RADIO FLYER
A film review by Dwight Joe
Copyright 1992 Dwight Joe
I just came back from seeing a free sneak preview of RADIO FLYER.
The picture opens with Tom Hanks telling two kids about his life growing up with his younger brother. His real dad disappears early in the picture, and in steps the "king", who turns out to be a child abuser. Simultaneously, the younger brother, who is the direct object of the king's (that is the nickname conferred on the child abuser) beatings, yearns to convert his 4-wheeled red wagon, called the "Radio Flyer", into an airplane because he wants to fly. Mentally, he really yearns to fly away from the king.
The only depth to this whole movie is that the kid wants to somehow build the airplane to fly away from the king's beating. Of course, he doesn't really build a real airplane. The whole action is just his crying out to escape the pain, from which he really can't escape (at least not until the king is thrown in jail).
From the adult perspective, this was a pointless picture that is worth about 0.5 star out of 4.
The big problem with the picture is that it mixes comedic parts with deadly serious parts. On the one hand, we see the kids romping around, making fools of themselves. On the other hand, we see major hints (like a horribly bruised back) of serious child abuse. These two aspects are juxtaposed inanely. If anything, this movie does a great disservice to the very serious issue of child abuse--either physical or mental. How can anyone mix humor with child abuse?
Two thumbs down!
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