Supercross: The Reality
by Robert Beaupre

As I watched Supercross: The Movie this weekend, I repeatedly wondered: who decided to stuff this endless array of ridiculous villains, overcooked conflicts and banal one-liners into a story that’s supposed to be about motocross? Whoever it was, they apparently felt that no one could appreciate the sport without a lot of cheap drama mixed in. And while it seems to be common knowledge in Hollywood that the only allure in motocross exists in flagrant take-out moves and scantily clad trackside starlets, I still have to wonder how they so blatantly missed the more genuine virtues of the sport.

Sports films are often plagued by the same flaws that arise in Supercross, but worthy films on sport such as the recent Million Dollar Baby and Seabiscuit have shown that it is possible to successfully treat the elation of competition as a virtue onto itself. Yet in the script for this long-hyped feature on supercross, the only virtue worth attaining is that of making a living from the sport and receiving the attention of the endless hoards of motocross groupies who lurk so prominently in the pit scenes.

I often wonder what would result if a capable filmmaking team used motocross as the subject for a serious work of fiction. The potential can be seen at some points of Supercross, as the race-action footage and starting-line scenes are often electrifying. But that electricity is later negated by the thin plot and underdeveloped characters. Why can’t we have a film that skips the challenge of defeating one silly antagonist and focuses on the challenge of beating 39 of the world’s best? Or that portrays the feeling of winning a national as a higher reward than any factory ride or pretty girlfriend? Or that shows the sacrifices and dangers that champions routinely endure for the sake of their careers?

There is certainly no shortage of suitable true stories in motocross that would perfectly suit a feature film: Doug Henry’s recovery from a badly broken back to later win the 250cc National Championship; Jeff Stanton’s journey from a stiff-riding farm boy to a multi-time champion and MX des Nations hero; Bob Hannah’s Muhammad Ali-like rise from a fiery young underdog to an equally fiery world-beater; Ron Lechien’s strange trip from a remarkably talented young racer to a full-blown drug addict and criminal. There’s no excuse for a plot as flimsy as that of Supercross when it comes to depicting racing on the big screen.

In one review for the film, the writer said that when a sport tries too hard to look cool, as he felt motocross does in Supercross, the result is that the sport simply looks insecure. Motocross doesn’t deserve to look that way. It deserves to be shown as a sport that has meaning--even when the villains, girls, and factory rides are stripped away. It is unfortunate that the story of Supercross doesn’t achieve this, and that the cast (which includes real riders Tyler Evans and Davey Castillo in speaking roles) has to suffer under such a burden. It seems that the hearts of many people involved in this production are in the right place, but there is little one can do when dealing with a story that fails to touch on what is really exciting about motocross.

The greatest scene in the horseracing flick Seabiscuit, incidentally, is the final one. When the horse turns up the pace to inch in front of the pack, and the camera provides a first-person view of the clear track ahead of the galloping racer, it is magic. It so perfectly captures the thrill of leading a race, it does not matter whether you race horses or motorcycles--the elation of speed and competition comes across in perfect clarity, and all the outer trappings of racing--money, fame, sex--become distant subordinates to the pure sensation of racing for racing’s sake.

Not such epiphany occurs in Supercross. But don’t cry for motocross: the magic still exists; it just hasn’t shown up on the big screen yet. It will have to remain, for the moment, at the starting line of the real races.


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