P.K. and the Kid

My review was written in September 1987 after watching the film on Lorimar video cassette.

"P. K. and the Kid", filmed in 1982 but unreleased until this year, is a modest road movie notably chiefly as Molly Ringwald's first starring feature role, after tv credits and Paul Mazursky's "Tempest". Pic is mild entertainment in the vein of the "little people" rustic dramas of the 1970s.

Ringwald portrays a 15-year-old P. K., who runs away from home when her mom (Fionnuala Flanagan) fails to protect her against the abusive advances of mom's boyfriend Lester (Alex Rocco). She's befriended on the road by working class hero The Kid (Paul Le Mat, driving a pickup straight out of his "Melvin and Howard" role), who's headed from Colorado to the annual arm wrestling championship at Petaluma, California.

Lester keeps poppin,g up to torment P. K. and accuse The Kid of being the molester. Predictably, The Kid proves himself as a wrist wrestler and P. K., following a beating that puts her in the hospital, finally getting free of her nemesis.

Predating Sylvester Stallone's "Over the Top" flop, pic once again demonstrates that arm (or wrist wrestling) is hardly cinematic fodder, lacking the action and visual apeal of other sports. Le Mat and Ringwald make an attractive, comfortable team in search of an interesting story. Supporting cast is fine, particularly Leigh Hamilton, who makes a solid impression as a one-night stand who picks The Kid up at a motel.