Miracle Mile according to me is one of the most underrated movies made in the 80s. Starring Anthony Edwards(Goose from Top Gun) and Mare Winningham the entire film takes place in real time in the course of one night. It starts off like any romantic movie- boy meets girl and promise to meet for date 2 which never happens as suddenly there is a threat of nuclear war and a bomb being dropped. The sense of urgency, surreal atmosphere and fantastic pacing make Miracle Mile a winner and a film that deserves to be seen more than it has. Please see it and spread the word.

In viewing Steve De Jarnett's Miracle Mile, I was reminded of being stuck in a terrible nightmare, a realistic, night sweats inducing doomsday scenario that plagues you even after waking in a clammy frenzy. Anthony Edwards plays Harry Washello, a timid hamster of a dude who in the films quirky opening, is searching for his dream girl. He finds her in Julie, an unconventional girl played by Mare Winningham. She has always been a fascinating actress, imbuing her creations with an eccentric, succinctly offbeat quality and always going for rewarding parts, like Jennifer Jason Leigh or Judy Davis. Harry loses track of her, and ends up at the dead end 24 hour diner where she works. While outside, a nearby payphone rings. He answers it, and a frantic voice on the other line delivers an unnerving proclamation: In just over an hour, launched nuclear missiles will descend on Los Angeles, killing millions. Is it a hoax? Or a a mistake? Either way, Harry is ruffled beyond the point of skepticism, and is whipped up, along with various nocturnal oddball who frequent the joint, into a feverish full on panic. A desperate rat race ensues as they all make a mad dash to a helipad atop a giant skyscraper, in an effort to escape the cataclysm. Harry makes a mad dash across town to find Julie and rescue her. The film has weird energy that tosses sanity out the window in favor of very surreal tone, as if the production was blessed with a month long full moon and actors that haven't slept in twice as long. I must note the dazzling color scheme, trust to the forefront of the film with garish neon signs and vibrant 80's costumes that flavor this story like exotic spices in a soup. The film could have easily picked a muted, dark hued tone to match the seriousness of the events, but it shows a pulse instead, which I admire, choosing to blast our psyches with psychedelic sensory output, leaving stark impressions on us. The life of the film for me is the fantastic score by Tangerine Dream, droning a twitchy beat of mounting unease, with interludes of synthetic haze that hangs in our ears like the hazy LA smog of the visual palette. Doomsday scenarios in film are easy to realistically document, but harder to actually make an impact and make you feel uncomfortable, and in doing so draw you in. This one sucks you right in as soon as that damn payphone rings, and doesn't let you off the wagon easy either. By the end you'll just want to wake up from the bad dream and take a breath of air, free from the claustrophobia and fleeting terror. When that happens in a film, you know it's succeeded as a thriller.

This is a fun ride thriller.It is not meant to be a deep thinking film.Goofy slow start to lull the audience- then bang! Fast paced all the way through.I always thought it would be cool to make a movie like this with several characters having different stories happening at the same time- IE some make it out of the city, some die quickly, some decide to sit down and wait etc.The actors carry this with very little effects having to be used.Great apocalyptic movie without the senseless gore and silly explosions.I had fun watching Miracle Mile all the way to tia ******* uana!

OK - here's the spoiler: Anthony Edwards is chicken little, and by answering a pay phone's wrong number, he is told that the missiles are on their way. His announcement to everyone he meets that WWIII is starting sets off panic in the streets,rioting and pillaging, and half way through the film, he finally asks himself the obvious question: "How do I know this is really happening? What if that wrong number was just a prank? Am I the boy who cried wolf?" Finally he goes to a pay phone and dials the number correctly to find out the truth. From that moment on, it's no longer a joke... Starts off as a boy meets girl love story. Turns into a roller coaster ride of second guessing, and ends with a bang.