alsilba2
I was waiting to see this movie since I heard about it, in Madison. I was a bit disappointed at how hokey it is, but at lease I can enjoy the scenery. You sure get to know the 421 bridge *G* and I loved seeing those riverfront scenes because I've been there many times.I am in Madison on the first week of April most years, for a hot pepper festival at the Thomas Family Winery. I love these old Ohio River towns.In the lodge at Clifty Falls State Park (on the west edge of town), they have another Miss Madison on display, a much smaller boat, I think from the 1940s or 1950s, with a Crosley engine.Oh, one other thing - when the father and son go into the cavern, that's an unfinished railroad tunnel in the Clifty park, you can walk through it. Bring a lantern, you'll look funny walking the trail with it in the daytime, but it will be handy in the tunnel...
alanmorris-1
I enjoyed the film, yes it is a bit hokey in places and the Bindleys have fudged some of the facts but you feel good walking out of the theater. A great family movie, it was a lot of fun. A lot of small-town humor, but you get the feeling of the mid west in the early '70's was more like the 1950's.The race scenes were very well done considering they were using about three or four boats and repainted them a lot. Great to hear the Merlins and Allisons doing their thing. The actual boats used in the movie are in the race boat museum in Seattle.For the fact nit-pickers, Harry Volpi lived in Reno, Nevada.
tiptonlisa
"Madison" is wholesome, family entertainment. It's an all American movie. Jim Caviezel does a great job portraying Jim McCormick as determined and dedicated, but always a gentleman. Jake Lloyd (Mike McCormick) watches everything his Dad does, and Dad uses that as opportunities to teach his son. Every little boy would like to have this type of relationship with his Dad.The townspeople get behind the boat and work hard to "make it happen". This movie reminds us all of a time when life was a little slower and a little simpler. The daily challenges of everyday life are played out well. Take your kid's, make it a family night out. Don't miss this movie, you'll cheer at the end.
leczorn
Having been born and raised in Madison, Indiana, I have long looked forward to seeing this hydroplane racing drama. To my knowledge, it's only the second full length movie ever filmed in my hometown, 1958's "Some Came Running" being the first.Madison has a phenomenal boat racing tradition and eventually began holding an annual race called the Madison Regatta. Beginning in 1950, the race became affiliated with the American Power Boat Association and is still held annually in early July. Though Madison has a population of only 12,000, the Regatta maintains its place in the Unlimited Hydroplane division of APBA, whose other races are in major and mid-size cities.The Regatta regularly draws about 70,000-100,000 people and is a tremendous source of pride for residents of the town. A source of less pride but still a significant piece of trivia is that Madison has the world's only community owned unlimited hydroplane, Miss Madison.That boat, which has also been known in recent years by - surprise, surprise - various corporate sponsor names, is usually near the bottom of the circuit. In 44 years of racing, U-6 - its number regardless of its name - has won just six races.One of those was an upset in the 1971 Regatta, which is the basis for this movie. Making that victory even sweeter was that it also for the APBA Gold Cup.Now for the movie!Written by Hoosier brothers William and Scott Bindley and directed by William, "Madison" runs from preparations for the 1971 season until that year's Regatta. It appears to be semi-low budget but nevertheless professionally done.If I were completely unfamiliar with the town of Madison and the actual story of Miss Madison in 1971, I probably would enjoy this movie a lot more. But its opening lines "Based on a true story" are a huge exaggeration.For example, in the movie, Jim McCormick (played by Jim Caviezel) is a member of Miss Madison's crew but hasn't raced since sustaining a serious injury in a race 10 years earlier. He resumes racing for the first time with the '71 Regatta. In real life, McCormick had driven Miss Madison since 1969.In the movie, Madison wins the rights to host the Gold Cup by a drawing and after a massive struggle obtains the $50,000 needed to secure the race when Mayor Don Vaughn (Paul Dooley) takes money from the town's sanitation department. In real life, according to Miss Madison's web page, "Due to a technicality and a misunderstanding, the $30,000 bid for the race by the sponsoring Madison Regatta, Inc., was the only one submitted in time to the Gold Cup Contest Board."In the movie, at a town council meeting, a town official states that only 134 tickets had been sold for the Regatta – implying that it would be a struggle to raise the $50,000. That contradicts the movie's accurate portrayal of how popular hydroplane racing is in Madison and furthermore, that year's Regatta drew a crowd of 110,000!In the movie, Miss Madison's crew labors extensively the night before the race to get the boat in good racing condition but lacks a certain mechanical part. So several members of the crew drive to Columbus, Indiana - about 45 miles northwest - to steal that part out of a war plane that is displayed in front of the court house there! I'm almost 100% sure that never happened or even could have happened!And in the movie, the final race is far more dramatic than it was in real life.For a presumably much more accurate version of what happened in real life, check out the following from Miss Madison's web page: http://www.missmadison.com/history/71goldcup_b.htmBesides the above inaccuracies, the movie also portrays Madison and its residents as being more behind the times than they are, almost as if it's Mayberry.Still, there's much to like about the movie. It has some well filmed racing scenes, which should look great on the big screen. In addition, the movie shows much of Madison's historic and natural beauty.But the movie largely focuses on the relationship between McCormick and his son, Mike (Jake Lloyd), who is about 10 years old. Some of the best scenes involve interaction between the two, who are portrayed as very likable small town people who are close. Mike is usually with his father and also often helps the Miss Madison team with menial tasks. I don't know how accurate the portrayal of Jim's and Mike's relationship is but at least it works well as fiction.The actors/actresses who play the important characters in the movie all do a great job. Besides Caviezel, Lloyd and Dooley, the other best performances include Mary McCormack as Jim's wife Bonnie – who is against Jim's return to racing but of course becomes supportive toward the end – and Bruce Dern as legendary mechanic Harry Volpi.The movie also does a very good job portraying Madison's love for hydroplane racing and working the classic underdog formula. Appropriately, it uses music from another sports underdog film, "Rudy." To my knowledge, "Madison" contains no original music.On a side note, because the film is set in 1971, I looked hard for anachronisms. I've found only one. During the aforementioned town council meeting, which takes place in the gymnasium of the high school that I attended, the three point line of the basketball court can clearly be seen. The three point line was not added in Indiana high school basketball until the 1987-88 season!In conclusion, "Madison" is a very entertaining family movie that has something for everyone to enjoy. But I think it would have worked much better had it been completely fictionalized, as "Hoosiers" was - inspired by but not about a real event. Claiming that something is a true story when it largely isn't is annoying to me. 6/10.
