[255D[8C[0;34mĿ
[8C  [1;33m8 SECONDS:  [32mJohn G. Avildsen, director.  Monte Merrick,  [0;34m
[8C  [1;32mscreenplay.  Starring Luke Perry, Stephen Baldwin, Cyn-  [0;34m
[8C  [1;32mthia Geary, James Rebhorn, Carrie Snodgress, Red Mitch-  [0;34m
[8C  [1;32mell, Ronnie Claire Edwards, and Linden Ashby.  New Line  [0;34m
[8C  [1;32mCinema.  Rated PG-13.[36C[0;34m
[8C

[10C[1;36mLuke Perry (Fox-TV's [32mBEVERLY HILLS 90210[36m) rides small in the
[5Csaddle in [33mROCKY [36mand [33mKARATE KID [36mdirector John G. Avildsen's tri-
[5Cbute to world champion bull rider Lane Frost:  [33m8 SECONDS[36m.  Frost
[5Crode to glory in 1987, when he won the world championship in Las
[5CVegas, one of the youngest men ever to do so.  Perry plays Frost
[5Cwith quiet power and a stoic veneer that's rarely broken.  What
[5Cbrings a smile to his face are bullriding, talking to rodeo kids,
[5Cand his love for barrel-riding champion, Kellie Kyle, caringly
[5Cplayed by Cynthia Geary (CBS-TV's [32mNORTHERN EXPOSURE[36m).  Both
[5Cactors give strong performances, but, alas, the film story isn't
[5Cup to their talents.

[10CBiopics generally tackle epic subjects, or epic events in
[5Cthe subject's life.  [33m8 SECONDS [36mis different, a simply-told story
[5Cabout an earnest young couple, with no flash or sizzle.  It has a
[5Ccountry simplicity to it, which doesn't imply that country people
[5Care simple.  They're direct and straightforward, and don't
[5Ccomplicate their lives with the mess that city folk sometimes
[5Chave to put up with.  (At least, that's the message here.)  All
[5CLane wants to do are ride bulls and love Kellie.  As he puts it,
[5C"I ain't got nothing against the bulls.  They just want to buck
[5Cyou off and get on about their business.  People hurt you a lot
[5Csooner."  All Kellie wants to do is love Lane and keep their life
[5Ctogether as happy and stress-free as possible.

[10CWhen trouble does enter the Frost's lives (yes, they do
[5Cmarry), it seems too removed from their on screen lives to become
[5Cso important.  Lane has trouble coping with his fame, and with
[5Chis father's lack of support.  ("You're just lucky the other boys
[5Crode so poor," his father tells him after one win.)  He shows
[5Cit by riding Kellie about her casual friendship with a calf-
[5Croper.  The situation, which I can only assume really happened,
[5Csounds contrived; there's no supporting motivation for Lane's
[5Csudden fury.  Or for the infidelity that occurs on both sides of
[5Cthe marriage.  A tighter screenplay would have melded these
[5Cevents more effortlessly; as it stands now, [33m8 SECONDS [36mis a
[5Cconfused muddle when it depicts the relationship.

[10CMore sharply-defined are Lane's friendships with Tuff Hede-
[5Cman (Stephen Baldwin) and Cody Lambert (Red Mitchell), fellow
[5Cbullriders on the circuit.  Tuff constantly carps at Lane, hiding
[5Chis own envy at the better rider's talent.  He's constantly
[5Cgetting in scrapes on the road, living up to the good ole boy
[5Cimage he thinks rodeo cowboys should show.  Cody's a good-natured
[5Cfellow, the poet of the circuit, always there to help pull Lane
[5Cor Tuff out of trouble.  Baldwin and Mitchell give good, if
[5Cuninspiring, performances in their roles.

[10CUltimately, love wins out, as cornball as that sounds, as
[5CLane realizes Kellie needs more than his dirty laundry to feel a
[5Cpart of him.  [33m8 SECONDS [36mis definitely a rodeo fan movie, though,
[5Cdespite some strong scenes between Perry and Geary.  The
[5Cscreening I went to was filled with a sea of cowboy hats and
[5Cboots, so the filmmakers know who their audience is.  The movie's
[5Ca near miss in quality, with a final reel conclusion that feels
[5Cunfulfilled.

[5C[32mRATING:  [37m$$[0m
