Madison (2001)

User Rating:

6.5/10   

Director:

William Bindley

Writers (WGA):

William Bindley (written by) &
Scott Bindley (written by)

Release Date:

22 April 2005 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Sport

Tagline:

A town's future is riding with one man.

Plot:

A story about a man's personal struggle to victory in the 1971 Madison, Indiana hydro-plane regatta.

Plot Keywords:

Hydroplane | Father Son Relationship | Boat Racing | Memoir | Independent Film

Cast

James Caviezel	...	Jim McCormick (as Jim Caviezel)
Jake Lloyd	...	Mike McCormick
Mary McCormack	...	Bonnie McCormick
Bruce Dern	...	Harry Volpi
Paul Dooley	...	Mayor Don Vaughn
Brent Briscoe	...	Tony Steinhardt
Mark Fauser	...	Travis
Reed Diamond	...	Skip Naughton
Frank Knapp Jr.	...	Bobby Humphrey
Chelcie Ross	...	Roger Epperson
Byrne Piven	...	George Wallin
William Shockley	...	Rick Winston
Matt Letscher	...	Owen
Richard Lee Jackson	...	Buddy Johnson
Kristina Anapau	...	Tami Johnson

MPAA:

Rated PG for some mild language and sports peril.

Runtime:

94 min | USA:99 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Australia:G | Argentina:Atp | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

Chicago, Illinois, USA

Company:

Addison Street Films

Trivia:

The film footage that represents the crash involving Buddy Johnson is actually taken from KING-TV film of the 1962 Miss Seattle Too disintegration on Seattle's Lake Washington.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: The Miss Budweiser raced through the film in its all-red color scheme, which was not adopted by the team until 1994. As one of the most recognizable boats in the history of hydroplane racing, this mistake may have been made deliberate by filmmakers.

David vs. Goliath Feel-Good Story

This turned out to be a "sleeper," a good film that few people have heard of, I suspect, outside of Madison, Indiana. Being in an area that used to host hydroplane races, it intrigued me. I also usually enjoy movies that star Jim Caviezel.

Mainly, this was a nice film with a feel-good David vs. Goliath story based on a real-life occurrence back in 1971. It involves the sport of hydroplane racing, meaning extremely fast boats raced in different bodies of water around the USA. A town nearby where I live used to have these, but I haven't heard of them in decades.

Anyway, this story takes place in a small Indiana town that was on the skids by 1970 but plants closing all the time and people moving elsewhere. The hopes of its boat, "Miss Madison" also seem to be about lost until, as fate would have it, the town is awarded the opportunity to host the "Gold Cup," the biggest event of the sport.

A string of failures, followed by new disasters, include the death of the pilot, near-death of another one and the boat being just about totaled in the process. How the town - led by former racer "Jim McCormick" (Caviezel) - can raise the money to resurrect the town, the boat and the driver himself, are all shown here. McCormick not only has to pull off several miracles but also try to win the support of his wife and son, who have had their fill of disappointments with this sport.

The film winds up being a sports movie and a drama about a family, a team of workers and an entire small town trying to pull together and beat tremendous odds. I have to use two clichés here: it's a heartwarming story and, yes, it's a good family movie. You don't have to worry about offensive material. It reminds me, in spots, of a made-for-TV movie. It kind of plays old-fashioned corny but in a way that makes you glad you watched it.