Bullet Points: Adventure Scouts
One genre of action movies I always come back to is biker movies. I don’t know why because I don’t ride a motorcycle, but it probably has something to do with how many there are. When I came across Adventure Scouts which combined bikers with family friendly action I thought to myself that this movie has Matt Spector written all over it.
- Going to Florida – Adventure Scouts starts with Jimmy (Jaden Cal), or JD because in his words it is more hip and his mother Katie (Jodi Knotts) and step-father Allen (Jim Fitzpatrick) moving from Santa Monica, CA to Florida. JD is one little badass with his leather jacket and bandana and the incredibly unrealistic way he talks. Allen is the vice-principal at JD’s new school and a total nerd, but in a funny and endearing sort of way.
- School Ties – JD makes quick enemies of the other kids by befriending a black religious kid everyone makes fun of at school. Racism and religious discrimination right out of the gate! To be fair, they don’t hate him because he is black, but because he is too religious. When JD stands up for himself and shows off his tattoo the girls swoon over him and he is suddenly one cool dude. Allen starts a Boy Scout troop at the school, but JD convinces him to include girls to get more people to join and we got ourselves some adventure scouts!
- Scouts Honor – A scouting montage with a beautiful instrumental piano piece playing was an easy highlight. Unless you don’t like kids cheering on other kids and learning the importance of teamwork. And if you don’t like that, the cameraman focusing on the scout mothers wearing bikinis at the pool might be more your style.
- I Was Told There Were Bikers – While everything is starting to go good for JD in Florida we see Bobo (Corbin Timbrook) released from a California state prison. Bobo is JD’s real father, although they have never met. Bobo is the head of a biker gang and he is on a mission to get his son. Bobo fills out his biker gang with a who’s who of ex-professional athletes that had a variety of success in the NFL, MLB and NBA. If you are a fan of Jim Kelly, Mike Alstott, Simeon Rice, Chidi Ahanotu, Orestes Destrade or even Matt Geiger hamming it up you will get a kick out of Adventure Scouts.
- I ♥ Booby Traps – Bobo’s hunt for JD all comes to a head during a scout camping trip. Somehow Bobo and his less than intelligent bikers manage to get the entire town locked up in jail. We don’t see how, but it is explained somehow that most of the men in town are on a fishing trip. Basically the movie is saying that the women and old people are worthless without the men. Either way we get to see the scouts save the day with booby traps and improvised weapons. It is all pretty awesome.
Adventure Scouts may have bikers, but I don’t know if I can recommend it for fans of biker movies. I highly recommend it to anyone who likes to watch biker movies with their kids. It is meant for a younger audience, but there is plenty of fun to be had for everyone, especially for action movie fans that are also fans of pro athletes in their movies. There is only comedic violence and nary a dirty word to be heard, not counting nincompoop and just lots of fun for the whole family. If you need a little more reasons to watch if wanting to entertain you children is not enough, here are some Adventure Scout Bonus Bullet Points.
- Jim Dandy – Jim Fitzpatrick not only stars as the goofy but heartwarming Allen, he also wrote, directed and produced Adventure Scouts. He is surely talented because it is a completely different role than the only other time I saw him in Operation Delta Force 3: Clear Target. Of course Jim didn’t really stretch his acting legs by having his real life wife Jodi Knotts play his on-screen wife.
- Favorite Weapon – When JD’s mother Katie attempts to use a bathroom plunger as a weapon she instantly became my favorite character.
- I Love a Gimmick – Two of Bobo’s bikers that were not played by pro athletes had great gimmicks. Memorex repeated what other characters said was good, but not as good as Grunt who talked like the Tasmanian Devil which only the other bikers could understand.
