“Knowledge is better than ignorance” – Garson
Number of Times Seen – Between 3-5 times (cable in the 90’s and 13 Sep 2016)
Brief Synopsis – Story of a collegiate debate team as they try to win their division and get to argue at the Supreme Court.
My Take on it – This is a film that I recall seeing numerous times on cable back when I was a teen and I always enjoyed it.
In the late 80’s Kirk Cameron was well known for his portrayal of Mike Seaver on the hit TV show Growing Pains, this was one of his first forays into the film industry where it was strange listening to him swear a bit and deal with much more intense and adult issues.
He does a fine job here except for the fact that his fake southern accent is really annoying. Thankfully, he can’t keep it going the whole time. 🙂
Beside Cameron, this film features other up and coming actors Jami Gertz, Amanda Petersen and Tim Quill. They all do a nice job despite the fact that the flow of the movie is basically a typical 80’s movie.
Roy Scheider is great as their debate teacher and mentor.
Fortunately, this film gets an added upgrade because of the great debate scenes featured which are all very lively and engaging.
They definitely touch upon many interesting political issues that range from abortion to public executions.
This is a fun film to watch no matter where you stand on the political spectrum despite not being perfect.
Bottom Line – Typical 80’s kind of storyline/plot is upgraded due to some amazing debate scenes where the dialogue is crisp and superb. The cast is also typical 80’s with Cameron, Peterson, Quill and Gertz great as the “kids” and Scheider in the mentor role. Cameron’s accent is a bit annoying, but thankfully he can’t maintain it in every scene. Fun watch no matter where you are on the political spectrum. Recommended!
MovieRob’s Favorite Trivia – To offset complaints from parents who had brought teenagers to the movie theater and were shocked at the content of the debates (abortion for example) for a movie with popular teen actors, when the VHS was made available in video stores, there were optional warning stickers for the boxes to let the renting public know that some of the debates were of a sensitive nature (From IMDB)
Rating – Globe Worthy
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