All Rise...

If Judge Jim Thomas ran a mile, it would be a miracle.

The Charge

There are 70 minutes to the end of the world. Where can you hide?

The Case

Between the recent deaths of Nancy Reagan and Prince, along with the run-up to another presidential election, the Reagan era has been on my mind. Many remember the rapid economic expansion and the sky-high interest rates (at one point I had CDs earning **twenty percent**), but alongside the economic boom rode a genuine sense of unease, as Reagan's policy of brinksmanship left everyone on their toes. Between Reagan labeling the Soviet Union the "Evil Empire" and the ongoing war in Afghanistan, every world crisis made us nervous; as Solidarity started ramping up its protests in Poland, a friend of mine in Army ROTC was convinced that they were about to be mobilized. That anxiety manifested itself in a spate of apocalyptic thrillers—War Games, Night of the Comet, The Day After, The Seventh Sign—pretty much everyone was convinced that one way or another, we were going to blow ourselves up real good. Miracle Mile stands apart from most of the other doomsday stories, partly because of its approach, partly because of its sense of style. Kino Lorber brings us a laudable artifact of that not-so-long-ago era.

After a meet-cute at the La Brea Tar Pits, jazz trombonist Harry Washello (Anthony Edwards, Top Gun) and Julie Parish (Mare Winningham, St. Elmo's Fire) agree to meet up when she gets off her late shift at a diner on the Miracle Mile. An unfortunate series of events result in Harry arriving a few hours late; Julie's given up and gone home. Pacing outside the diner, he answers a payphone. On the other end is Chip, a soldier desperately trying to contact his dad. Chip informs Harry that the US has just launched a first strike against the Soviet Union. The Soviet counterstrike is expected in a little over an hour. Harry tries to get more info out of Chip, but then gunshots announce that Chip has just received a severe reprimand. A new, cold voice instructs Harry to hang up and forget everything he's heard. Completely nonplussed, Harry goes back inside to warn the others. A businesswoman (Denise Crosby, Pet Sematary) high-powered enough to be toting a cordless phone that just fitsin her briefcase makes a couple of calls, and confirms Chip's story. She quickly arranges a helicopter to take the diner's clientele to safety. Harry, though, quickly determines that one way or another, he's going to get Julie to safety as well, and finds himself making his way across a rapidly degenerating neighborhood.

Now it's a race against time…and an incoming warhead.

Miracle Mile is one of those movies that, while not great, distinguishes itself with a unique take on tried and true tropes. (Alliteration: It's what's for dinner.) Starting off like a fairly traditional rom-com, the wrong number turns the plot on a dime; languid pacing gives way to a frantic race against time—so much so that from that point on, we're in Jack Bauer country, with the plot unfolding in real time as the mere belief that the world is about to end brings civilization to its knees. Writer/director Steve De Jarnatt does an excellent job of ratcheting up the tension, making the most of a decidedly low budget, and shooting small scale incidents in such a way that you understand that the same events are playing out all over LA. There are a host of strong supporting performances, particularly B-movie legend John Agar (Tarantula) as Julie's grandfather and Mykelti Williamson (Forrest Gump) as a young man searching for his younger sister amidst the chaos.

If the movie has a problem, it's in the leads. Edwards and Winningham are both appealing, likable actors, but for a couple supposedly at the center of the movie, they have relatively little screen time together—and for a good chunk of the back half of the movie, when they are on screen together, Julie is in a valium-induced slumber (though it does give us the amusing visual of Harry pushing her around in a grocery cart) and their exchanges lack a certain spark. There's a nice moment when Julie and her grandfather attend a jazz concert in which Harry unexpectedly extends his solo to impress Julie, annoying the hell out of the clarinet player. But in the pantheon of romantic dialog, "Third date, Harry, I'm gonna screw your eyes blue," doesn't quite compete with "Here's looking at you, kid." Several statements by Harry early on that make it clear that he's in love with the idea of love more than anything else, and he's making a manic, romantic gesture in the face of the apocalypse. Fortunately, everything that's not the Harry-Julie romance is great, allowing you to frame that relationship as just one aspect of the bigger picture.

Kino Lorber has produced a damned nice Miracle Mile (Blu-ray). De Jarnatt's use of multiple film stocks presents a number of restoration issues; fortunately, most of the obstacles were overcome in the development of the new high-definition master. The AVC-encoded video is clean, and for the most part free of damage or digital artifacts. Colors are somewhat muted, but that appears to be a stylistic decision. Of course, 1980s fashion is on full display—that may be a plus or minus, actually. Purists may be outraged that the 1.85:1 aspect ratio was cropped to 1.78:1, but that's a minor thing. The DTS-HD stereo track is exceptionally rich, allowing you to fully appreciate Tangerine Dream's throbbing electronic score.

There's also an exceptional set of extras on this release. There are two commentary tracks with De Jarnatt; in one he's accompanied by film historian Walter Chaw, and in the other he's with cinematographer Theo van de Sande and production designer Chris Horner. There's an assemblage of outtakes, alternate takes, and bloopers, an interview with Edwards and Winningham, a blessedly scrapped alternate ending, and a reunion of the supporting cast and crew. There's something for everyone here.

Despite a weak romance at its center, Miracle Mile is an engaging snapshot of Reagan-era dementia.

The Verdict

Not guilty.

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