This Jason Bateman Thriller Is the Ultimate Forgotten Made-for-TV Movie
Jason Bateman has become a major player in the Hollywood scene in recent years. But like everyone else who makes a name for themselves in the entertainment industry, he had to start somewhere. From a young age, the actor picked up guest roles on a number of television series and even appeared in the ill-fated Teen Wolf sequel. Not long after Teen Wolf Too, Bateman popped up in a made-for-television thriller called Moving Target. While it’s not a total banger, I have a soft spot for the TV movies of years past; especially pictures that hurled youthful protagonists into adult situations with no parental oversight. And this checks all those boxes. The flick has been largely lost to time since its 1988 release. But I think Moving Target is worth seeking out for anyone with a soft spot for the decadent excess of the ‘80s.
The film follows teenage musician Toby Kellogg (Bateman). Over summer break, Toby leaves home for an eight-week stint at a prestigious summer camp for young musicians. During his absence, Toby’s band starts booking radical gigs without him and even gets a tubular writeup in the local paper. Driven by FOMO, Toby hops a flight back home, only to realize that his family has up and vanished. As it turns out, his father (Tom Skerritt) has turned the state’s evidence against his employer, who has ties to organized crime. Now, Toby must keep his wits about him if he hopes to reunite with his family before the criminal underworld has him sleeping with the fishes.
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I should probably start with a dose of unabashed honesty and disclose that Moving Target isn’t a great movie. And it’s certainly not firmly rooted in sound logic. The flick is a bit formulaic and more than a little farfetched. The narrative requires immediate suspension of disbelief. Case in point: I can’t see a reality where the Federal Government would let Toby shove off to summer camp with his dad in talks to rat on his boss and enter witness protection. That seems like a dangerous loose end. And that’s far from the only gap in logic. However, if you can set reason aside and just go with it, you might find that the film works as a fun, albeit disposable, thriller.
While Moving Target never really reaches the point of delivering white-knuckle thrills, it does feature a couple of suspenseful chase sequences. One exciting scene in the third act finds Toby running amok on the city streets of Los Angeles and hopping off an overpass into the back of a garbage truck. Not the most realistic scenario for a 17-year-old to wind up in but setups like that still prove to be undeniably fun.
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Another element that makes the film work better than it probably should is a surprisingly strong cast. In addition to Bateman, the flick features a supporting turn from soap opera mainstay Jack Wagner; Tom Skerritt appears as Toby’s well-meaning father; and Robert Downey Sr. even makes a cameo. Moreover, Chynna Phillips (who would eventually enjoy chart-topping success with beloved pop trio Wilson Phillips) stars as Bateman’s teenage love interest. The flick is worth watching for that last piece alone if you ask me. But your mileage may vary. Even though none of the performances necessarily stand out as particularly inspired, each member of the core cast does well enough with the material they are given.
Moving Target also wins points for effectively capturing the look and feel of the ‘80s in all its glory. Most of the cast members look like they just walked off the set of Miami Vice; the hairstyles are awesomely bad; and the set design and dialogue are guaranteed to invoke a sense of nostalgia for the indulgent excess of the 1980s.
Though the film has been all-but-forgotten to time, Moving Target is certainly not without merit. The flick is likely to appeal to anyone nostalgic for ‘80s cheese with the flavor of an after-school special. Moreover, it boasts a cast filled with recognizable faces and even serves up a few good thrills. You could certainly do worse. If you’re game to check the film out, you’ve got options. You can stream the picture on both Prime Video and MGM+ as of the publication of this post.
Categorized:Editorials
