Dennis Christopher stars as a recent high school graduate in Bloomington, Indiana, who is caught with his friends -- Dennis Quaid, Daniel Stern, Jackie Earle Haley -- coasting between high school and deciding what to do with the rest of their lives. The four friends are snobbishly looked down upon by the college students of the town as "cutters," since they were born in Bloomington and their parents worked in the local limestone quarries that built the university. Dennis Christopher's character Dave wants to be a champion bicycle racer and he idolizes the Italian racing team -- so much so that he speaks, thinks, and acts Italian, all to his father's (Paul Dooley) forlorn exasperation. Dave falls for a college girl (Robyn Douglass), but is ashamed to admit he is a cutter and poses as an Italian exchange student to impress her. Dave is particularly excited when his heroes -- the Italian racers -- come to town for a race. But they are even more snobbish than the college students and rely on dirty tricks to keep Dave from winning a race against them. After that ordeal, Dave throws away his false identity and convinces his friends to enter the university's "Little 500" bicycle race against the college students. This light-hearted and heartwarming tale was a surprising word-of-mouth success at the box-office and won several awards, including an Academy Award for "Best Screenplay." Paul Brenner, Rovi
- Genre: Comedy Drama
- Category Sports Drama, Coming-of-Age
- Theme: In Training, Class Differences, Men's Friendship, Fathers and Sons, Underdogs
- Studio: 20th Century Fox
- Run Time: 01 hr 40 min
- Language: French, English
- Subtitle Language: Spanish, English
- Picture Format: widescreen, pan_and_scan
- Release Date: January 29, 2002
- Lead Actor: Dennis Quaid, Dennis Christopher, Jackie Earle Haley, Paul Dooley, Daniel Stern
- Supporting Actor: Robyn Douglass, John Ashton, Lisa Shure, Amy Wright, Hart Bochner, Peter Maloney, Barbara Barrie, P.J. Soles, Jennifer K. Mickel, David K. Blace
- Director: Peter Yates
awards
- Awards: Academy Awards (1)
- Winner: Academy Awards, Best Original Screenplay, 1979, Steve Tesich
- Nominations: Academy Awards (4), Golden Globe Awards (3)
- Nominee: Academy Awards, Best Director, 1979, Peter Yates
- Nominee: Academy Awards, Best Original Song Score and Its Adaptation or Ad, 1979, Patrick Williams
- Nominee: Academy Awards, Best Supporting Actress, 1979, Barbara Barrie
- Nominee: Academy Awards, Best Picture, 1979, Peter Yates
- Nominee: Academy Awards, Best Director, 1979, Peter Yates
- Nominee: Golden Globe Awards, New Star of the Year - Male, 1979, Dennis Christopher
- Nominee: Academy Awards, Best Picture, 1979, Peter Yates
