Kellie Frost: They say it's not when you get hurt bull ridin, it's how bad.

Directed by John G. Avildsen
Luke Perry as Lane Frost
Stephen Baldwin as Tuff Hedeman
Red Mitchell as Cody Lambert
Cynthia Geary as Kellie Frost
James Rebhorn as Clyde Frost


8 Seconds {1994}

The Storyline / plot

8 Seconds is the story of world champion bull rider, Lane Frost. The film starts out with Lane as a young boy going to local rodeos riding steers. After every ride Lanes father was always there to criticize him. Lane could even win the event and his dad would tell him that the only reason he won was because the other competitors all rode poorly. The ironic part is that all Lane wanted to do was impress and get the approval of his father who was also a champion bull rider back in 1963. Lane would spend the rest of his life trying to get his dads approval.

As time goes on Lane hooks up with two fellow bull riders and heads out on the rodeo circuit at the age of 18. All three young men did pretty well on the circuit and managed to make enough to keep at it. The three young bull riders were Lane Frost (Luke Perry), Tuff Hedeman (Stephen Baldwin) and Cody Lambert (Red Mitchell). You may recognize a couple of the names, Lane was a world Champion Bull rider and Tuff is a three time world champion bull rider, but they weren’t back then. They were just a bunch of small town kids with a dream, a Cadillac and a bull rope.

Of the three boys all riding together , Lane was riding the best of them, at the time. He was on a winning streak and before long he made P.R.C.A. (Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association) Bull Riding Champion. Along the way he meets a darling little cow girl (Cynthia Geary) that is a barrel racer. Lane and Kelly eventually get married and life is going great. But then again this is a true story based on actual events so things can only go great for so long. It’s also a cowboy movie and things can’t be too dambed happy in any cowboy movie!

Any life style has it’s ups and downs and so does the rodeo life. Lane and Kelly go through some very trying times when they both have extra marital affairs. On top of their very serious problems with their marriage Lane is still not able to win his fathers approval. Lane starts to ride hard and careless, his troubles are playing on his mind. Something has to happen and it does…


Conclusion

Another contemporary western about the rodeo life that I really enjoyed! I must say that I am a little biased though, I have always enjoyed rodeos as a fan and a participant. My grandfather was a bull rider during the late 50’s and early 60’s. Like so many other rodeo cowboys his back was broken before he was 30. His injury ended his career in rodeo. Up until the last twenty years there was not much money in the sport anyway. When I was a kid, the first place bull rider in a big rodeo like The Pendleton Round up in Pendleton Oregon would get a $500.00 check. Now winning first place in a rodeo of that caliber will bring you a $10,000 check and a new pick up. I also rode a few bulls but decided to join the paratroopers instead, it’s safer! I have always liked the rodeo so I like this film and the man it was about. Lane Frost was a true champion and a enjoyed this film about his life.

It is difficult to compare this film with other similar movies because there just hasn’t been many made. I have three rodeo films in my personal movie collection and they are all five star films; Cowboy up, Junior Bonner and 8 Seconds. Where 8 Seconds is different than the other two films is that it is a true story about a champion bull riding cowboy. It gets into the trials and hardships that goes along with the job of a rodeo cowboy. It shows some of the injuries but not nearly the amount of injuries that actually happen in the P.R.C.A. rodeo circuit. Make no mistakes about it, rodeo cowboys get hurt and killed quite often. This film covers years of riding bulls showing very few injuries. I thought it should have shown a little more of the reality of bull riding, as it is a true story. Although it skips this aspect of riding it depicts the dangerous side of the sport at the very end.

Getting down to the nuts and the bolts of the movie. The storyline was true to Lane Frost’s life. It covers his love of the sport since he was a boy. It also covers his very close friendship that was developed over the years riding with Tuff and Cody. It goes into his young marriage to Kelly and some of what they endured living the rodeo life as husband and wife. The part that gets to me the most is that Lane could never get his father to say, I Love You and I am proud of you son. It is so obvious that Lane needs and strives for attention and approval from his father and he never gets it. On the other hand, is this the reason that gave Lane the drive and determination needed to become a world champion bull rider? Lane’s life was great on one hand and so very sad on the other. The story of his life was put together very well in this 8 Seconds.

The directing was solid. The pace of the film was good and he was able to mix a lot of bull riding in with the multitudes of other mini dramas and time lines that are taking place during the movie. The score was a mixture of good country music; Reba McEntire, Mark Chestnutt, Pam Tillis, Brooks & Dunn, David Lee Murphy, Vince Gill and others. The cinematography was very well done. The bull riding scenes were well shot and there is a lot of bull riding. As a matter of fact Luke Perry and Stephen Baldwin both attended a bull riding school and learned to do a little bull riding. Some of the scenes are actually Baldwin and Perry doing their own riding. On that note, the acting was splendid. I have never seen Stephen Baldwin perform very well in any other films. This one is the exception. His performance as Tuff Hedeman in this movie was outstanding! They could not have cast this film any better. Baldwin acts the part of Hedeman like no one else could have. The resemblance that Baldwin and Perry have to the characters that they are playing is a trip. They both look a lot like the people that they were portraying. The acting by the entire cast in this film was very good.

8 Seconds is one of those movies that I really enjoy watching. I watch it at least once a year when I can’t find anything on the television worth seeing. When ever I get to wondering what life would have been like if I had went down that road, I just put one of my three rodeo movies on. The one thing that all rodeo films have in common is that someone is getting busted up. This film shows the ups and downs from several perspectives. The acting in this film is really top notch. If you want to see a good film sometime with the host from Scare Tactics in it, check this one out! You don’t have to be a rodeo fan to see this one but it would be a plus. Even if you are not a fan, I believe most people would enjoy seeing this movie once. I give 8 Seconds five of five stars!

Similar Movies

• Cowboy Up
• Junior Bonner


RUNTIME: 1 Hour 45 minutes
Rated : [PG-13] Language, bar room brawl and graphic bull riding.

Thanks for the read,
~Mac

@2004 Joe McMaster

Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Fit for Friday Evening
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older