“Sports Illustrated” recently released a list of the top 20 Sports Films of All Time. Inexplicably, “Bull Durham” ranked number one. I never felt that “Bull Durham” was necessarily a sports film as much as it was yet another example of why we should hate Susan Sarandon. Ranking in at number 15 was a little known, low budget coming of age film set against the sport of cycling called, “Breaking Away”. I remembered this film as one that I saw about a hundred times as a child. I loved this movie. After seeing it on the list, I watched it again and loved it just as much as I did as a child.

It is a fantastic humble little film with (at the time) a relatively unknown cast. It is about four boys aged nineteen who live in the college town of Bloomington, Indiana. They’ve just graduated from high school and seem to not only have no idea how to spend the rest of their lives, but don’t seem to care either. The only one of the four that seems to have anything going for him at all is Dave Stohler (Dennis Christopher) who is an excellent cyclist, winning amateur cycling event after amateur cycling event. He dreams of one day riding with Italy’s top cycling team, Team Cinzano. He also seems to be slightly insane.

His obsession with the Italian racing team has caused him to believe he is an Italian, despite the fact that he is from the heartland of America. He rides through the streets singing Italian operas at the top of his voice, he’s renamed Jake, the family cat, Fellini and he speaks to his own parents with a thick Italian accent. All of this does not sit well at all with his father (the incredible Paul Dooley) who wants to help his son find his way in life, yet also feels his son may be crazy. Mr. Stohler is extremely upset at the prospect of his son winding up a bum and is fed up with the Italian fantasy world Dave has wrapped himself in. He stomps through the house in one scene demanding a stop to all the Italian influence in his house, especially with the family dinners. He complains about all the Italian meals he’s been subjected to. “I know I-tey food when I hear it! It's all them "eenie" foods... zucchini... and linguini... and fettuccine. I want some American food, dammit! I want French fries!” Dave’s mother (Barbara Barrie) is content to humor her son’s behavior believing that it’s romantic the boy has dreams. She feels Dave is confused and she is slightly concerned about his aimlessness but seems to have faith that by dreaming her son will one day achieve his goals.

In contrast, Dave’s friends do not to seem to have any dreams or at least none they will admit to. Mike (Dennis Quaid) the unquestionable leader of the group is the high school quarterback, who for whatever reasons never made it to the college team. He is bitter and angry at the fact that he has to live in a town where each year he has to read about some new “hot shot quarterback”. He bemoans that he still can not bring himself to light a cigarette because he believes he has to keep in shape and confides to his friends that he is angry that to the rest of the world he will be known simply as “Mike”. Mike lashes out against the college students that he resents. He speeds his car through campus, and picks fights with the co-eds. He has a brother who is a local cop, who does not seem too happy with the life Mike, and to a lesser extent his friends have chosen for themselves.

Cyril (Daniel Stern) is the tall goofy friend, who provides the comic relief. He seems to take his failures with a grain of salt as if he has accepted that he will never be a success and maybe his parents instilled that in him. While running with Dave one day he says that he believes he was doing his father a favor by failing at life because his father loves to be understanding. He believes his father only bought him a guitar because he was convinced Cyril would never learn to play it, thus another chance to be understanding of another of his son’s failures. “Hey, maybe I will take that college entrance exam and flunk it. My dad’s birthday is coming up.”

Finally, there is Moocher (Jackie Earl Haley, you know, the Bad News Bear with the motorcycle) who is basically a runt with a gigantic chip on his shoulder. There is an old adage that the smallest member of any group, or gang, is the most dangerous because they feel they have the most to prove. Moocher is a celluloid personification of this adage. Anytime he is challenged or ridiculed because of his stature he lashes out violently. Whether it is literally punching the time clock after his boss calls him shorty, or sucker punching the big man on campus and starting a riot in the University Dining Hall, he displays a hair trigger temper when his height is mentioned in a derogatory fashion.

The four of them spend their time swimming in quarries where their fathers carved stone, thus their nickname “Cutters”, a term the four seem to wear as a badge of honor while the college students use it as a slur. There is a constant rivalry between the preppie college kids and the cutters. The rivalry manifests itself in violence and also in competition. While swimming in the quarry on day, the four are upset to see the college kids diving off of the rocks. “All the indoor and outdoor pools they have on campus and they have to come here?” Mike asks angrily. He then challenges one of the college kids, Rob to a race.

The race which Rob, who is captain of the swim team, easily wins is symbolic of the two groups’ lives. Rob has the experience, the ability, so the race, like life, may be easier for him. Mike does not have the opportunity that Rob has had in the race or in life and must struggle for every inch. At the end of the race as Rob sits in the water and watches as Mike struggles to the point that his friends must jump in the water to prevent his drowning, he begins to see this symbolism himself. A look of great concern and even slight admiration comes over Rob’s face, he also seems to be embarrassed for grandstanding and trying to humiliate Mike. Rob is not an unlikable character and this point in film shows that we should not hate him because he’s the hero on campus, or captain of the swim team any more than he should look down on the city kids who have to work at car washes and supermarkets just because they haven’t had the opportunities he has.

Despite Mike’s anger and desire to show up the university students, only Dave has any real ambition, if you could call it that. He wins his races with such regularity that it seems as though there is no challenge in it. His parents even come to expect him to walk through the door from each race with a gigantic trophy. His only true dream becomes a reality when he learns Team Cinzano is coming to the area to take part in a race. Dave sees this as an opportunity to compete against his idols. The hope being that they are impressed with his ability and with his knowledge of their culture and they accept him into the fold. We never learn if Dave has a long term plan to join the team, or if it is just a one shot deal for him, whatever it is the race is the biggest event of Dave’s life.

While gearing up for the race, Dave meets an attractive co-ed named Katherine (Robyn Douglass). He charms her with his Italian accent and poses as a student from Italy who traveled to Indiana to study. He woos her by calling her, ‘Katarina’ and serenading her at her Sorority House with Italian love songs. He begins falling in love with her and starts to feel tremendous guilt over his deception. He asks Moocher if he’s ever been to confession. “Twice,” Moocher answers. “Did it make you feel better?” “Once.”

When Dave’s father takes ill the day before the race, Dave believes he shouldn’t go. In the following scene Dave’s mother tells him he has to make the best of his opportunities before it is too late. She shows him her Passport, which she has never used. Telling him that now any time there is a new check out girl at the A & P who wants to check her ID she can use the Passport. The message is clear to Dave, he can wind up being stuck where he is wasting his ability if he doesn’t take every opportunity life gives him.

When the race arrives Dave learns the hard way that his idols are people he should not be trying to emulate. He is shaken and scarred emotionally when he returns from the race to find his father out of bed asking, “So, where’s your trophy?” Dave breaks down in tears, his naiveté and innocence now gone he hugs his father and says, “Everybody cheats, I just didn't know.” His father not sure how to handle this outburst of emotion seems extremely uncomfortable with his son’s embrace, he pats Dave on the back and manages to say, “Well, now you know.”

Shortly afterwards as Dave’s world collapses around him, his father takes him for a walk on campus and shows him the buildings that he and Dave’s friends’ fathers cut the stone for. He asks Dave if they still swim in the quarries and when Dave tells them he does, Mr. Stohler says, “So, the only thing you got to show for my 20 years of work is the holes we left behind? Dave seems alarmed that his father may think he’s embarrassed of him and his work. “I’m proud to be a cutter.” Mr. Stohler looks down at his son and simply says, “You’re not a cutter. I’m a cutter.” In other words, it’s time for you to make it on your own now it’s time for you to become your own man.

Dave is also getting pressure from his friends who want him to anchor a four man relay team in the “Little Indy 500” University bike race. The directors of the race have decided to let a team from the town compete. Mike sees this as his chance to finally get even with his arch nemeses, though he doesn’t plan on actually having to do anything with it, “We all enter to get in then Dave wins the race.” When Dave is unsure about entering the competition the different personalities of the four manifest themselves:

Moocher standing up to the ‘leader’ Mike, “You’re not the quarterback here, Mike!”

Mike’s bitter response is: “Well, at least I was once. Which is a hell of a lot better than being a midget all my life.”

Dave tries to calm things down between the two, but angrily implies he doesn’t want to waste his life, to which Cyril sadly says, “I thought that was the whole plan. The four of us just waste our lives together.”

Later in the film, the four stand around looking at the bike the directors of the race gave to the four to compete with. It is truly a piece of garbage. Dave angrily asks if he expected to ride the bike. Mike who seems totally beaten at this point tells him to forget about it they can’t win anyway. “That’s the first time I ever heard you talk like that,” Dave says. Mike shrugs, “Maybe it’s the first time I ever felt like that.” Alarmed that Mike once so strong and confident is now admitting defeat, Dave grabs the bike off of him and decides to enter the race. The race that you may believe would be totally formulaic like say, a “Rocky” sequel, is actually pretty suspenseful and the racing footage is excellent.

The characters in the film are all identifiable and likeable. There is an actual rooting interest as you watch the film unfold. It is a sweet story about finding yourself. What you will find here is an extremely touching coming of age story as four lost souls try to find their place in the world and a father tries to communicate with and teach his son to be his own man. This film won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay in 1980 and was nominated for Best Picture. It won Best Picture at the Golden Globes that year, yet not may people have seemed to have heard about it. If there were an award for Best Film That No One Has Heard Of, “Breaking Away” would easily win it.
















Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: VHS
Video Occasion: Fit for Friday Evening