Kansas
Kansas
| 23 September 1988 (USA)
Kansas Trailers

A young man returning home to attend a wedding hooks up with a drifter who turns out to be a violent bank robber. Before he knows it, the man finds himself involved in the robber's plans.

Reviews
Karry Best movie of this year hands down!
Actuakers One of my all time favorites.
Aubrey Hackett While it is a pity that the story wasn't told with more visual finesse, this is trivial compared to our real-world problems. It takes a good movie to put that into perspective.
Stephanie There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes
alicecbr Forget the critics. Each one of Matt Dillon's movies is in and of itself a gem, both with the unique characterizations, the photography, the direction and the writing. this one is a good example.Just once before i die, however, I hope that ONE movie will take a sociopath such as Matt Dillon plays so well and give us an explanation. There were enough scenes in which he gets this introspective look in his eyes. That would be the great place for a flashback to the poor-looking home he came from, with the decent sounding, resigned and heart-broken father and the mother walking into the house, as the cops walk up to them to report yet another crime done by their son. What happened to him there? The police report to us that he came from a good home, church-going family. As he drives the stolen car down the highway in his stolen clothes, he is listening to gospel music on the car radio. What went wrong? Plenty of twists and turns in this movie, as you wonder if McCarthy will suddenly turn on Dillon when he gets the chance or continue to play the 'straight arrow'. Unfortunately, the movie goes for the Hollywood ending, instead of the one it should. Vagrants coming in off the freight train don't marry the rancher's daughter, no matter how nice it sounds....even when he saves a kid's life.The beauty of the sunflowers in the Kansas field will remind you of Van Gogh and HIS madness. The sight of Dillon practicing his gun draw will take you right back to DeNiro in "TaxiDriver". The sight of Dillon backing his car up to crash into the police car will remind you of the same 'unique' sight in 'Albino Alligator'. Obviously the guy doing the commentary on the 'Alligator' DVD never saw 'Kansas'.I am hoping that all of Dillon's movies will eventually wind up on a DVD with commentary by Dillon. It would add immeasurably to our understanding of the characters. Also, I'd love to hear what his relationship with McCarthy was and is. Of course, there Dillon is with one of his "Singles" co-stars, Kyra Sedgwick.....Kevin Bacon's wife. Yep, Kevin Bacon who he starred with in "Wild Things". Oh, how incestuous these Hollywood stars are. Obviously, Dillon gets along well with these folks.So, we've seen Dillon play the hood, the maniac, the hot rod racer, the shyster detective. When will he play an Irish guy and be true to his roots? Even though he drinks in this movie and others, you never see him drunk. Oh, yes: "Factotum". Stay tuned.
lakesidedemon30 Where was most of this movie taped at? I know the Tee-Pee gas station scene was shot at Us HWY 24/40 AND 59 in Lawrence, Ks, and a lot of the other scenes where also shot not far away in Leavenworth County and Douglas County. I live close by, in Leavenworth County. I like seeing movies that have been tape close by kinda like Article 99 which was taped mostly in downtown Kansas City, Mo. I know a lot of stand ins from my area where a part of this movie. The chase scenes and other driving scenes where shot in the rural areas around Desoto,Ks. Not a bad movie, I like it because it was based on a robber in my home state. I wish movie makers would start doing this again more, taking their movies into the heartland and into other locations to film. There where a few more movies that I know that where shot around here, but I can't remember them right off. Still a good movie to watch, and or buy.
dominik96 Two strangers find themselves in a small Kansas town. Matt Dillon, the bad boy, constrains the other guy to a bank robbery, and this and the resulting problems with a police search, hideaway ,sharing the money etc. makes up the story. Don't want to get into details, so you have more of this movie. I was surprised about the low rating and the classification of this movie as thriller. Because it is definitely no thriller!! The beginning and the first half are hilarious!! The whole background of Kansas and a small town is wonderful, and is not only nice to watch, but becomes part of the story. The pace is high and Matt has some great comedian moments in it, really funny!! I could go on and on about the wonderful first half. At this time, the movie is definitely a 7, and with more work effort, it would have become more, but that's hypothetically. The second half is far worse. Matt character can't decide if it is evil or crazy,the whole love story is too much,no surprising elements and the pace becomes far too slow. At the end i gave it a 7, but the second half is a 5. Nonetheless it's worth to watch it, because there are not many movies out there, which can profit so much from a background.
mcgee4468 The settings and wide open photography that must have been ahead of it's time make "Kansas" a pleasure to watch, a picturesque drama through the mid-west. On his way to his best friend's wedding, Andrew McCarthy hops a freight car and meets drifter and recently-released ex-con Matt Dillon - who is on his way to rob the bank in his former hometown. McCarthy is part of the crime before he knows it, unfortunately linked to Dillon's violent & vindictive character. Looking to lay low until it all blows over, McCarthy finds refuge in anonymity on a family farm. This part of the story, evidenced by the unfolding of Generation X in years immediately following the films release, could act to the discerning viewer as a subtle outline of Gen X's reluctance to take a spotlight for fear of it's wrath. Still, for those of other generations, "Kansas" is fun to watch, a pleasure to look at, and another good vehicle for Matt Dillon's ability to create interesting characters.