Why Rad (1986) Still Holds Up

There are movies you remember, and then there are movies you lived with.

Before DVDs, before streaming, there was a single VHS tape I guarded like it was irreplaceable. Because, to me, it was. It held an unlikely trio recorded from TV: Girls Just Want to Have Fun, Rad, and SpaceCamp. At first glance, they don’t seem to match, but they all told the same story: young people pushing against limits, figuring out who they were, and finding their place in the world.

I loved them all equally. In fact, I watched that tape so many times I became afraid of it.

I wasn’t afraid of the movies, but of losing them. I stopped rewinding after every viewing, letting the tape sit exactly where it ended until I was ready for the next session. When I finally did rewind, I did it carefully, as if I could control its lifespan. I was convinced too many rewinds would snap the tape and take it away for good. It felt less like media and more like something alive, something finite, like a friendship you knew wouldn’t last forever.

The 40th Anniversary Return

That was how I first knew Rad. So when I saw it was getting a limited 40th-anniversary theatrical release, I felt something I didn’t expect. It wasn’t just excitement; it was the feeling of getting a piece of my childhood back.

Of course, it wasn’t playing in my small town. It never is. But life has a funny way of aligning things. I already had to be in Austin that Sunday to drop my nephew off for a visit. The timing landed perfectly: three miles away, a Regal Cinema was playing Rad at 4:00 PM.

I made it into my seat just as the opening music began, and suddenly, I wasn’t in Austin anymore. I was back in that space where movies felt bigger than life.

The theater wasn’t full, but it didn’t need to be. It was filled with people who remembered—a room of Gen Xers loudly and joyfully reliving something that had stayed with all of us. People sang along, quoted lines, and reacted out loud. No one cared. That sense of shared experience, the kind we used to take for granted, felt rare and fragile. For a couple of hours, it was back.

More Than Just a Race

Usually, my instinct now is to analyze, to pick apart the structure and character motivations. But this wasn’t about that. This was about feeling it. It was about letting the movie exist on a big screen, with sound that fills the room and visuals that give weight to every jump and every moment of defiance.

And Rad delivers in a way that still surprises me.

Yes, there are things you notice now that you didn’t then: the softness of the film grain, the grounding humanity of Lori Loughlin’s freckles, and the fact that a twelve-year-old is responsible for most of the movie’s cursing. But none of that takes away from the experience; it adds texture.

At its core, Rad is still exactly what it was: a story about a kid in a small town, a single mother doing her best, a system that underestimates him, and a community that refuses to let him stand alone.

Choosing Yourself

Watching it now, I see more than I did as a kid. I see the weight his mother carries. I see the risk in choosing passion over security. I see the quiet rebellion in refusing to follow the path that’s already been decided for you.

Maybe that’s why it still works. Underneath the BMX tricks and the synth-heavy soundtrack, it was never really about the race. It was about choosing yourself anyway.

After the film, there was a short documentary about Eddie Fiola, the real-life inspiration and stunt performer. That layer of reality only deepens what the movie gives you. Rad doesn’t just hold up; it reminds you of who you were when you first believed you could do something bigger than what was expected of you.

Sitting in that theater, for just a little while, I remembered her, too.

Go Deeper: My RAD Career

If you find yourself wanting to go beyond the screen, Bill Allen (Cru Jones himself) wrote a fantastic memoir called My RAD Career. It’s a candid, funny, and sometimes “jaw-dropping” look at his journey through 1980s Hollywood. He shares what it was actually like on the set of Rad, including behind-the-scenes stories about the legendary BMX stunts and his relationships with other young stars of the era like George Clooney and Brad Pitt. It’s the perfect companion for anyone who, like me, felt that this movie was more than just a 90-minute race.

Where to find it:

• Official Site: You can grab a copy directly from the Official My RAD Career Website, which often features behind-the-scenes photos and fan Q&As.

Major Retailers: It is also widely available as a paperback or eBook on Amazon, Walmart, and Target.