"His father's gone. His mother's a memory. His brother's moving on. But Tex McCormick isn't giving in."
Tex McCormick (Matt Dillon) is almost sweet sixteen and living with his eighteen year old brother Mason (Jim Metzler). Their father has left them and driven off to join the rodeo, their mother has died, and they're struggling to get by. Mason has dreams of becoming a big basketball star and going to college in Indiana, but knows he has responsibilities to take care of Tex, which is proving to be a difficult task since they don't even have any money to pay the bills. Stuck for cash and with nobody to turn to, Mason takes it upon himself to sell Tex's horse, which causes a the brothers to fight.
The Tulsa State Fair has arrived and Tex and best friend Johnny (Emilio Estevez) tag along, stirring up trouble on the ferris wheel before running into Johnny's sister and the apple of Tex's eye, Jamie (Meg Tilly). Dared to have his palms read, Tex reluctantly makes a visit to the fortune teller, who assures him not to change no matter how many changes the next year brings him. The most hard to stomach of all the fortune teller's words, however, is that he won't ever retrieve his prized horse. Disappearing for most of the evening, Tex staggers home drunk and miserable after being at a party with Johnny and his brother Bob. The next morning, they get a rather unfriendly visit from Johnny's dad, telling the brothers to keep away from his kids and blaming them for the night of drinking, threatening to inform state welfare about their situation at home. Mason comes down hard on Tex, telling him to keep out of trouble to avoid a confrontation with social workers.
With his brothers' words going in one ear and out the other, Tex ends up in the principals office that very same day for setting fire to his assignment in class, the principal showing quite an interest in the McCormick home life. Lucky not to be suspended, Tex goes bragging to an uninterested Johnny about his antics, leading to a brief fall out between the two friends.
The next hurdle is when Mason falls ill and is instructed to avoid stress as it'll only worsen his condition. It proves easier said than done when he and Tex pick up a hitchhiker who pulls a gun out on Mason while Tex is left in the drivers seat. Spotting a police car behind them, they veer off the road as Mason wrestles with the gun wielding escaped prisoner. By the skin of their teeth, the brother's manage to prevent a potential tragedy and their exploits earn them a spot on the local news. To the surprise of both Tex and Mason, their TV appearance was by no means ignored and the next morning, their dad turns up on the doorstep, full of apologies. When made aware that Mason was forced to sell his brothers' horse, the three set out into town to retrieve him. The words of the fortune teller prove to be true when the new owners flat out refuse to negotiate, insisting the horse is not for sale.
With Johnny and Tex friends again and pranks in steady supply, they are sent to the principal for their mischief and suspended for three days. But when Mason and his dad make an appearance for a meeting with the principal, they start to argue, accidentally blurting out a truth that Tex can't handle. He runs off, getting mixed up with a so-called friend and some underhand dealings, steering the naive fifteen year old straight into trouble and straight into the barrel of a gun.
VERDICT: ★★★ ½
Based on S.E. Hintons novel, Tex is another awesome story of teenage rebellion and the perfect role for Matt Dillon. Much like many book to film adaptations, the movie isn't completely true to the original story, which explains why many prefer the novel. That said, I enjoyed the film a lot and am one of the (very!) few who would opt towards watching this movie rather than Rumble Fish, another S.E. Hinton adaptation starring Matt Dillon.
One slight nitpick is the role of thirty year old Jim Metzler, who - no matter how greater actor - can't pass for a teenager at all. Other than that, Tex is an enjoyable, not-so-Disney flick and the first ever role for Emilio Estevez, who became a favourite of S.E. Hinton's. Those who dislike the movie have been known to brand it as 'boring', but honestly.. Shootouts, fights and car chases? Boring my arse.
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