pepper every day conversation. That there are only two during the 1 hour 40 minutes is an indictment of authenticity.

I recommend this movie as one that stands up 25 years later. It is written and directed by Sandy Tung and done so with great empathy for two brothers who both suffer from the loss of their father and the struggles of their mothers, yet do so in two completely different ways. The film being actually shot in Compton gives it a very real feel, rather than a cliched setting. The class issue is one that resonates today, as does the story of why a struggling adolescent can so easily fall victim to the criminal justice system, and how hard it can be for the single working mom. Considering the opiod epidemic, the growing struggles of working people, the hardship for so many to attend college, I found this film to be an intense viewing experience in 2019. Ricky Schroder was captivating. The tale was timeless.

Not much to rave about unless you happen to be a Brad Pitt fan or a follower of Rick Schroder. The two play high school brothers that find some success on the track field. Pitt is trying to walk the straight and narrow; while Schroder is a reform school refugee. Otherwise this movie does good to hold interest against an after school TV movie. Carrie Snodgress plays the passive mother still grieving her husbands death. Thomas Mikal Ford is the "meaning well" track coach. Unrealistic casting hurts.

Across The Tracks stars Rick Schroder and Brad Pitt as a pair of brothers with Carrie Snodgrass as their put upon mom. Schroder is on probation and recently released from reform school where he took a rap for joy riding in a stolen car for David Anthony Marshall his drug dealing buddy. Pitt is an aspiring track star and a straight arrow if there ever was one.

Schroder has to attend another high school and he discovers that he too has a skill in running. That's encouraged by Pitt until Schroder shows he just might have more ability than Pitt. After that Pitt starts straying over to the dark side.

This was a no frills type film which is carried by the good chemistry shown by Snodgrass, Schroder, and Pitt as the Maloney family. It plays like one of those after school special films, but it's much better than that.

Anyway it's a good chance for his fans to see Brad Pitt in his salad days.

In what looks like the Los Angeles area, pot-smoking hot blond Rick Schroder (as William "Billy" Maloney) steals a car and gets caught by the cops, while skuzzy pal David Anthony Marshall (as Louie) escapes by dumpster diving. After a year in reform school, Mr. Schroder is granted probation. He goes home to live with poor widowed mother Carrie Snodgress (as Rosemary) and older brother Brad Pitt (as Joe "Joey" Maloney), a high school track star aching for a Stanford scholarship...

Screw-up Schroder is enrolled in a (nicer) high school on the other side of town, due to some program set up with the reformatory. This sets up the storyline as the brothers may eventually face-off "Across the Tracks" on opposing track teams. Apparently, Mr. Pitt did not get long well with his kid brother, and gives him a really hard time. Schroder has sweaty nightmares and must resist strong lures to return to his delinquent lifestyle. Mother Snodgress loves both of her sons with all of her heart...

This story of sibling rivalry takes a long time to get off the ground as the opening acts do little to make it convincing. Schroder and Pitt do not initially impress as brothers. Pitt employs some obvious "high school gosh" for his characterization; with a good tail wind, his bangs threaten to win the race on their own. Surprisingly, considering their subsequent acting reputations, Schroder is the one who builds-up some believability, minus the partying. Turnabout is fair play, in brotherly love and acting.

****** Across the Tracks (1991) Sandy Tung ~ Rick Schroder, Brad Pitt, Carrie Snodgress, David Anthony Marshall