An Incredible Rumble of a Flick

Rumble Fish (1983)

Director- Francis Ford Coppola

Starring- Matt Dillon, Mickey Rourke, Diane Lane

Rusty James (Dillon) longs for the early days of gang activity, when his older brother, "Motorcycle Boy" (Rourke) ran things. According to all who knew him (except the police), Motorcycle Boy was something special--a great leader, an artist, a genius, a maverick. Rusty James gets his own gang into a scuffle with a rival gang, and just as Motorcycle Boy makes his grand entrance back into town, the leader of the rival gang stabs Rusty James before being knocked out by an incredible motorcycle stunt.

Motorcycle Boy helps heal his brother's wounds, and insinuates himself back into the town he left. Unfortunately, he isn't the same. He doesn't talk, he often goes on walks and simply gazes around him, and makes frequent visits to the pet store where he watches the fish swim. Rusty James becomes increasingly frustrated trying to understand what is going on with his brother, as well as trying to cope with his own perceived "stupidity".

As the movie progresses, we see that Motorcycle Boy is simply trying to get Rusty James to understand that gang life is no life to live, and to get out of town and just ride.

This movie, based on the book by S.E. Hinton, was incredible on many levels. The acting is hit and miss, but still fun to watch. It's funny to watch the cast and see who went on to become a huge star--Matt Dillon, Mickey Rourke, Diane Lane, Dennis Hopper, Chris Penn, Nicholas Cage, Laurence Fishburne, Tom Waits (he plays the cafe owner and steals every scene he's in), just to name a bunch.

There is a running notion of time throughout the movie. Aside from the fact that there is a clock in every scene, Tom Waits doles out a little poetic monologue about time passing, and Motorcycle Boy seems to be constantly urging Rusty James to get out before it's too late.

The whole movie is black and white except for the fish, and one scene towards the end when Rusty James is looking at his reflection in a police cruiser window. Interestingly enough, Motorcycle Boy himself is color blind. He only sees color when he sees the fish, like looking at something from an entirely different philosophy or mindset, and when Rusty James sees the color in his reflection, he finally understands (a little too late) what his brother had seen.

Even at the end, when I thought I was done with the movie, I was treated to an old-but-great Wall of Voodoo song, appropriately titled "Don't Box Me In".

Rating: 5/5 Bonedaddies!