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EXTREME DAYS (2001)Starring Ryan Browning, Dante Basco, AJ Buckley, Derek Hamilton, Cassidy Rae.
Directed by Eric Hannah.
MPAA rating: PG
After months of the hard-and-heavy soundtrack in radio rotation, and weeks of video, web and radio promotion, the movie ExtremeDays has hit theaters. The plot is the classic "teens driving to nowhere in particular" flick. The "teens" of this film are some guys who've been a foursome since grade school: Brian (Ryan Browning), his brother Will (AJ Buckley), and friends Matt (Derek Hamilton) and Corey (Dante Basco). It has been their life-long dream to go on that greatest of American traditions: the road trip. After graduating college, and earning the money needed, they set off for Mexico to seek adventure. During these scenes, the great music gets full attention. With the title track by Toby Mac, backed up with songs from Pax217, Audio Adrenaline, Earthsuit, and Bleach to name a few, this soundtrack is pretty much a who's who of Christian rock.
While surfing the waves south of the border, the group receives a phone call that informs them of a great wealth that awaits them... if they only drive up to Washington state to pick it up. So north they go. On the way they stop to say hi to Matt's cousin--enter Jessie (Cassidy Rae). As luck/fate/Divine intervention would have it, her truck is broken, and therefore she cannot get back to her college, which happens to be... in Washington! Well, ain't that a coincidence. So the quintet is complete, and they continue on the journey having misadventures, learning lessons, and having all sorts of experiences along the way.
One thing that sets this movie apart from other Christian flicks is its subtlety. Too often Christian "films" are just drawn-out sermons, yet the few parts of ExtremeDays that made this movie "Christian" were quite well done. Never too preachy, and about topics that today's teens deal with, like death and divorce. Tastefully done. But with the good comes bad: low quality film and photography that would make a sailor seasick. Home videos are more stable. Parts of the movie are lost in a sea of commercialism. Every scene the characters are drinking a big cup of Coke, and wearing clothes from Truth Soul Armor. Funding had to come from somewhere, but the constant barrage of these brands distracted from the film.
The pranks of the teenaged guys (from racing shopping carts in a grocery store, to using lighters for something quite different from their intended use) are there solely to add some "Tom Green" blah to the film. Although it may be said that such behavior is the norm for teenaged guys, there are other ways to be funny. While ExtremeDays doesn't make it to "Best" it does grab hold of the bottom rung of "Good." With no language or sex, it is at least a good alternative to the teen flicks of the day. So if you are in the mood for a somewhat mindless film, go see ExtremeDays. At least the music will be there!
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