''Going Back'' is a 1983 American

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

written and directed by

Ron Teachworth Ronald S. Teachworth is an American artist, writer, and film director from Rochester Hills, Michigan. Personal Teachworth received his B.A. in fine art from Central Michigan University in 1968, and an M.A. from Wayne State University in Detroit ...

and starring

Bruce Campbell Bruce Lorne Campbell (born June 22, 1958) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is known best for his role as Ash Williams in Sam Raimi's ''Evil Dead'' horror series, beginning with the short movie '' Within the Woods'' (1978). He has also f ...

and Christopher Howe. It was Campbell's second feature film, produced shortly after ''

The Evil Dead ''The Evil Dead'' is a 1981 American independent film, independent supernatural horror film written and directed by Sam Raimi (in his feature directorial debut). The film stars Bruce Campbell, Ellen Sandweiss, Richard DeManincor, Betsy Baker ...

''. The film had been extremely rare to acquire for a number of years, due to contract disputes between the director, producer, and the bankrupt original distributor. It was finally re-released on DVD in October 2006. The DVD release features an additional audio commentary track by Campbell, director Teachworth and cinematographer John Prusak.

Plot

In 1964, two high school friends, Brice (Campbell) and Cleveland (Howe), leave their suburban neighborhood near

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

hitch-hike Hitchhiking (also known as thumbing, autostop or hitching) is a means of transportation that is gained by asking individuals, usually strangers, for a ride in their car or other vehicle. The ride is usually, but not always, free. Signaling ...

their way to the countryside before going off to college. They are befriended by a lonely farmer, Jack Bodell ( Perry Mallette), who offers them a place to stay. As days pass, Cleveland helps Jack around the farm and finds in him the father figure he lacks, while Brice falls in love with a local girl named Cindy ( Susan Waderlow-Yamasaki). Four years later, Brice and Cleveland meet up in their senior year of college and decide to "go back" to Jack's farm, where they find much has changed in just a few years.

Cast

Production

The movie was filmed in

Cass City, Michigan Cass City is a village in Elkland Township, Tuscola County in the Flint/Tri-Cities area of the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 2,428 at the 2010 U.S. Census and 2,643 at the 2000 U.S. Census (a decrease of about 8%). It is located al ...

Rochester Hills, Michigan Rochester Hills is a city in Oakland County, Michigan, United States. A northern suburb of Metro Detroit, Detroit, Rochester Hills is located about north of downtown Detroit. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a popul ...

, and parts of Tennessee. Several of the stories told in the movie by the Brice and Jack characters actually happened to director

. The woman kissing her son Cleveland good-bye (at the beginning of the film) is played by the actor's real mother, Noralee Howe.

Reception

''Going Back'' received mixed reviews from critics and audiences. Susan Leighton of 1428elm.com gave some praise, stating, "''Going Back'' is a sheer delight for anyone who has enjoyed Bruce Campbell’s works throughout the years. In his second film, you start to see flashes of the actor that he would become. In this performance, he is less stilted and more natural. There is an ease to him which makes his effort as Brice believable." MaryAnn Johanson of FlickFilosopher.com was more critical ("it’s just a little too like a shorthand version of the things it wants to say...about how young people see the world through a gauze of idealism"), but she did praise the cinematography of John Prusak (who would later serve as cinematographer for Michael Moore's ''Roger & Me'').

External links

*
Official Going Back Website
- Contains synopsis, history of film, production stills, link to trailer
Bruce Campbell's Official Website
- All About Bruce Campbell
Ron Teachworth's Official Website
- About writer/director/artist Ron Teachworth

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Going Back 1983 films American coming-of-age drama films 1983 drama films Films set in 1964 Films set in Michigan 1980s coming-of-age drama films 1980s English-language films 1980s American films