Hitting the Ground Reviews

Seriously flawed by a rambling structure, this no-budget first feature by director David P. Moore nonetheless offers more than a few ideas to ponder, defying the odds against it. The rights of the individual in this age of politics-by-media are not just addressed but hammered to death by a preachy script, but still, the film wins a qualified recommendation. The young cast's dogged sincerity in conveying a heartfelt philosophy is admirable, but after a while, Neal Huff's self-pitying moral crisis begins to wear thin -- and still the film manages to retain its charm. And a distracting subplot about a racist college cult is sillier than the idea of the main character refusing to ever go back inside a building (he sleeps out of doors) -- and still -- well, you get the idea. However, widespread appeal to anyone who lives away from a college campus is severely limited, unless they are drawn by the soundtrack by Violent Femmes frontman Gordon Gano, whose off-kilter rhythms generate badly needed momentum. Lou Reed, PJ Harvey, John Cale, Frank Black, They Might Be Giants, and others lend musical assistance.