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List Price: $14.98 | | Label: Premiere Marketing & Distribution Group, The
Salesrank: 29129
Released: September 13, 2005 |
| Our Price: $0.91 |
| Used Price: $0.89 |
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MPAA Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
The Miss Madison may have seen better days, but she's about to go out in a blaze of glory. The pride of Madison, Indiana, the dilapidated hydroplane's been entered in the 1971 Gold Cup Championship race, whose $50,000 prize money has been raised by the town itself. Chosen to pilot the craft is Jim McCormick (Jim Caviezel, The Passion of the Christ), a local man who's sacrificed his family's future to enter the race. Supported by an idolizing son (Jake Lloyd, Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace), an understanding wife (Mary McCormack, Full Frontal) and a legendary mechanic (Academy Award®-Nominee Bruce Dern, Best Supporting Actor, Coming Home, 1978), Jim takes the Miss Madison on her final voyage, in a race to the finish that will leave you cheering!
Description of Madison:
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
Madison Reviews:
Madison 
2009-08-20 - Growing up in Detroit during the 50's and 60's with unlimited hydroplane racing in my blood, I found the movie Madison to be a relatively accurate portrail of the "golden age" of this dying sport. No longer can you actually see the drivers struggling to control these monsterous racing machines and the sound their turbine motors make now doesn't live up to their reputation as "thunder boats". It was great to see the beautiful restorations of these wonderful craft running in anger during the movie. That being said however, the plotline of Madison doesn't seem to me would be very interesting to anyone unfamiliar with the sport of unlimited hydroplane racing, which may explain why the movie didn't do very well at the box office.
Madison Hydroplane Story DVD
2009-06-11 - I bought it because the raceboats used in filming were boats refurbished by the Hydroplane and Raceboat Museum, then located in Seattle, now moved to Kent, WA. I like to watch these old boats run, even though they are not really risking the equipment like they would be if they were really racing. The story has interest from the viewpoint of a young boy whose father is the inspiration for a town to sponsor a raceboat. I was not impressed with the way the story is told, but again, I love to see the old boats run. Other than for the old boats, the story is probably targeting young boys age 6 to 13 years old.
David vs. Goliath Feel-Good Story 
2009-03-16 - This turned out to be a "sleeper," a good film that few people have heard of, I suspect, outside of Madison, Indiana. Being in an area that used to host hydroplane races, it intrigued me. I also usually enjoy movies that star Jim Caviezel.
Mainly, this was a nice film with a feel-good David vs. Goliath story based on a real-life occurrence back in 1971. It involves the sport of hydroplane racing, meaning extremely fast boats raced in different bodies of water around the USA. A town nearby where I live used to have these, but I haven't heard of them in decades.
Anyway, this story takes place in a small Indiana town that was on the skids by 1970 but plants closing all the time and people moving elsewhere. The hopes of its boat, "Miss Madison" also seem to be about lost until, as fate would have it, the town is awarded the opportunity to host the "Gold Cup," the biggest event of the sport.
A string of failures, followed by new disasters, include the death of the pilot, near-death of another one and the boat being just about totaled in the process. How the town - led by former racer "Jim McCormick" (Caviezel) - can raise the money to resurrect the town, the boat and the driver himself, are all shown here. McCormick not only has to pull off several miracles but also try to win the support of his wife and son, who have had their fill of disappointments with this sport.
The film winds up being a sports movie and a drama about a family, a team of workers and an entire small town trying to pull together and beat tremendous odds. I have to use two clichés here: it's a heartwarming story and, yes, it's a good family movie. You don't have to worry about offensive material. It reminds me, in spots, of a made-for-TV movie. It kind of plays old-fashioned corny but in a way that makes you glad you watched it.
Like "The Natural" only wetter
2008-06-12 - I got an inexpensive copy of this movie yesterday, and took it home and watched it. Yes, I am a fan of hydroplane history-love the sound of the piston engines. The movie plays fast and loose with the facts of the 1971 Gold Cup, the Miss Madison, even the circumstances in Port Madison, Indiana. Who cares? !!! It's a great story, even if a bit contrived. It immediately reminded me of The Natural-a great baseball story, even if contrived, and non-historical and different than Malamud's book. When Miss Madison crosses the finish line, it's the same feeling as Roy Hobbes rounding the bases under arcing light towers.
Heck, how many good boat racing movies have there been? Especially hydroplane racing? Like, none. Rent it, buy it, it's a family movie. Your kids will love it.
A Good Film
2008-01-02 - I may be a bit biased as I was fortunate enough to go to the world premier of this film in Madison, Indiana with the current Miss Madison racing team and got to meet the director and some of the cast.
Gold cup hydroplane racing dates back to 1911 and has a rich history of boats, teams and drivers. Unfortunately it's hasn't attained much popularity beyond the Indiana and Washington race sites. I am glad a film was made to document the great gold cup race of 1971 and the underdog local Madison team. The film is very well casted and has some fantastic footage of racing on the Ohio river. I give it only 4 stars for a somewhat formulaic plot. Beyond that it's a well done, entertaining movie.
