Watch American Heart For Free

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

This movie was so-so. It had it's moments, but wasn't the greatest.

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

Showing off hair and muscles made to cover romance novels, convicted bank robber Jeff Bridges (as Jack Kelson) is washing up in a public bathroom when his 14-year-old son Edward Furlong (as Nick Kelson) enters. Young Furlong wants to live in Seattle with his newly-paroled father. After unsuccessfully trying to get the kid to go back to his aunt's farm, Mr. Bridges relents. They move into a cheap apartment and Bridges gets a job washing windows. His sleazy ex-partner in crime Don Harvey (as Rainey) tries to get Bridges back in business, and also attempts to recruit Furlong plus his friend Christian Frizzell (as Rollie)...Bridges wants to go straight and move to Alaska. Furlong gets a job selling newspapers. Bridges drinks heavily and beds prison pen pal Lucinda Jenney (as Charlotte). Furlong kisses budding prostitute Tracey Kapisky (as Molly) and hangs out with the streetwise crowd. There is joy in watching a father getting to know and care for his son as both temper wild impulses. This makes their setbacks sad. Every so often, we are reminded something is not genuine, but Bridges and director Martin Bell hold it together on the star's characterization. The subject matter winds up depressing, but effective. Life is hard.****** American Heart (5/92) Martin Bell ~ Jeff Bridges, Edward Furlong, Lucinda Jenney, Don Harvey

The always excellent Jeff Bridges gives one of his finest, most impressive and hard-edged performances to date as Jack Kelson, a scruffy, but basically decent ex-con who gets paroled and has trouble readjusting to civilian life. Jack gets a job washing windows, resides in a cheap crummy apartment, tries to save money so he can move to Alaska and start life afresh, and attempts to bond with his forlorn, disaffected teenage son Nick (beautifully played by Edward Furlong). Documentary filmmaker Martin Bell, working from an astute, no-nonsense script by Peter Silverman, directs his first fictional feature with a commendable blend of total assurance and steady compassion for the more downtrodden members of modern society. The strong, moving and absorbing story about redemption and urban blight thankfully eschews cloying sentiment and hokey mainstream Hollywood razzle-dazzle; in their place we instead have a rough and unsentimental tone that naturally draws poignancy from the characters and the dire situation they find themselves struggling to overcome. Bridges and Furlong are both outstanding in the leads; they receive fine support from Lucinda Jenney as Jack's sweet cabbie girlfriend Charlotte, Don Harvey as Jack's slimy old criminal partner Rainey, Tracey Kaprisky as sad teenage prostitute Molly, and Melvyn Hayward as Jack's stern, but fair parole officer Normandy. The cinematography by James R. Bagdonas nails the grimy despair of the grungy Seatle locations with exceptional vividness. James Newton Howard's spare, bluesy score and a tip-top soundtrack which includes several terrific songs by Tom Waits further add to the film's deeply affecting impact. The downbeat ending is absolutely heartbreaking. A total powerhouse.

I recently stumbled upon one of Jeff Bridges early pieces entitled "American Heart" and was again impressed with his ability to take a cliché character coupled with a choppy story and transform it into a meaningful, albeit mediocre, film. While not all elements work in this independent feature, it is the power and raw nature of the good parts that make this itty-bitty feature shine.Jeff Bridges. Even in the early 90s he was making powerful cinema with strong characters and dedicated roles. "American Heart" could have easily fallen into the category of desperate father/son reunion fare, but instead it jumps beyond that into a world all its own thanks to our leading man, Mr. Jeff Bridges. He is nothing short of flawless in this film. His body image, his tone, his strength/courage/fears are all incredibly real and developed. When you watch "American Heart", you do not see Bridges playing a father role, but instead see the character of Jack in every scene. Through those squinty eyes and burly biceps, through the years of prison life dutifully planted behind his long, pony-tail hair, his youthful troubles beautifully (albeit randomly) placed throughout this story, Bridges becomes Jack. He becomes a man who has seen more in life than we have time to see, but yet we can see it through Bridges' character. Bridges is the lead and the obvious scene-stealer of this film and there is no way to deny his excellence. It is due to his ability that the other characters fall in line. Those surrounding him, Edward Furlong, Lucinda Jenney, Tracey Kapisky, and Don Harvey are devoted characters, but they do not measure up to what Bridges is pouring. The coupling of Bridges and a young Furlong is exceptional, but for me, it could have been more. They are father and son, the connection there is obvious, but it is when Furlong explores on his own, symbolically following in his father's footsteps, that we see a lack of character. He becomes annoying and more childish than mature. This is a growth film for Furlong, and in my opinion, there wasn't enough growing for Furlong to really make that pivotal change by the end. He should have had more interaction with Charlotte, who isn't used enough to perhaps add conflict between the two men. She is one of Bridges' backbone character, but is only used as more eye-candy for the screen. Then there is Bridges' old business associate who just happens to follow the rulebook for cliché, he was my least favorite character and more filler than necessary. My point? Without Bridges this would have been a forgettable film.Characters were beautifully placed. Bridges claims this to be his favorite film, and his heart, his entire heart is in the character, but Peter Silverman's script could have used more grit. There was still a sensation of sugarcoating involved with the story. How simple was it for Nick (Furlong) to get to his dad, to not have to go to school, to live on the streets – these were are too simple for someone who may not have had the real-life experiences yet like his father. This doesn't mean that the story wasn't dark. This is a story of a family with nothing, who strives to have nothing more than just freedom and each other – it is a dark story and Martin Bell did a phenomenal job of making sure that we weren't distracted with unnecessary emotional pitfalls. His camera work and direction paired well with Bridges' powerful work, but it again goes back to the downfall of the story that will not allow me to give this film a perfect score. The relationship between Furlong and his pseudo-girlfriend is annoying, and ultimately distracting from the real story. There is no chemistry or emotion there, so when he tries to "free" her, it just feels like an event that needed to happen instead of "should be" happening. The stripper mother story, again, too much filler. Thankfully, these are all used up in the center of the film giving us a strong beginning and an emotionally beautiful ending. Powerful acting, strong direction, tight camera work – a couple of more hours spent on the script and "American Heart" would be an instant addition to the collection.Overall, I liked "American Heart" because of the true work that everyone put into it. This was a project of passion, a story with characters that everyone wanted to be involved with no matter the chunkiness of the story. Bridges needs to win an Oscar, he should have won for this film. You, as a viewer, cannot keep you eyes off him as he struggles with the new life in Seattle and dreams of Alaska. Martin Bell understands the streets, or at least early 90s streets, and while the image of this film doesn't withstand the test of time, the overall tones and themes are powerful and unforgiving. Furlong tried to keep up with Bridges, but it was impossible. There were times he was just too childish and annoying, completely destroying the conventional character developed from the beginning. There are great moments in this film that stand apart from the classic Hollywood recycle, and for that I must give "American Heart" credit. If released today, I think it would be a runaway success, it would be a word of mouth film, while I cannot add it to my collection, it will be a film I will strongly suggest to others. Jeff Bridges. Can you believe the work he did in this film? The man has an undeniable eye for the trade that he is in, and he should not be afraid to exploit it further. With "American Heart", Bridges has rejuvenated my hope to find a great American actor.Bravo Mr. Bridges, Bravo!Grade: **** out of *****

American Heart casts Jeff Bridges in the role of a recently paroled convict who would like to make a fresh start of things. But from the gitgo he's saddled with a responsibility of his own making. His 14 year old son Edward Furlong runs away from the uncle he's been staying with and hooks up with Bridges. Sad to say but it's like they're doomed from the start. They live in an SRO hotel on Seattle's seamier side. Bridges is working as a window washer, barely making ends meet. Furlong tries to enroll in school, but the bureaucracy proves too much. He falls in with a lot of street kids including child hooker Tracey Kapisky who reminds me very much of Jodie Foster in Taxi. She's lives in the same SRO with her mother who's in the same profession and jealous of her daughter.Bridges also has a younger associate, Don Harvey who'd like to get him back in the criminal life. He's also found a bit of romance with a prison pen pal in Lucinda Jenney.American Heart is a real downer of a film, but very well done. Sad to these are very real people. But oddly enough it follows the same plot line as the Shirley Temple movie Now and Forever with Gary Cooper and Carole Lombard. Sort of like an R-rated version of it.This film is not one for those who like happy endings. Still I think it is one Jeff Bridges finest screen achievements.