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"SUPERCROSS: THE MOVIE" (2005) (Steve Howey, Mike Vogel) (PG-13) Alcohol/ Drugs Blood/Gore Disrespectful/ Bad Attitude Frightening/ Tense Scenes Guns/ Weapons Mild Minor Moderate Minor None Imitative Behavior Jump Scenes Music (Scary/Tense) Music (Inappropriate) Profanity Moderate None Minor None Moderate Sex/ Nudity Smoking Tense Family Scenes Topics To Talk About Violence Heavy Minor Mild Moderate Moderate QUICK TAKE: Drama: Two brothers overcome various obstacles as they try to succeed in the sport of Supercross racing. PLOT: "Motocross was our life." For California-based brothers Trip (MIKE VOGEL) and K.C. (STEVE HOWEY) Carlyle, nothing matters so much as making good on their dead biker dad's dream to become champion Supercross racers. Trip rides like his father, a "free flyer," while K.C. is an old school rider who "plays it safe." This difference is figurative as well as literal, in the ways they approach their sport and their lives. By day the brothers share duties in a pool cleaning business; this occasions K.C.'s meeting a rich-girl law student, Zoe (SOPHIE BUSH), with whom he develops a cursory relationship. Once he starts racing Supercross (many riders at once over an arranged course in an arena for screaming crowds), she cheers him on. Highly competitive with each other, the brothers take different paths to their goal: K.C. plays by the rules (a more "old school" racer) and takes a "factory ride," a corporate sponsored position, racing as a "blocker" for the team's star, Rowdy (CHANNING TATUM). Both ride for Team Nami, a company owned by Rowdy's father, Clay (ROBERT CARRADINE). On the other side of the film's simplistic divide is Trip, riding as a "privateer," under the auspices of Hogs' Heaven, a small, un-corporate outfit owned by Earl (ROBERT PATRICK). Trip also develops a romance with Earl's daughter Piper (CAMERON RICHARDSON), and exchanges glances with her brother Owen (AARON CARTER), initially identified as Hogs' Heaven's best rider. He hen essentially disappeared from the film once Trip begins racing for the team. As the brothers compete, they argue occasionally (at their shared apartment), and eventually realize they both want to win races and also do it without corporate sponsorship, to stay true to their dad's dream. They work together -- playing it safe but also free flying -- to make this happen. WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT? As plot is minimal and the race scenes take up most of the running time, they'll be most interested if they're into extreme sports -- motocross and Supercross in particular. WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: PG-13 For language and some sexuality. CAST AS ROLE MODELS: STEVE HOWEY plays K.C. Carlyle, a motocross racer who signs with a corporation (Team Nami), essentially "selling out" so he can race in championships; he races bikes and argues briefly with his brother. MIKE VOGEL plays K.C.'s younger, wilder, more courageous brother Trip, who races as a "privateer," and develops a romance with another, female racer. CAMERON RICHARDSON plays Piper Cole, a racer and Trip's eventual girlfriend, who encourages him to "commit," to her and to an ideal. ROBERT PATRICK plays Earl, Piper's dad and trainer, who helps Trip and then his brother with equipment and bikes. SOPHIE BUSH plays beautiful law student Zoe, who mentions that she's in school, lives in a big mansion, and supports K.C. at his races. AARON CARTER plays Piper's brother Owen, introduced as a talented racer, then essentially disappeared from the film to make room for the Carlyle brothers to dominate. CHANNING TATUM plays Rowdy Sparks, the obnoxious, spoiled son of Clay, who supports his son's racing and ego with bikes, equipment, and hired teammates to ensure his wins. ROBERT CARRADINE plays Clay, Rowdy's father, who will do anything to make his son a star. CAROLINE GARCIA plays Starr, a wise but underused member of Trip's pit crew. J.D.PARDO plays Chuy, head of Trip's pit crew, who only speaks twice, but appears resourceful in getting his job done against odds. CAST, CREW, & TECHNICAL INFO HOW OTHERS RATED THIS MOVIE Curious if this title is entertaining, any good, and/or has any artistic merit? Then read OUR TAKE of this film. (Note: The "Our Take" review of this title examines the film's artistic merits and does not take into account any of the possibly objectionable material listed below). OUR WORD TO PARENTS: Here's a quick look at the content found in this sports action melodrama that's rated PG-13. Profanity consists of at least 5 "s" words, while other expletives and colorful phrases are uttered. Some fooling around with partial disrobing occurs, while various young women are seen in revealing attire. Various characters have varying degrees of bad attitudes, while some drink and smoking briefly occurs in the background. All of the motorbike racing and stunts might be enticing for kids to imitate and may be unsettling for some viewers. That's particularly true regarding the crashes and other wipeouts, leading in one instance to broken bones and a concussion (and bruises later). Some brief fighting is also present. Should you still be concerned about the film's appropriateness for yourself or anyone else in your home, you may want to look more closely at our detailed listings for more specific information regarding the film's content. ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE The brothers drink beers a few times in their shared apartment. Trip orders a Heineken at a bar where others drink. A person advises that no drug use or drinking is allowed during training. BLOOD/GORE When Trip crashes his bike, he fractures his leg and suffers a severe concussion. He looks bruised later in the hospital. DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE The brothers compete and argue, but maintain respect for one another in the end. The Sparks (Rowdy and Clay, his father) will apparently do anything to win, even making other riders' careers secondary to Rowdy's. Clay is interested in selling more Nami bikes while Rowdy wants to be a star. Chuy intimates that he steals tires ("throwaways") from the track to outfit his hardscrabble clients. Rowdy flirts with his married make-up woman. She holds up her ring and tells him, "This means something to me," and he laughs, "Not to me!" To make money (or so he thinks), Trip bets his pool cleaning equipment pickup truck against a bike, in a race. He loses, and must carry his equipment home on his bike. A siren sounds and a cop car appears, and in the next scene, you learn K.C. bailed him out of jail. During the races, riders try to push each other aside, as part of the competition. K.C. is hired as a "blocker," who keeps potential contestants away from Rowdy, the designated leader of Team Nami. Trip is resentful of his brother's job, and argues with him. A girl watching the race next to Zoe asks, "Who do you belong to?" She insists she's "dating K.C.," and the other girl calls Zoe "One of those 'I don't belong to anyone' chicks. Your shoes cost more, but you're still one of us." A person makes the comment "Are you retarded?" FRIGHTENING SCENES Some of the races and crashes, etc. might be unsettling for some viewers. When Trip crashes his bike, he fractures his leg and suffers a severe concussion. He lies still in the dirt for a moment. Later at the hospital he looks bruised and K.C. holds his hand when Trip learns he can't race again (doctor's advice, following the "severe trauma to his head"). GUNS/WEAPONS None IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR Phrases: "Piece of sh*t," "Bald-headed pr*ck," "Dude," "Are you retarded?" "Whassup?" "It's about the chick," "Pissin' and moanin,'" "Stop staring at my ass," "Chopper trash," "Piece of crap," "Kick his ass," "Payback's a bitch!" "Bitch," and "Chicks." The movie is full of risky motocross racing and stunt riding performed by professionals (who look like kids) that might be enticing for kids to imitate. The boys fool around the pool they're supposed to clean, turning up the stereo with a remote, then jumping in the pool and playing when they're supposed to be working. Piper has a tattoo in the small of her back. Trip notes it, saying, "Nice ink." JUMP SCENES None MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE) A minor amount of loud and booming music occurs, to indicate excitement of the races; the music is not tense or frightening, but more propulsive in nature. MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE) None PROFANITY At least 5 "s" words, 2 slang terms for male genitals ("pr*ck" and "d*ck"), 10 asses (2 used with "hole"), 1 crap, 1 damn, 1 S.O.B., 1 use each of "G-damn," "God," "Jesus" and "Oh my God." SEX/NUDITY At the racetracks, young women appear in short shorts and tight tops, showing their cleavage. Rowdy signs autographs on a girl's midriff and another's chest; he licks on the girl's chest. Piper has a tattoo in the small of her back; Trip notes it, saying, "Nice ink." Piper asks Trip to pull off her racing uniform pants. He looks shy and asks if she wants to be alone; she asks, "If I did, do you think I'd be stripping?" He does and we see her legs, but the scene then cuts to a race, with dirt spraying off a bike into the camera. Zoe straddles K.C. in his bed. They kiss briefly, and her bra strap is visible from the back and side. They're interrupted by Trip and his friends racing electric cars in the next room. When Trip calls Piper his "girlfriend" for the first time, she sits in his lap and he pulls the band out of hair and then pulls off her shirt (camera remains on her back, where his hand is). They kiss, and the scene then cuts to a racetrack. Piper playfully tells Trip, "Stop staring at my ass." SMOKING None of the main characters smokes. Some smoking (cigarette and unlit cigar) appears in the background at a bar, and one of the advertisements at the racetracks is for US brand smokeless tobacco. TENSE FAMILY SCENES The brothers argue in various scenes over various topics, especially when their racing paths separate (but everything works out in the end). TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT The opposition between the "factory ride" and the "privateer" and what's at stake in this moralized difference, and how it's all related to money. How the brothers' loyalty to one another overcomes their differences, and how they work together to win the big race. How the brothers, especially Trip, feel indebted to and in the shadow of their father. VIOLENCE At the audition for Team Nami, Trip thinks Rowdy has been rough with his brother on the test course. He then pushes and hits Rowdy. Each race scene (there are many, of varying sizes and intensities) involves some stunt violence, in the ways the bikes fly through the air, spin, sometimes flip, and sometimes spin out or crash. Only in the second to last race, when Trip is injured, does the film show any physical results: he ends up in the hospital, his face bruised, and ends up on crutches for the last 15 minutes of the film, helping his brother to win the last race. Reviewed August 16, 2005 / Posted August 17, 2005

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