Throughout the 1970s, lifelong Mormon and Brigham Young University graduate Lyman Dayton produced several successful, G-rated family films -- inspirational "historical Americana" such as WHERE THE RED FERN GROWS, SEVEN ALONE and AGAINST A CROOKED SKY -- but decided to broaden the scope of his work at the end of that decade by directing this Los Angeles-lensed, PG-rated, modern-day teen drama. Working from a screenplay by Kieth Merrill (an Oscar winner for his 1974 documentary feature THE GREAT AMERICAN COWBOY) and described by Dayton as "The Waltons come to Hollywood," RIVALS' ad campaign tried to make this ill-conceived project look tough and edgy, when it's actually cliché-riddled, moralistic claptrap with less grit than your average ABC Afterschool Special... When the Cummins family -- widowed mom, five children, plus a pet lamb -- move from a small-town Wyoming sheep farm to the LA suburbs, oldest sibling Adam (Stewart Petersen, who also starred in Dayton's aforementioned films) is in for a major dose of culture shock. You see, while the other California kids hang out at the beach and race cars, Adam believes in hard work, respecting others and saying his prayers, with this excruciatingly wholesome high schooler getting a gas station job in order to help support his family. Adam meets cute Brook (FRIDAY THE 13TH PART III's Dana Kimmell, in her feature debut) after the girl steals a bitchin' van belonging to her jackass boyfriend, Clyde "Clutch" Turner (Philip Brown), and gets into a minor accident. Jealous of Brook's growing friendship with Adam, Clyde and his rowdy pals play a practical joke on this naive rube, getting him in hot water with the school principal. In response, Adam soups up his rusty old pick-up truck and challenges Clyde to a big race at "Suicide Beach." Of course, Clyde's cocky behavior ends up pushing Brook away and into our bland lead's chaste arms... Adam is an annoyingly polite do-gooder, the bad guys are less threatening than Kotter's Sweathogs, and the whole thing is about as realistic as a 1930s Andy Hardy flick. Even worse, it's basically aimed at audiences who consider high school films like GREASE racy and morally irresponsible. There's no booze, drugs, sex, cussing, bare skin, or overly anti-social behavior, though Dayton does include mild bullying, vandalism and a pool party fight. Even when the story seems to take a slightly more plausible turn -- a subplot has Adam's rebellious younger sister Allie hanging out with a bad crowd -- in the end, she tearfully thanks big brother for saving her from an ill-advised date with an older creep. At least we get a decent dose of '70s clothes and feathered hair, in addition to laughable scenes like Brook teaching Adam how to disco dance, which instantly makes him the life of the party! Its racing finale is particularly limp, complete with a contrived life-or-death mishap (which allows Adam to show off his old rural skills by roping a horse that's conveniently wandering nearby, in order to get help) and idiotically sappy wrap-up. Technically amateurish and pocked with continuity errors, it's no surprise that RIVALS' 1979 theatrical release skipped any major markets in favor of cities like Twin Falls, Idaho and Missoula, Montana, then played on prime-time television in 1981 as STRANGER AT JEFFERSON HIGH.

© 2025 by Steven Puchalski.