Peter Billingsley's THE DIRT BIKE KID Is One of The Most Wonderfully Ridiculous Films of the '80s
In 1985, the young star of A Christmas Story, Peter Billingsley, starred in a little action adventure film called The Dirt Bike Kid. I’ve gotta say… this has got to be one of the most awesomely ridiculous movies to come out of the ‘80s. I know there are a lot of crazy and silly movies from the ‘80s, but this one is a cut above the rest. It’s something truly special.
Billingsley plays a young teen named Jack. One day his mom sends him out with some money to go buy some groceries, and he ends up coming home with a magic supercharged motorcycle instead. As you might imagine, his mom is pretty pissed. But Jack uses the magic dirt bike to save his friend’s hot dog stand from the clutches of a corrupt slug, and he becomes the big hero!
So what is so magical about this motorcycle? Well, it can fly and defy the laws of physics. It likes to kick off people it doesn’t like. This movie is just another reminder that the ‘80s was a magical and silly time for films. You’ll see for yourself when you watch the original trailer that I provided below.
The Dirt Bike Kid was directed by Hoite C. Caston, and he says that the story was inspired by Jack and the Beanstalk, but instead of finding magic beans, a young boy finds a magic dirt bike.
I actually had completely forgotten that this movie existed until I saw it while scrolling through some films to watch on Amazon. So, if you have Amazon you can check this sucker out and enjoy its brilliance.