that was never heard of again).
jack was a theft, he just got out and is wanting a strait life. he just wants to go get his dream and he doesnt want anyone meddeling in his buisness while hes getting his end and getting out. everything goes wrong. jack gets picked up by his near forgotten son nick carrying little more than a suitcase and a picture of a pig. nick wants to be reunited with his father. unlike jack hes actually been waiting around for his dad to get out so they could again be a family whereas jack didnt care. after many unsuccessful attempts to ditch nick jack takes in his son and tries to be any kind of father hes capable of which may not be much but fatherly love hed put away is only realised when grows fear that he may lose his son to crime.
along the story you also meet 3 other people. nicks best friend played by :Christian Frizzell ... Rollie
Rollies devoted but can be a dumb kid sometimes. hes a skater from the corner who sales for the post with nick. he is also associated with the group of hustlers that nicks friends with on the corner.
then you have tracey kapisky who plays Molly
Molly is Nicks big crush. shes loud mouthed, sly, street smart and pretty. shes also a prostitute and dances for private parties. nick wants to settle down with this one...
then you have Lucinda Jenney who plays Charlotte, the woman that Jacks been writing from a magazine called "american heart" in which they began writing letters while Jack was in prison. Charlotte isnt stupid. Shes also a good woman and tries really hard to be there for Jack and help him help himself and help him in any way she can. She also tries to be there for Nick but nick hates her because he doesnt care for the intrusion.
Then you have Rainey but im not telling you about Rainey..
Rating: 
Summary: Should have been released in widescreen.
Review: Having previously bought the Artisan release of "Mountains of the Moon", I was hoping that this labeling was faulty just as the labeling had been on that disc. Both DVD's were labeled as standard versions. Whereas "Mountains of the Moon" was, in reality, a widescreen presentation, "American Heart" is sadly fullscreen, just as the packaging indicates. Why do companies, such as Artisan, insist on releasing movies in fullscreen?! Like many other viewers, I abhor pan and scan.
Rating:
Summary: Should have been released in widescreen.
Review: Having previously bought the Artisan release of "Mountains of the Moon", I was hoping that this labeling was faulty just as the labeling had been on that disc. Both DVD's were labeled as standard versions. Whereas "Mountains of the Moon" was, in reality, a widescreen presentation, "American Heart" is sadly fullscreen, just as the packaging indicates. Why do companies, such as Artisan, insist on releasing movies in fullscreen?! Like many other viewers, I abhor pan and scan.
Rating: 
Summary: EXTRA MEGA GOOD
Review: I THINK THIS IS A WONDERFUL MOVIE THAT SHOWS HOW A FATHER AND SON GROWS A RELATIONSHIP TOGETHER.THIS MOVIE IS A CLASSIC EXAMPLE HOW TWO PEOPLE CAN LEARN TO LIVE TOGETHER
Rating:
Summary: Killer movie!
Review: If you've seen the documentary Sreetwise and loved it.You've got to see this movie!It's fictional but anyone who has seen Streetwise will instantly recognize some of the lines.Jeff Bridges portrays "Jack" perfectly.Every "dirty white boy" knows someone like ol'Jack! Second favorite movie of all time behind Streetwise.
Rating:
Summary: A basic story, but acting and plot win the day
Review: The story is pretty simple, we've seen it all before, but a great human element and excellent acting make this film.This movie was filmed in Seattle, in the apartment building I was living in at the time. My brother and I met Jeff Bridges and Edward Furlong, and got to see the filming (at least at that location). What an adventure that was for both of us! However, neither of us were extras in the film and we don't appear in the movie.
Someday I'll set up a website with little known facts about this one. A DVD release would be nice, since it appears the movie is out of print and destined for obscurity. What a loss that would be.
Rating:
Summary: Martin Bell's American Heart
Review: This film has an excellent cast rising above some lackluster material you have seen before in other "angry ex-con" driven stories.
Jack (Jeff Bridges) is a recently released convict who tries to dump his fifteen year old son Nick (Edward Furlong) in the very first scene. Jack heads to Seattle, with Nick following, in order to set up a new life without the bothers of fatherhood. Jack meets with his old partner in crime Rainey (Don Harvey), who pays Jack a little money. Jack gets a job washing windows on high rise buildings, and settles into a small apartment.
And then there is Nick. He has left Jack's sister's farm to live with him. He skips out on registering for school, and hangs around some homeless street kids downtown. Jack is boozing his way through Seattle, meeting up with Charlotte, who used to write him by way of a personals magazine called "American Heart." Nick gets a job delivering newspapers, and Nick and Jack share their little apartment, upstairs from a topless dancer and her troubled teen daughter Molly (Tracey Kapisky).
The film then meanders through scenes of Jack and Nick arguing, then grudgingly making up, trying to develop some sort of normal relationship. Rainey cannot get Jack to come back to crime, but he does eventually get Nick to serve as a lookout for a job. Jack is saving for an impossible dream of moving to Alaska, and Nick wants to help. Nick and Molly grow closer, and Nick shoplifts a pair of shoes for her. Jack discovers the merchandise, along with some weed. Rainey robs Jack, who is also evicted and fired from his job.
Eventually, the cast begins spiraling downward, as Nick gets involved in a burglary for Rainey that goes horribly wrong, and Molly begins taking after her mother. Jack and Nick decide to leave Seattle, but Jack needs to take care of one more thing first...
Martin Bell was responsible for "Streetwise," the gritty documentary about homeless street kids that is among the greatest documentaries ever produced. He used this experience with this fictional film, but I found this screenplay often resorted to Hollywood convention. The ex-con trying to make it on the outside has been done, but maybe not this well acted before.
I wish Jeff Bridges would just win an Oscar. His performance here is wonderful. He is flawed, and his behavior is innate. He does not want a relationship with Nick, and makes that all too obvious without resorting to stereotypical behavior. Bridges even has a light moment, when Jack's parole officer Normandy (Melvyn Hayward) is banging on the apartment door, and a hungover Jack finds underage Molly fast asleep at the foot of his bed.
Furlong, who I have never liked in anything, gives his best performance here, too. I noticed his scenes where he plays opposite adults are more effective than when he is dealing with his teenage contemporaries. He is sympathetic without being saintly or cutesy. Jack and Nick's argument in the apartment, where Nick smashes a treasured ukulele, is strong stuff. Lucinda Jenney as Charlotte is also good, although Bell unwisely drops her character from the last part of the film after we have become so involved with her. While Don Harvey as Rainey is okay, there is a mentor relationship with Jack that is never fully explored. He looks Furlong's age, someone with a harder edge may have made more of an impact.
"American Heart" is a decent film that should be sought out for the acting. Jeff Bridges deserves all the praise he has ever received, and this film should have given him more than he got.
Rating:
Summary: Martin Bell's American Heart
Review: This film has an excellent cast rising above some lackluster material you have seen before in other "angry ex-con" driven stories.
Jack (Jeff Bridges) is a recently released convict who tries to dump his fifteen year old son Nick (Edward Furlong) in the very first scene. Jack heads to Seattle, with Nick following, in order to set up a new life without the bothers of fatherhood. Jack meets with his old partner in crime Rainey (Don Harvey), who pays Jack a little money. Jack gets a job washing windows on high rise buildings, and settles into a small apartment.
And then there is Nick. He has left Jack's sister's farm to live with him. He skips out on registering for school, and hangs around some homeless street kids downtown. Jack is boozing his way through Seattle, meeting up with Charlotte, who used to write him by way of a personals magazine called "American Heart." Nick gets a job delivering newspapers, and Nick and Jack share their little apartment, upstairs from a topless dancer and her troubled teen daughter Molly (Tracey Kapisky).
The film then meanders through scenes of Jack and Nick arguing, then grudgingly making up, trying to develop some sort of normal relationship. Rainey cannot get Jack to come back to crime, but he does eventually get Nick to serve as a lookout for a job. Jack is saving for an impossible dream of moving to Alaska, and Nick wants to help. Nick and Molly grow closer, and Nick shoplifts a pair of shoes for her. Jack discovers the merchandise, along with some weed. Rainey robs Jack, who is also evicted and fired from his job.
Eventually, the cast begins spiraling downward, as Nick gets involved in a burglary for Rainey that goes horribly wrong, and Molly begins taking after her mother. Jack and Nick decide to leave Seattle, but Jack needs to take care of one more thing first...
Martin Bell was responsible for "Streetwise," the gritty documentary about homeless street kids that is among the greatest documentaries ever produced. He used this experience with this fictional film, but I found this screenplay often resorted to Hollywood convention. The ex-con trying to make it on the outside has been done, but maybe not this well acted before.
I wish Jeff Bridges would just win an Oscar. His performance here is wonderful. He is flawed, and his behavior is innate. He does not want a relationship with Nick, and makes that all too obvious without resorting to stereotypical behavior. Bridges even has a light moment, when Jack's parole officer Normandy (Melvyn Hayward) is banging on the apartment door, and a hungover Jack finds underage Molly fast asleep at the foot of his bed.
Furlong, who I have never liked in anything, gives his best performance here, too. I noticed his scenes where he plays opposite adults are more effective than when he is dealing with his teenage contemporaries. He is sympathetic without being saintly or cutesy. Jack and Nick's argument in the apartment, where Nick smashes a treasured ukulele, is strong stuff. Lucinda Jenney as Charlotte is also good, although Bell unwisely drops her character from the last part of the film after we have become so involved with her. While Don Harvey as Rainey is okay, there is a mentor relationship with Jack that is never fully explored. He looks Furlong's age, someone with a harder edge may have made more of an impact.
"American Heart" is a decent film that should be sought out for the acting. Jeff Bridges deserves all the praise he has ever received, and this film should have given him more than he got.
Rating:
Summary: A father & son "buddy" movie -- on the sad streets
Review: Veteran underrated actor Jeff Bridges is complete- ly believeable as a freshly released convict back on the streets of Seattle. His estranged son, young teen actor Edward Furlong (Terminator II), attaches himself, searching for a crumb of family he never had. Streetwise and antisocial, the dad dreams of a new life in Alaska, taking his son with him through the dream. Yet the harsh despair of the streets, poverty, and society's underbelly tug against the two, struggling to have a life and learn who each other is. A perfect study on the barriers which society and economics put before an ex-offender in American society. Recommended for its raw authenticity and acting, not for warm fuzzies.
