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Mar 03, 2025 Web Exclusive By Austin Trunick

It’s Christmastime in 1943 and “Hopper” Nash (Sean Penn) has just a few weeks left before he heads off to War. He’s not the only young man waiting to be called up by Uncle Sam: his best friend Nicky (Nicolas Cage) works with him at the local bowling alley. They get drunk, chase girls and trains, stay out way too late and behave recklessly. They’re at an age where many feel near-immortal, but the truth is they’re far more mortal than any teen boys should ever be. As older schoolmates return home either injured or in caskets, Hopper and Nicky do their best to brush away thoughts of the grim future that awaits them. Instead they focus on dreams of battlefield heroism and, of course, the comely young women who frequent the skating rinks and soda fountains of their coastal California town.

The ladies, of course, make it near-impossible for the boys to keep their eyes trained forward. Hopper falls head-over-heels for Caddie (Elizabeth McGovern), who he believes to be a wealthy heiress but is actually the daughter of a rich family’s housekeeper. Nicky is less interested in emotional romance than he is in spending his nights parking at various lovers’ lanes.

Racing with the Moon (1984) rides on the stellar performances of its baby-faced stars. Penn and McGovern are electric together, perhaps having allowed a bit of their budding, real-life romance of the period to bleed onto the screen. Cage is given ample opportunity to “go for it” — to shout off of rooftops, to drunkenly argue with tattoo artists—even at this early place in his career. Small roles are further filled with familiar or soon-to-be famous faces: Crispin Glover plays a snobbish dweeb, Michael Madsen a weary combat vet, and Carol Kane turns up as a bubbly prostitute. (It’s an ensemble that grew quite impressive as the years went on.) And not to be overshadowed by the young’ns around him, some of the most tender scenes come courtesy of John Karlen (of Cagney & Lacey) as Nash’s gravedigger father, who gives advice to his son as he rakes hot coals over dirt in an attempt to thaw out the cemetery ground for better digging. The story beats might feel relatively familiar, but Racing with the Moon is more about moments between its characters like this one.

Fun City’s Blu-ray release of Racing with the Moon is presented with a very nice, film-like look, derived from a brand new, 4K scan of the original negative. The bonus materials include an excellent, three-part archival documentary that goes deep into the film’s genesis and production, plus a full-length commentary from director Richard Benajmin. New to this release are a second commentary from Bill Ackerman and Marya E. Gates, a booklet essay by Walter Chaw, and an image gallery. Racing with the Moon is a tad predictable but stocked with some really good performances—and the disc includes more than enough supplemental material to recommend the release, especially to fans of any of its stars.

(www.funcityeditions.com/shop/p/racingwiththemoonslipcover)