A Lifetime Made-for-TV kind of movie if ever there was one, “Madison” is saccharine sweet - obnoxiously so. Based on true events, “Madison” is the ‘little engine that could’ story about the importance of hydroplane racing to the dying town of Madison, Indiana. Caviezel stars as Jim McCormick, a former hydroplane racer who gave up actually competing in the sport after a horrible accident. Jake Lloyd of “Star Wars: Episode I” fame co-stars as his son, a character that’s bland, unappealing and completely forgettable.
After hanging up his helmet, Jim remains connected with the sport by being a key member of the hydroplane repair team. Like the town itself, the Miss Madison hydroplane has seen better days. In constant need of repair but having only the barest of budgets to work with, Jim and his team do the best they can to keep the decrepit machine going. When a weird turn of events allows Madison, Indiana to play host to the Gold Cup championships, Jim has to step it up and make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear (insert your own cliché here), putting his family, his job, and everything else on the back burner to return Miss Madison to racing glory.
The synopsis sounds a lot more thrilling than the film turned out to be. It’s hard to believe a movie involving the sport of hydroplane racing could be as unsatisfying as “Madison” ultimately is. There aren’t many racing scenes and, other than the one final race at the very end of the movie (which you know is coming from the get-go), all the action is shot as toned down as possible. I was never engaged in any of the action sequences, despite the fact I find hydroplane racing fascinating to watch.
There’s no chemistry between Jim Caviezel and Mary McCormack, the actress who plays his long-suffering wife. Their big fight scene comes off as though the actors were given their scripts just minutes before having to emote. But not all the blame can be placed on the actors. The dialogue doesn’t ring true, sounding stilted and more like something you’d read off a page than utter to another human being. The story may be based on true events, but there’s no hint of honesty to the way situations play out.
A so-so ‘Movie of the Week’ being released theatrically, “Madison” lacks the ummph factor. The exciting, life-threatening sport of hydroplane racing has been turned into something as thrilling to watch as paint drying. Described in the press notes as an action-drama, “Madison” lacks the thrills of a good sports/action movie and the story to sustain a decent drama. Basically, “Madison” is just an unremarkable, boring film.
GRADE: D
"Madison" was directed by William Bindley and is rated PG for some mild language and sports peril.
