You’d think I’d be the target audience for “RAD,” Hal Needham’s 1986 cult classic that attempted to do for motocross what “The Karate Kid” did for martial arts. Not only am I a Gen-X kid who biked around the city in his youth, but that city was Calgary, Canada, where parts of “RAD” were filmed.
But I never saw “RAD” until much, much later, it was the movie under discussion for a live taping of the “How Did This Get Made?” podcast in Chicago in 2018. The podcast specializes in picking apart bad movies, but while “RAD” certainly serves up its share of ‘80s cheese (that BMX dance sequence is iconic), the mood in the room was one of celebration and affection for this movie.
“RAD” has kept and expanded its fan base over the decades, and each year fans celebrate March 21 as “RAD Day” to commemorate the movie’s opening 39 years ago. This year, on March 20, Fathom Events is bringing a remastered 4K version of “RAD” to theaters nationwide, in a double feature with the world premiere of a new documentary on the making of the film and its improbable, undeniable staying power.
All of which is to say when a publicist offered to connect me with both Bill Allen, who plays working-class BMX hero Cru Jones, and Olympic gold medalist Bart Conner, who played his on-the-track rival Bart Taylor, I jumped at the chance.
It was super fun to talk to them together as they bounced memories off of each other, and I thought it was the perfect interview to make my first video post for Not That Rob Thomas. Enjoy!
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