8 Seconds

"8 Seconds"

John G. Avildsen's film, "8 Seconds", which tells the true story of the cowboy, Lane Frost (Luke Perry) trying to pursue his dream of becoming a World Champion Bull-Rider. This film could cause a boom in rodeo bull-riding except for one crucial fact; the sport of riding bulls is just too dangerous. As the film makes very clear, trying to stay aboard a 2,000 pound bucking bull for eight seconds while holding a mount with one hand is not easy. This film's camera action captures the competitive bull-riding and takes the audience into the grand stands of the rodeo, making the viewer feel like they are a part of the show.

The story starts out in Lane, Oklahoma where Lane's parents (James Redhorn and Carrie Snodgress) start him out on the road to rodeo success as a child riding sheep at the county fair. As Lane grows, he starts traveling the rodeo circuit with his two buddies, Tuff (Stephen Baldwin) and the Poetic Cody (Red Mitchell). Lane, Tuff, and Cody are very close friends who consider each other their family. Without the help of Tuff, Lane might not have continued to Bull-ride when things start to get a little tough.

Lane meets a barrel racing cowgirl, Kellie Kyle (Cynthia Geary) and falls in love with her. They eventually get married. As Lane's Bull-Riding career starts to take off, their marriage begins to have problems, mainly due to Lane always tending to the public and leaving Kellie standing alone.

Lane also has a reputation of being the nicest cowboy in the rodeo circuit, taking time to sign autographs and giving pointers to all the little kids at the rodeo, mainly due to his obsession of wanting his father's approval, which he might not ever get.

Eventually, their marriage comes to a breaking point and Lane's mother tries to help Lane understand that his father really does care, but just can't express himself. She also