QUICKSILVER. Directed and written by Tom Donnelly; produced by Michael Rachmil and Daniel Melnick for Columbia. Starring Kevin Bacon. Rated PG (a little bad language and violence).
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"Rocky goes to Wall Street." Sounds pretty silly, doesn't it? Well, part of Quicksilver has this plot and it's a silly movie. Especially considering that the Wall Street part isn't the most ridiculous.
Yet, in spite of its nonsensical (but predictable) plot, its one-dimensional characters and my own best critical instincts, I really enjoyed it.
The enjoyment comes largely from Bacon, who is a winsome and charismatic performer. But the movie also has a kind of chaotic energy that is eventually—after a terrible first half hour or so—infectious.
To be perfectly accurate, "Wall Street" isn't exactly right, since the setting of Quicksilver is San Francisco. (Although it's Frisco without the Golden Gate Bridge or vistas of the bay. What gives it away are the hills). Jack (Bacon) is an options trading whiz with a midas touch in the market. He's not completely infallible, though. One big deal falls through, costing him not only his shirt but also his parents'.
In a similar situation, the average broker jumps out of a window or under a train, right? Jack, however, chooses to be different. For no good reason, except that he sees a bike in a thrift shop window, he becomes a bicycle messenger boy.
At this point, Quicksilver is about to take off and become entertaining. But, except with hindsight, that's hard to appreciate. The whole idea of such a switch of careers is so ridiculous. However, since Bacon isn't particularly convincing as a stockbroker, it's a relief to get him into another line of work.
Jack's transition into the bike messenger's world is very sloppy and confusing. All of a sudden he's an old hand at the Quicksilver Messenger Service. (Is the scriptwriter being extra subtle in not ever spelling out its full name, or is he just too young to remember this '60's rock group?) And he's bosom buddies with a bunch of characters the movie seems to expect us to know, when we've never seen them before.
But eventually we get comfortable with Jack in his new world and with his new friends. Even though each one is a "type" rather than a character. Somehow Bacon's performance and some fun and exciting bicycle scenes manage to lift Quicksilver above its failings. A race between Jack and a fellow messenger which goes down and up some of those famous hills is a highlight.
You might be wondering where the Rocky comparison comes in. Well, Jack eventually ends up back on the options floor, trying to earn some money for a messenger buddy. He's afraid he's lost his touch though, and he loses big at first...
You can't say I didn't warn you about the silliness!
February 26, 1986