Dakota ** (1988, Lou Diamond Phillips, DeeDee Norton, Herta Ware, Eli Cummins) – Classic Movie Review 13,133

Lou Diamond Phillips (born Louis Upchurch; February 17, 1962).

Dakota (1988)

The heartfelt 1988 American drama film Dakota stars Lou Diamond Phillips as a troubled fugitive teenager, DeeDee Norton, Herta Ware, and Eli Cummins.

Director Fred Holmes’s heartfelt 1988 American drama film Dakota stars Lou Diamond Phillips, DeeDee Norton, Herta Ware, and Eli Cummins. It is written by Lynn Kuntz and Darryl J Kuntz, shot by Jim Wrenn, and scored by Chris Christian.

A newly arrived to stardom Lou Diamond Phillips does well as John Dakota, a troubled fugitive teenage kid taking work training horses on a ranch in Texas. He restores an antique car, befriends the rancher’s disabled young son Casey (Jordan Burton) and falls for the rancher’s daughter Molly (DeeDee Norton).

The modest, thin but warm and good-hearted yarn and the low-budget production do not add up to too much and Phillips is the whole show. It looks good too.

Lou Diamond Phillips in 1987.

Lou Diamond Phillips had just made his breakthrough to stardom as Ritchie Valens in the biopic La Bamba (1987), followed by Stand and Deliver (1988), for which he was nominated for a Golden Globe Award and won an Independent Spirit Award, followed by the Western film Young Guns.

The cast are Lou Diamond Phillips, DeeDee Norton, Herta Ware, Eli Cummins, Jordan Burton, Steve Ruge, John Hawkes, Tom Campitelli, Leslie Mullin, Lawrence Montaigne, Susan Crippin, Rodger Boyce, Robert Lemus, Ben Jones, and Cecilia Flores.

It was re-edited and re-released as Harley in 1991.

Stand and Deliver (released on February 13, 1988) was filmed before La Bamba but was released a year later. Also in 1988, Phillips followed the Western film Young Guns (released on August 12, 1988) with Dakota (released on December 2, 1988). Three big movies in one year. It was a very good year for Lou Diamond Phillips.

© Derek Winnert 2024 – Classic Movie Review 13,133

Check out more reviews on http://derekwinnert.com