Tracktown (2016) User Reviews

Runner's day off

[Sexy-scientist · 5/10 · 23 September 2018]

This movie is about a long distance runner who takes a day off from her regular practice schedule due to strain. Movie's every scene is based on her interactions with other people/things. All other characters are one dimensional. I feel that even her character is not well developed. It seems like she has been practicing very rigorously and alone, which made her emotionally stunted. She is not able to react to social situations normally. Her communication skills are very poor to the level that it feels unrealistic.

The usage of quotes throughout the movie is a fresh idea, but it is more suited for a high adrenaline movie. Also, the vocalization of quotes is not fluent. The camera work is sloppy which makes scenes slogy.

If you are looking for a running movie, this is not the choice. But if you want an indie with a piece of life of a runner, then you can go for it.

Overall, very good comic-of-age story

[subxerogravity · 7/10 · 15 June 2017]

An interesting movie. A strange coming of age story about an athlete who had trained all her life to become an Olympic style racer, but she gets an injury and is force to take a day off. She gets to live the life of a young girl for one day. This mostly initials a relationship with a guy she has a crush on.   The movie in itself was a good lesson on dedication and how it's good to take a break once in a while but never let distractions keep you from your goals. The  Filmmakers obsession with the athlete's body very strange but interesting, but I did love those awkward moments with the Athlete's attempts to be normal outside of training.

Unsalvageable

[robingf · 2/10 · 31 March 2019]

This is terrible. Just terrible. As a competitive endurance runner, I thought this would be a fun movie I could relate to. Nope. Even the running life portions are not even slightly accurate. (Will spare you the diatribe on realistic portrayals of the running world - but just to be clear, no coach in the world would ever push back on a sports physician recommending rest to an athlete. If your coach does, fire that person.) But more to the point, the acting is some of the worst I've ever seen (only Plum's parents are well acted characters - even then, props to Rachel Dratch for trying to overcome the hollowness of the writing and development of her character as much as she could) and the writing is juvenile and listless. You can't just add some mood lighting and whispy indie music to every scene to make up for its emptiness. The thing that concerned me the most, however, was the rapey boyfriend plotline we are somehow supposed to cheer for and find romantic??? I'm leaving two stars instead of one only because some of the visuals are nice.

Not this one.

[teddyryan · 17 October 2019]

In a stab at sports movie accuracy, real 10k professional runner and Dartmouth standout Alexi Pappas plays a nearly identical version of herself in TRACKTOWN.

In TRACKTOWN, the quirky superstar athlete (apparently an actor and writer as well as a 31:36 10k runner) shows potential on and off the track. And co-director/co-writer (and one of the Filmmaker Magazine's top 25 faces of independent film) Jeremy Teicher adequately helms the cinematic aspects of the production while Miss Pappas (playing Plum - a 10k pro runner with dreams of making the Olympics) is the main attraction.

The first 10 minutes of the film provide some authentic glimpses into female distance running (or at least it feels like it from my little knowledge of the subject).

For example, Plum pees in the woods with fellow Oregon Track Club teammate, hangs out in her altitude tent and shaves the necessary parts of her body when in uniform. She even zones out - looking at an ant on the track - right before the starting gun of her preliminary race.

Unfortunately, the film goes haywire when it comes to inciting incident and plot. The script - which uses an effective voiceover with Plum quoting famous people - quickly becomes irritating and misguided.

Character-wise, Plum starts to act like a confused 13-year old/poorly created/inconsistent version of JUNO wandering around town while we get a wiff of Richard Linklater. The film then does a U-turn and starts segwaying toward a mumblecore slash NAPOLEON DYNAMITE.

POSSIBLE SPOILERS!!!

The main plot device - Plum having to take a day off from running - can't hold the weight of Act 2 and 3 and collapses into C minus material.

As a filmmaker myself, I will NEVER claim to be ever to make a better film than TRACKTOWN - please note.

As a critic, however, it became obvious that the drama would have been much more captivating if Plum had been injured and forced into retirement.

But it feels as if Miss Pappas and Mr. Teicher lack the desire to move into darker territory and their work suffers greatly as a result. The standard indie score can't fix a sloppy middle (a boring B-story and a love interest occurrence that is just plain weird).

And it's a darn shame. I feel like a strong script rewrite (which may have Hollywood-tized the content) or casting of a seasoned lead could have elevated the material.

(Miss Pappas, who is obviously a young woman of many talents, might want to stay behind the camera or write smaller roles for herself until she hones her acting chops).

In the final analysis, I commend the writer/director team for making a feature film on an outsider sport. That being said, in this instance, TRACKTOWN suffers from a lack of story fitness and can't PR on subpar storytelling.

Ted's Grade: C/C-

Please don't watch this film

[scottyent · 3/10 · 7 October 2017]

I want to write this review because there aren't any other in depth user reviews that shed a light on how bad this movie is. I really wanted to like it, but perhaps I'm the wrong demographic?

I think the goal of this movie was to display that life as an elite athlete shelters you in certain ways, and that the single mindedness that comes along with attaining such a big goal can cause you to miss a lot of things. While I guess it portrayed that... it was WAY too extreme and WAY too little about sports (or maybe just the rest of her life leading up to this few day window that the movie was in).

I get that the idea was to look at how she has a chance to examine her life on her day off, but the whole plot was just so unbelievable starting with Plum herself. They wrote her as virtually mentally challenged, and I'm not exaggerating. They dropped really weird hints all over the place, like her constantly using coloring books, the boyfriend guy asking if she was 15, and a few other very childish scenes. Again, I think this was to demonstrate that she was sheltered, but it left my wife and I debating the whole movie if this girl was developmentally challenged and it would eventually come out as part of the story.

However, by the end, it became much more clear that it was the writing in the movie. The dialogue was atrocious. Gems like "How did you know I was here?" "Uh, I don't know."

The movie was also mostly in single syllable answers between the characters, which also made me think that everyone was treating her as mentally disabled. I mean, the amount of times they tried to possibly say something emotional and instead said "Sad" or "happy" was astounding. Again, I thought this was a commentary on her poor ability to understand and interpret the world due to her developmental problems.

The story was also extremely ridiculous that this was packed into ONE day before the national finals race. Why? Wouldn't this have been much better if they met a few weeks before, the boy became a distraction, and you can see how her life isn't normal and how this is a huge dilemma for her?

Instead, you get a guy that she has a crush on - she gets the courage to talk to him, and it goes from that to we're having sex for the very first time....in like 24 hours. Why? It even included really insanely stupid drama based on the time line, like her saying she had to go stretch and them having an argument MULTIPLE times about how she needs to relax and live life and just BE with him. They have been "together" for A DAY. How in the world would all this drama happen in a day? Is she insane? Is he a mentally unstable stalker? What is the deal?

This also made watching the scenes between them extremely unbearable because you almost got the impression that someone was taking advantage of a person who had the mind of a child. She would just regularly look bewildered, say nothing, and he would push her towards being more intimate.

There's socially awkward, quirky, etc and then there's just mentally not there. This was the latter. It made it from endearing charming sheltered person finding out about life, to omg is this person being taken advantage of? Has she been brainwashed to be a running machine by her father? Is this boy just recognizing she's slow and trying to get in her pants?

There was also the whole drama with the family, again...why? I get the point of it all in the larger story, but why in the world was this packed into two days before the biggest race of her career so far? The dad cleans out the house based on one sentence Plum says when she's crying? He disrupts her whole environment a day before the race? I thought his life was her and her running career!

Then there's the mom. There is one line that gives you an idea that she's aware of the situation when she says "I thought it would be nice to have a mom with this stressful race coming up" or something similar. Which is great, at least that explains a little bit about why she pops up. But she pops up like FOUR times in two days and ultimately imposes on the family dynamic and causes a bunch of drama RIGHT before this big race. Does nobody care that this girl has trained her whole life for this?

For all of these reasons, I just can't recommend watching this movie. I was a high school track runner on a state championship team, and so I get to some degree what it's like in that world. That's why I watched this movie. However I think it's insulting to anyone who IS an elite level runner (I wasn't) that as a result of this decision you are now so mentally/socially repressed that you come across as a middle school child.

Run into a runners world

[ryan-25437 · 9/10 · 20 April 2017]

I really enjoyed the movie over all. The cast is good and brings quirky, but lovable, characters to life. I love that they brought me into the life of a runner. Who knew they ran that much? Alexi plays such her character so well and uses her own experiences as a runner to enhance her acting and story telling. Plus it's really cool that they used other Olympic athletes in the film. I would def suggest this movie as something to see.

Uplifting and Authentic

[samanthamurphy-82711 · 10/10 · 11 May 2017]

This movie is full of heart and originality. Tracktown explores a story of growth from the perspective of a young female athlete struggling to find balance. Plumb learns to step outside of her comfort zone and make decisions for herself. It also features many Olympic athletes and shows off the unique world of Tracktown, USA!

Highlighted completely by Pappas' performance!

[Hellmant · 8/10 · 6 June 2017]

'TRACKTOWN': Four Stars (Out of Five)

An indie sports comedy-drama about a long-distance runner that twists her ankle while preparing for the Olympics. She's then forced to take a day off, for the first time in her ambitious young career. The movie stars debut actress Alexi Pappas, who also co-wrote and co-directed the film (marking her directorial debut as well). It was also co-written and co-directed by sophomore feature filmmaker Jeremy Teicher, who previously directed and co-wrote (with Pappas) the 2012 indie drama 'TALL AS THE BAOBAB TREE'. The film also costars Chase Offerle, Andy Buckley and Rachel Dratch. It was filmed all in Eugene, Oregon and it tells the story of a Eugene college athlete. I really enjoyed it.

Plumb Marigold (Pappas) is a young college athlete, who's been obsessively preparing for the Olympics for several years now. She lives with her father (Buckley), a former track star himself, who also excessively helps his daughter train. Plumb's mother (Dratch) had a mental breakdown years earlier, and she now lives with her own parents. Plumb twists her ankle, just a few days before Olympic trials, and she's forced to take a day off from her normal obsessive daily routine. On her day off she deeply contemplates her lonely life, as she also falls for a local young man named Sawyer (Offerle).

The movie is highlighted completely by Pappas' performance. She's excellent in the film and she really makes you feel for her character, and totally relate to her personal drama. The other actors do a good job as well, but their only purpose really is to support Pappas. The movie is completely about her personal issues and struggles, with loneliness and self identity being the primary ones. I think it's a really positive film for that reason. It's also beautifully shot and directed. I also love the fact that it takes place all in Eugene, Oregon (being from Oregon), and I think Pappas is definitely a talent to watch out for.

Watch our movie review show 'MOVIE TALK' at: https://vimeo.com/221789603

Can't wait to see it again!

[deenakastor · 10/10 · 28 April 2017]

Tracktown is a wonderful run through the world of Plum Marigold as she tries to find her stride. The movie is quirky, entertaining and inspiring. Great camera angles and creative edits make this an up close and personal movie, like a documentary. It will become a classic as I already want to see it again!

Flip side of Hallmark RomCom

[dwulbert · 10/10 · 7 September 2023]

Plumb Marigold aimlessly wanders Eugene Oregon on a pre-race taper day before the Olympic trials at which she will be one of the elite middle-distance runners.

She is supposed to take a nap in her altitude tent with her legs elevated. But she implores a teammate to go for a run. Then pleads the teammate not tell Coach she asked.

Plumb buys two cookies from the bakery-boy at the over-the-counter widow. His live-abord trailer is parked in a back area with chickens outside. After a day of awkward episodes, she maneuvers the experience of being with a boy.

She shares a meager apartment with her father, whose life centers around running: watching old films of his races, plotting out possible race courses and sharing Plumb's life.

Plumb's mother is an institutionalized, happy, naive, schizophrenic whose motherhood plumb wants to deny in public.

The movie ends with Plumb lining up for the start of the Olympic trials. It doesn't matter if she makes the team. Unless something changes, Plumb's path will never bring her a stable career or a satisfying social life or the attention she now garners. Today will likely be the highpoint of her life.

Hallmark-romance-comedy characters follow their hearts, and their lives fill out exquisitely --as the universe intended. But-- except for RomComs -- for every Prefontaine, and for every LeBron James, there is a Plumb Marigold.

Tracktown is a sample of the life of an ordinarily elite, talented, performance-committed person. To young person with exceptional talent as a: virtuoso violinist, painter, chess player, research scientist, novelist, athlete; be aware that many gifted people end up with the life of a Plumb Marigold.

The movie is exceptional.

Tells a valuable story viewers aren't necessarily expecting

[dweber34 · 8/10 · 14 May 2020]

A well realized trip through the humanity of an elite female athlete - all in to her goals and profession but constantly looking outward with a bit of curiosity and wonder at mainstream girls being girls. The fate of the semi-boyfriend, selfish enough to plead with her to cut a few training corners, but kinda run over in the end, is also realistic of many who connect with a celebrity in a field they themselves don't quite get.

Use of the supporting cast was not as stellar as the rest of the movie. The dad was a nice rendering of a pushy, yet not obsessed sports dad. The best friend was generic and the mom character not overly necessary through no fault of the actors.

A final golden touch was ending on the starting gun of the big race, no dramatic rally to win, no soul crushing loss, just the character we've come to know taking her next steps.