I went to see Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man in an empty movie theatre on its opening night in 1991. It didn't get a lot of publicity in advance of its debut and what reviews there were, weren't good.
But I had to see it. And I came away torn. On the one hand I felt it was cheesy, but on the other it was deeply, deeply cool. So it has always had a special place in my heart, of which I've always been slightly ashamed.
I've watched it many times, but not for many years and so I chose to watch it again a few nights back. And the strangest thing happened...
Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man, seen through mature eyes and in the context of all that's going on in the world right now, is a great movie! Not just okay or good. Great!
It's well acted and fast paced and nicely shot. It doesn't rely on CGI explosions and a dozen mega-star actors and superhero franchises to churn out cookie-cutter blockbusters. It's its own thing. It's now closer in time to the bikesploitation movies of the late '60s than it is to the fucked-up future we now inhabit and yet it still feels futuristic and fresh.
And strangely, it's somehow lost the cheesiness that had made me ashamed to love it, in its place a newfound gravity. There is depth to the principal characters that had previously eluded me, which reveals more about their relationships and motivations.
Ultimately, it is a movie about love and friendship and finding your own way in life. And some 35 years after its release, I feel Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man is owed a reappraisal.
Read more - https://www.mercenary.ie/2013/05/harley-davidson-marlboro-man.html
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