Quicksilver (1986) Columbia

Written and Directed by Tom Donnelly Starring: Kevin Bacon, Jami Gertz, Paul Rodriguez, Lawrence Fishburne, Louie Anderson

It`s San Francisco, the movie is called Quicksilver, which is the name of a messenger service-get it? There was a S.F. band in the 60`s called Quicksilver Messenger Service, later shortened to simply Quicksilver!

Kevin is a successful stock broker in possibly the west coast`s largest financial center. While in the backseat of his chauffeur-driven town car, he spots a bicycle messenger darting through traffic with complete abandon. Perhaps reminded of his former youthful exuberation, he orders the driver to match the cyclist`s maneuvers and race him. It`s close, but the messenger wins. That`s far from the worst part of Kevin`s day, however.

His brash and risky trading methods end up losing a great deal of money for some of his firm`s most important clients and wipes out his own parents` retirement fund. (Day traders beware!) Shamed and unemployed, our chastened young man drifts to the messenger service for employment, and a possible return to his former moral foundation.

Hard-working, honest people can be found at Quicksilver, which is just what our hero needs. Cute Jami soon becomes a close friend; Lawrence, Bodhisattva of the bicycle set, provides a role model for them all. When he is run down and killed by a soulless car driver (and aren`t they all without karma?), the entire crew is on the lookout for the mysterious car and its driver (how much do you want to bet that he smokes and has a gun? He`s most likely a Republican as well...wink, wink).

Meanwhile, Kevin is able to put his financial experience to some use as he advises a few of his co-workers on savings, investments and all that good stuff. But it soon becomes clear that he must square accounts, in more ways than one. Taking the combined savings of the bike crew, and a few ducats of his own, Kevin seeks to earn them financial freedom while also restoring his parents` nest egg. A courtesy guest pass gets him onto the trading floor, and a series of incredibly shrewd and timely trades, similar to those Hillary Clinton made all those years ago, earns our boy and all his friends a very handsome profit, indeed.

After this fiscal triumph, Kevin is soon faced with a more material foe when he encounters the evil car driver. An intense chase ensues, with plenty of near-misses, but Kevin tricks the evil dude into driving off a steep drop, killing the latter and settling the score for Lawrence. Also, Kevin gets the girl.

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