Cafe Mundi Gets Rad

Rad
Monday, February 18
Cafe Mundi (1704 East 5th St.)
8pm, Free, Prizes for best 80s gear!
[info]

Unless we missed something (and we sometimes do), it's been two years since the 1986 BMXploitation flick Rad last had a proper screening here in Austin. So we're stoked to hear that the folks at Cafe Mundi will be screening it tonight, and will be giving away prizes for "Best 80s Gear".

As you may well know, Rad is the most awfully awesome BMX movie this side of BMX Bandits. Starring Bill Allen, Lori Loughlin (better known as "Aunt Becky" on Full House) and Bart Conner (a gold medal-winning Olympic gymnast and husband of Nadia Comaneci), Rad follows the adventures of BMX riding paperboy Cru Jones as he ditches his SATs to qualify for Helltrack, a big-time bike race with serious professional competition.

But as the big race approaches, suit-and-tie bad guy Duke Best (a hilariously sleazy Jack Weston) and his pretty-boy minions do everything in their power to keep Cru from winning. So the local kids band together to help their hometown hero take home the trophy.

Despite being downright awful, Rad is still an absolute blast to watch. The hilarious costumes, amazing 80s soundtrack and obviously male Lori Loughlin stunt double all go a long way toward making it a cult classic. And as far as we know, Rad has never had a proper domestic DVD release, so unless you bought a VHS copy before they went out of print, you probably won't get many more chances to see it.

Sill unconvinced? Watch this.

Contact the author of this article or email tips@austinist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By math in Arts & Entertainment on February 18, 2008 3:40 PM 0 Comments

Comments [rss]

Jody

*sigh* I guess I'll never get this on DVD. At least Thrashin' got released!

oh steph

First - why call it a clown bike, misssteak? Unless it actually came from Clown Dog, the sweet bike shop on San Jacinto....

Secondly, I believe that the only reason it looks bigger is indeed the height of the seat post. Most street bmx riders that you see around town have it much lower - if there is a need for an emergency bail, all they have to do is stand up; the bike will keep rolling right under that SUV, yet the rider will walk away unscathed.

Grape Ape

Overall, people of the same age are generally larger nowadays, whether by weight or muscle, today then they were then (my logical guess). Dude looks like todays typical 4th grader. That and the seat posts are dropped all the way down these days (my optical illusion based guess). Guess they got tired of their nuts getting racked all the time.

SKI

The most wonderful movie of my childhood.

misssteak

How is it that he doesn't look like he's riding a clown-bike and yet so many of the bmx bikers here in town do (due to body proportion - bike proportion)? Is it cooler to ride smaller bikes now or is there some logic behind it?