A more prosaic companion to Rumble Fish, this tale of rival gangs in
smalltown USA is shot in gaudy technicolor hues. The roll call of
youngsters is a who's who and who's been who in Hollywood, most
prominently a buck-toothed Tom Cruise in a small supporting role, and
Ralph Macchio, who went on to become the Karate Kid. Coppola's
direction is decidedly of the 1950s, all melodramatic pauses, but you
can\'t help but be at least slightly moved by the rites-of-passage
narrative. Good, but two or three films into Coppola's decline.
