Movie Review--On the Edge (1985)

Starring Bruce Dern.

A running movie with the story loosely based on the Dipsea race held every year in Marin County, from Mill Valley up over Mt. Tam, down to Stinson Beach. The Dipsea is the oldest race in the U.S. outside of the Boston Marathon, held every year since 1906 or 07.

The plot in the movie is aging runner Wes Holman (Dern), who was banned from running twenty years earlier when he tried to organize runners to protest the rules forbidding paying runners when everyone was receiving under-the-table payments, comes back home to Marin County to train for the Cielo-to-Sea race. The first 30 minutes kind of drag on, but the shots when he is training are awesome since they filmed the movie on Mt. Tam and in the surrounding area. Richardson Bay, the SF skyline, Mt. Tam, Stinson--all are in their most spectacular. The last 30 minutes when the actual race is on is fantastic.

Race section * * * * *

Overall * * *