John Gardner's 1973 bestseller was tough to adapt to the screen, given it didn't have much plot and was mostly a rumination on life in upstate New York. The studios kicked it around for a while (Shelley Duvall and Peter Boyle at one point were set to star) and finally tossed it to one-time writer-director Drew Denbaum, who valiantly but fruitlessly tried to shape the material. Henry is too young, considering much of the story rides on the point that he's old enough to be Callie's father. At one point there's an absurd "Rocky" like montage in which he gets in shape for his bride, then Willard is turned into a villain just to create some drama. It's worth seeing for Heather Langenkamp, making you wonder why she got so little work outside the "Nightmare on Elm Street" films.
6 Reviews
Slow Paced & Character Driven
caspian197817 December 2021
What feels like a 3 hour movie, this under 90 minute hard to find gem keeps you watching because of its strong characters. Among this talented cast is Heather Langenkamp, whom, showcases her talents as a leading lady and a rising star. Her sexial innocese along with her naive beauty drives the audience's attention. The view from the mountain top is different from the valley below. Nickel Mountain is your typical story about boy meets girl, the loss of youth, the failures at life and the struggle to stay alive with the choices e make. Simply filmed but hard to watch, this is a movie worth examining and critiquing. It has gained great value in time.
Langenkamp is the sole reason to watch
MarkSweepstakes25 May 2023
Warning: Spoilers
An ultra low-budget and forgotten little movie, "Nickel Mountain" is saved from total obscurity by Heather Langenkamp. Exuding youthful confidence, she is definitely the glue that holds this film together and the sole reason to watch.
I always had a thing for Heather back in the day. She was not a classic beauty -- her mouth was always open, she had too many moles, her hair was a frizzy mess, and she needed to lose a few pounds -- but there was something very attractive about her. Her face lit up when she smiled, she had bright blue intelligent eyes, and she just seemed like a sincere, fun and down-to-earth girl. I guess the appeal was she came across as one of those average regular girl-next-door Straight-A types from High School, the kind most guys had a secret crush on but could never figure out why.
"Nickel Mountain" was one of Heather's first on screen appearances. She portrays an innocent 16-year old from a rural wide-spot-in-the-road in the middle of nowhere who becomes mired in a confusing love triangle. She has the hots for the local misunderstood handsome young bad-boy Willard (well played by Patrick Cassidy), but after he knocks her up and splits town she develops a relationship for the much-older and fatter Henry who takes her in (also well played by Michael Cole). Shy Henry dotes on her, yet she still yearns for the bad-boy. Hmmmmm, never heard THAT before. I wonder how this story will play out? :-)
The "hired-because-they-were-cheap" cast is generally made up of unrecognizable has-beens on their way down the career ladder, in addition to up-and-coming soon-to-be-famous newbies like Heather. For instance, I did not realize Henry was played by Pete from the "Mod Squad" because Michael Cole had aged sooo badly. Conversely, it caught me by surprise that a maternity ward nurse was played by Julie Montgomery -- a year or two before her breakout role as Betty Childs from "Revenge of the Nerds" -- because she looked so young.
Fans of "Seinfeld" will instantly recognize Grace Zabriskie who played Heather's mom, although it may take a few seconds to realize the reception nurse is played by Jerry's TV mom, Liz Sheridan. And of course everyone will recognize Ed Lauter because that guy has been in everything. Brian Kerwin also did a good job as the town neer-do-well, but you'll probably remember him mostly from his youthful appearances in TV during the 70's and spend the rest of the movie wondering what happened to him and his career.
The ending of "Nickel Mountain" is completely ridiculous and almost ruins everything that went before. Plus the budget was so low I don't think the cinematographer was given enough lights because the screen was way too dark to see anything at times.
"Nickel Mountain", while by no means a masterpiece, does have its moments and will stick with you long after the end credits roll -- Heather's topless love scene ranking way up there. I'd watch it again, and that is worth 5-stars. Someday I'd like to read the book and compare it to the film.
I always had a thing for Heather back in the day. She was not a classic beauty -- her mouth was always open, she had too many moles, her hair was a frizzy mess, and she needed to lose a few pounds -- but there was something very attractive about her. Her face lit up when she smiled, she had bright blue intelligent eyes, and she just seemed like a sincere, fun and down-to-earth girl. I guess the appeal was she came across as one of those average regular girl-next-door Straight-A types from High School, the kind most guys had a secret crush on but could never figure out why.
"Nickel Mountain" was one of Heather's first on screen appearances. She portrays an innocent 16-year old from a rural wide-spot-in-the-road in the middle of nowhere who becomes mired in a confusing love triangle. She has the hots for the local misunderstood handsome young bad-boy Willard (well played by Patrick Cassidy), but after he knocks her up and splits town she develops a relationship for the much-older and fatter Henry who takes her in (also well played by Michael Cole). Shy Henry dotes on her, yet she still yearns for the bad-boy. Hmmmmm, never heard THAT before. I wonder how this story will play out? :-)
The "hired-because-they-were-cheap" cast is generally made up of unrecognizable has-beens on their way down the career ladder, in addition to up-and-coming soon-to-be-famous newbies like Heather. For instance, I did not realize Henry was played by Pete from the "Mod Squad" because Michael Cole had aged sooo badly. Conversely, it caught me by surprise that a maternity ward nurse was played by Julie Montgomery -- a year or two before her breakout role as Betty Childs from "Revenge of the Nerds" -- because she looked so young.
Fans of "Seinfeld" will instantly recognize Grace Zabriskie who played Heather's mom, although it may take a few seconds to realize the reception nurse is played by Jerry's TV mom, Liz Sheridan. And of course everyone will recognize Ed Lauter because that guy has been in everything. Brian Kerwin also did a good job as the town neer-do-well, but you'll probably remember him mostly from his youthful appearances in TV during the 70's and spend the rest of the movie wondering what happened to him and his career.
The ending of "Nickel Mountain" is completely ridiculous and almost ruins everything that went before. Plus the budget was so low I don't think the cinematographer was given enough lights because the screen was way too dark to see anything at times.
"Nickel Mountain", while by no means a masterpiece, does have its moments and will stick with you long after the end credits roll -- Heather's topless love scene ranking way up there. I'd watch it again, and that is worth 5-stars. Someday I'd like to read the book and compare it to the film.
Routine piece of Americana
lor_26 February 2023
My review was written in October 1985 after watching the movie on HBO.
Adapted from the late John Gardner's massive novel, "Nickel Mountain" is a well-acted bit of Americana, lacking the freshness and dramatic bite to make it as a theatrical entry. Filmed in 1983, title went unreleased until its current exposure on pay-cable and as a video cassette.
The romantic story is set in rural, upstate New York (though exact locale is not mentioned in the film), where 16-year-old Callie (Heather Langenkamp) becomes pregnant after dallying with Willard (Patrick Cassidy). After Willard goes away to work for the summer and then on to agricultural college, his dad (Ed Lauter) opposes any marriage, offering Callie $300 to get an abortion. He has become a bigtime farmer and doesn't want his son to marry a relatively poor girl.
Coming to Callie's escue is Henry Soames (Michael Cole), a friendly, overweight neighbor who dated Callie's mom (Grace Zabriskie) when they were teens. Callie works as a waitress at Henry's diner and takes care of him when he's ill. Henry marries Callie and the baby is born, but a violent confrontation ensues when a jealous Willard comes home to ask Carrrie to run off with him. An unconvincing finale contriveds a happy ending for everybody.
Ranging from "Where the Lilies Bloom" to "Coal Miner's Daughter", the rural drama is an enduring genre, but as "The River Red" and "Sylvester" have shown recently, its box office impact is lessening. Writer-director Drew Denbaum fails to bring the necessary contemporary relevance to "Nickel Mountain" to attract an audience.
Michael Cole (well-remembered as star of "The Mod Squad" series) has an effective change-of-pace, fitted here with a bloated body suit and handling heartfelt monologs as the selfless hero.
Pic "introduces" (per screen credit) Heather Langenkamp, a lovely young actress from Tulsa who previously had small roles in Francis Coppola's "The Outsiders" and "Rumble Fish" and received her main exposure as the lead player in "A Nightmare on Elm Street" in 1984. Her winning smile and sympathetic thesping are "Mountain"'s chief assets. Supporting cast is okay.
Adapted from the late John Gardner's massive novel, "Nickel Mountain" is a well-acted bit of Americana, lacking the freshness and dramatic bite to make it as a theatrical entry. Filmed in 1983, title went unreleased until its current exposure on pay-cable and as a video cassette.
The romantic story is set in rural, upstate New York (though exact locale is not mentioned in the film), where 16-year-old Callie (Heather Langenkamp) becomes pregnant after dallying with Willard (Patrick Cassidy). After Willard goes away to work for the summer and then on to agricultural college, his dad (Ed Lauter) opposes any marriage, offering Callie $300 to get an abortion. He has become a bigtime farmer and doesn't want his son to marry a relatively poor girl.
Coming to Callie's escue is Henry Soames (Michael Cole), a friendly, overweight neighbor who dated Callie's mom (Grace Zabriskie) when they were teens. Callie works as a waitress at Henry's diner and takes care of him when he's ill. Henry marries Callie and the baby is born, but a violent confrontation ensues when a jealous Willard comes home to ask Carrrie to run off with him. An unconvincing finale contriveds a happy ending for everybody.
Ranging from "Where the Lilies Bloom" to "Coal Miner's Daughter", the rural drama is an enduring genre, but as "The River Red" and "Sylvester" have shown recently, its box office impact is lessening. Writer-director Drew Denbaum fails to bring the necessary contemporary relevance to "Nickel Mountain" to attract an audience.
Michael Cole (well-remembered as star of "The Mod Squad" series) has an effective change-of-pace, fitted here with a bloated body suit and handling heartfelt monologs as the selfless hero.
Pic "introduces" (per screen credit) Heather Langenkamp, a lovely young actress from Tulsa who previously had small roles in Francis Coppola's "The Outsiders" and "Rumble Fish" and received her main exposure as the lead player in "A Nightmare on Elm Street" in 1984. Her winning smile and sympathetic thesping are "Mountain"'s chief assets. Supporting cast is okay.
Give it a miss.
jetan3 July 2010
Inept adaptation of the John Gardner novel and a tremendous disappointment for John Gardner's fans. The film captures none of the beauty of the story and descends into the very cheapest of melodramas. The completely sympathetic character of Willard becomes a mouth-breathing villain and the gentle, pensive, shy Henry Soames is portrayed as something of a jealous lunatic and rather prone to violence in the bargain. Heather Lagenkampf is fine, however, though the script gives her very little to work with. The movie is adequately shot but is never inventive. In short, the movie is a long hard slog to watch and at no point repays the viewer's efforts.
Michael Cole gives sensitive performance
mmilliken4720 September 2007
Warning: Spoilers
This movie is a story about loneliness. Lonely people in a lonely, desolate town. The movie never makes clear where the town is, but it doesn't matter. These could be any people, anywhere. Michael Cole gives a down-to-earth performance as the loneliest one of them all. Cole really captures Henry's sadness and compassion -- no surprise to anyone familiar with his work. Even on the Mod Squad, Cole's performances always showed a huge heart. This movie really showcased that, especially with him a little older and stripped of the prettiness of his previous roles. I remember seeing this movie when it was first on HBO in 1985 and being impressed. Twenty-plus years later, it still holds up. Brian Kerwin wins the silver medal for an equally on-the-mark performance. It's a nice, subtle movie that sticks with you for a while.
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