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Promised Land (1987)

Director: Michael Hoffman

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From Time Out Film Guide

The American Dream hasn't a prayer in the small town of Ashville. Of the four teenage protagonists, Hancock (Gedrick) slides from the pinnacle of high school basketball hero to local cop, and looks like losing his cheerleader girlfriend (Pollan) to college as well; and sensitive Danny (Sutherland) drops out and takes off, but returns with nothing but a prison record and a delinquent tattooed wife (Ryan). Friends at school, sweet Danny and soured Hancock are manipulated into a tragic confrontation, but it hardly proves the case against American ethics. On the debit side - 'Look Homeward Angel'? - winged symbols abound, Ryan's zany Bev is a spin-off from Something Wild, and the police force seems altogether too young. The film has a lot going for it though, with its beautiful snowy landscapes, empty highways, and committed playing from the cast.

Author: BC 0000-00-00 00:00:00

Time Out Film Guide


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