Across the Tracks (1991)

When I started this, I thought it was a TV movie, but then various language choices cast doubt in my mind. After watching the whole thing, I’m still not sure. Brad Pitt and Ricky Schroder are brothers who live in a trailer with their mother Carrie Snodgress. Whomever cast the family did a great job, since they look believably related. Brad is a straight A student hoping for a track scholarship to Stanford; Ricky is a delinquent just released from detention. There’s some thought that the roles should have been reversed, but I think it wouldn’t have mattered since Pitt obviously has the greater charm and star power. From beginning to end, it plays off like an afterschool special with extreme character changes and over the top villains that are only seen on TV.