Movie Review: Dancer, Texas Pop. 81

Dancer, Texas Pop. 81 (1998)

Written and Directed by Tim McCanlies

Rated PG

Starring: Breckin Meyer, Peter Facinelli, Ethan Embry and Eddie Mills

From the DVD Jacket:

"Keller (Breckin Meyer) has wanted to leave Dancer, Texas since he was a child. At 12 he enlisted his best friends, Squirrel (Ethan Embry), Terrell Lee (Peter Facinelli) and John (Eddie Mills) in a solemn oath that they would all ditch Dancer after high school graduation. But when the boys gather on graduation night, each finds his own reasons to reconsider their vow."

The entire movie takes place in a 48-hour span from the Saturday morning of graduation day until Monday morning when the bus leaves town. The setting is Dancer, a very small town in the middle of nowhere, west Texas. It's the largest graduating class in school history, four guys and one girl. As mentioned above, the four guys have made a "solemn oath" that on the Monday following graduation, they would catch the bus for Los Angeles to find their fortunes. They even bought their bus tickets two years earlier.

Keller has lived with his grandpa ever since his parents died. Grandpa isn't getting any younger. Though Keller's dream is to go to LA, perhaps Grandpa needs him more?

Squirrel and his dad "the drunk" live in a trailer house on the outskirts of Dancer. The trailer sits at a precarious tilt. Seems his dad was drunk when he parked it, and never got around to leveling it ... been that way for 12 years. Squirrel can't wait to get out of there, but things may have changed during the weekend?

John is a natural-born rancher. His dad is adamant that at age 18, a boy becomes a man and is on his own. Nothing is handed to him, and dad owes him nothing. He's probably not going to be at home in a city of 13 million, but there's nothing for him on the ranch in Dancer. Or is there?

Terrell Lee's family is in the oil business. His domineering mother is insistent that he's going to go into the oil business with his dad as an executive in a white shirt. He needs to get out of Dancer to see what else there is, but can he stand up to his mother?

As events unfold, the whole town is abuzz with wondering how many (if any) of the boys will actually board the bus come Monday morning. One man even "smells a betting opportunity" and immediately starts taking wagers.

Tim McCanlies develops characters in an amazing way. His knack for that is evident in another of my favorite movies, Secondhand Lions. The one complaint I've read about this movie in online reviews is that "nothing happens". Well, there isn't any gory death, no car chase, no sex. But perhaps "nothing happens" is the very point of the movie? If you grew up in a small town, or care about someone who did, this movie will resonate with you.