BREAKING AWAY
TCM, 3:15 p.m. ET
This 1979 movie is a treasure – if you haven’t seen it, watch or record it today so you can rectify that oversight. Peter Yates directs a coming-of-age story that has less to do with sex than with place, class and dreams, and takes place in Indianapolis, against the canvas of the real-life bicycle race held there each year. Dennis Christopher, Daniel Stern, Dennis Quaid and Jackie Earle Haley star as the quartet of close friends, most of whom are on the cusp of completing high school. Christopher’s character, Dave, has some delightfully real parents, played by Barbara Barrie and Paul Dooley (his dialogue and reactions, in particular, are delivered flawlessly and unforgettably). Breaking Away is very touching, extremely funny, and, at the end, unexpectedly and impressively dramatic. If you watch it, for the first time or to revisit it, let me know what you think.