Madison

Norton Herrick is an executive producer of this Addison Street Films Production featuring Jim Caviezel.

In 1971, air-conditioner repairman and boat enthusiast Jim McCormick entertains his desire to ‘go down’ as a legend in the record books when the Gold Cup hydroplane boat race improbably comes to his small town of Madison, Indiana. Immediately, Jim seizes his opportunity to enter the contest. With a motley crew of fellow mechanics and friends at his side, Jim fixes up his old boat and brings hope to the blighted industrial city.

The film is currently available on DVD.

Tailor-made for family viewing, Madison is the kind of decent, all-ages movie that’s all too rare these days, and that alone makes it a pleasant alternative to Disney and Pixar hits. And while this barely factual drama plays fast and loose with actual historical details in the sport of hydroplane racing, it’s a rousing (if utterly conventional) tale of underdogs under pressure–a boat racer’s version of Hoosiers, if you will. Jim Caviezel (The Passion of the Christ) stars as Jim McCormick, who drove the Miss Madison hydroplane to unlikely victory in the 1971 Gold Cup race in Madison, Indiana, where low morale and failing economy created a strong need for local heroes. It’s a predictable movie in every way, with a heavy-handed screenplay and direction that’s nothing if not earnest, but Caviezel’s reliable as always, and the capable supporting cast includes Mary McCormack, Bruce Dern, and Jake Lloyd (from Star Wars: Episode I). Best of all, the recreations of early ’70s-vintage hydroplane races are guaranteed to please devotees of the sport and anyone with a cinematic need for speed. –Jeff Shannon (Amazon.com)

Release date: 2005