Time after time I have pointed out (usually as a complaint) how much a given movie is like "Rocky" or "The Karate Kid". Rather than let others continue to horn in on his act, John G. Avildsen, the director of those films, has himself brought a similar saga to the screen. Trading in the boxing gloves and blackbelts for cowboy hats, "8 Seconds" relates the true story of bull-rider Lane Frost and his rise through the ranks of the professional rodeo circuit.
Lane (Luke Perry) had a desire to tame the meanest of bulls ever since he was but a young boy. Encouraged by his father Clyde (James Rebhorn), himself a former rodeo champion, and his supportive mother Elsie (Carrie Snodgress), Lane never doubted that he had what it took to accomplish his dreams. Travelling from town to town with cohorts Tuff Hedeman (Stephen Baldwin) and Cody Lambert (Red Mitchell), Lane pays his dues competing in local rodeos. It is at one of these that he meets a beautiful horse jumper named Kellie Kyle (Cynthia Geary). They hit it off almost immediately and before you know it, they are walking down the aisle.
About this time Lane is finally coming into his own as a competitor to be reckoned with. He takes top honors in rodeo after rodeo, culminating in a glorious win at the world championships. Only Red Rock, a bull that's never been ridden for the full 8 seconds out of hundreds of tries, is a more skilled adversary.
Just as Lane's chosen career is hitting its high water mark, his personal life takes a tumble towards the nether regions. His father, seemingly never satisfied with Lane's accomplishments, confides that the trick isn't in becoming champion but in staying on top. Kellie, now his long-neglected wife, confesses an infidelity and Lane is forced to admit that he, too, has given into his base instincts with a few ardent female fans. It's a toss up at this point whether rekindling his romance with Kellie or getting a second and third chance at breaking Red Rock is higher up on his priority list.
I enjoyed the fact that "8 Seconds" didn't rest on its sports-action laurels and make the background story into so much filler. Indeed, it could be argued that the Lane-Kellie romance is at the heart of the film rather than, as one might rightfully expect from previews, the bull riding. This is all for the better because the rodeo scenes are exciting exactly once and then they all tend to look the same.
The courtship between Kellie and Lane starts out very sweetly, almost like a storybook romance. For the longest time their love seems worry-free and joyous. But when adultery enters the picture, the relationship becomes more authentic and, consequently, quite mundane. So unless you have a burning penchant to see Luke Perry with his shirt off or can distinguish the merits of one bull ride over another, I cannot recommend "8 Seconds" to you.