Word: hoppered
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From the movie's opening scenes in which Hopper practices piano in a distinctly American living room, the film sets itself up as a voice of patriotism and loyalty. Although Hopper defies his crotchety piano teacher by playing jazz instead of classics and hangs out with the shiftless and disreputable Nicky, the director emphasizes Hooper's innate goodness. He doesn't put on airs to woo the snooty upper class preps who ridicule him at the bowling alley and even when he discovers that Caddie is an upper class "Gatsby girl," he takes pride in his humble, yet honorable, origins...
Such sincerity makes for nice fairy tales, but it fails to provide the characters with the necessary degree of depth they so desperately lack. It is precisely because Hopper is such a loyal patriot and sensitive lover that the film so frequently seems maudlin, and precisely because the preps wear checkered sweaters while jeering at the working class boys that the characters seem like cardboard replicas from an I.,I., Bean catalogue...
...highly derivative and unoriginal quality of the film proves equally cumbersome in terms of dialogue. Hopper and Nicky parrot patriotic cliches about the war, stopping only once during the course of the movie--and then only briefly--to ponder the less glorified side of combat. When the film occasionally does try to explore the inner feelings of the characters--as in the father/son exchanges--gushy lines like "I'll bet she looks like a rose and smells as sweet," turn genuine sincerity into sappy sentimentality. We are only relieved that Hopper refrains from responding. "All's fair in love...
Fortunately, some fine acting by Sean Penn prevents the show from being a complete waste. Penn's portrayal of Hopper is both convincing and well-controlled. Nick Cage also manages to occasionally shine, though his character is slightly less developed than Penn's. Elizabeth McGovern is notably less impressive, having altered her earlier role in the Academy Award-winning Ordinary People only slightly to play the part of Caddie...
Paradoxically, the ultimate problem with Racing With the Moon is its lack of antagonists. Though Hopper and Nicky are boisterous and mischievous, there are no real bad guys...