In the Christmas of 1942, in Point Muir, California, the seventeen years-old Henry "Hopper" Nash (Sean Penn) is the best friend of the reckless Nicky (Nicolas Cage), who dates the local Sally Kaiser (Suzanne Adkinson). Henry and Nicky have enlisted themselves in the U.S. Marines and they are waiting to be summoned to travel very soon.When Henry sees the gorgeous Caddie Winger (Elizabeth McGovern), he has a crush on her and follows Caddie to find where she lives. He discovers that her address is a fancy manor on the top of the hill and Henry believes she is a wealthy teenager while she is actually the daughter of the maid.Sooner Caddie and Henry date each other and they fall in love with each other. Meanwhile Sally gets pregnant and Nicky needs a large amount for an abortion. They try to raise the money and when Nicky is desperate, he takes an attitude that will test his friendship with Henry."Racing with the Moon" is a sensitive and wonderful coming of age story. This film is the second feature of Richard Benjamin that shows an excellent work of direction giving the right doses of drama, romance and humor to the story.Sean Peen and Nicholas Cage give credibility to their irresponsible characters and the lovely Elizabeth McGovern is so beautiful that mesmerizes when the camera shows her beautiful face and eyes. The costumes and art direction are also fantastic and only yesterday I saw this film for the first time on DVD. My vote is eight.Title (Brazil): "Adeus à Inocência" ("Farewell to the Innocence")

We never get to see the two main characters in the movie go to War. This world war 3 setting coming of age drama is not so much about the war over in Japan but the war on the home front. Growing up in 1943 in small town California, searching for love and meaning. Sean Penn is great in his role. Even more, Nicolas Cage is better as his close friend and side kick. Whether for comic relief of ream moments of edgy drama, Cage delivers. Also, a surprise in the movie is the performance of Elizabeth McGovern who is always beautiful. The three quickly discover life as they grow up before the two boys are shipped out to the Pacific. Michael Madsen and Crispin Glover pop into the movie with small roles. A nice movie, I wasn't expecting much until the movie started. It is a guarantee crowd pleaser.

I think this movie was one of the best romance movies I have ever seen!!! to me, this was way better than Titanic,etc. I think this movie would even be better if it had a sequel to it. Like it starting off showing them in the war and what they experience. Then they should show them coming home and what happens with Hop and his girlfriend, like if they get married or not. I love this movie, Sean Penn and Nicholas Cage were awesome in this movie, you couldn't have asked for 2 better actors. Also, if there's not a novel already published, I think they should have one. I think one of the very low points of this movie was that it had so much cursing, it could have made a good family movie if it didn't have that in it. Also the nudity was just not necessary. Basically that movie was totally ruined because of those two things.

Unlike most Hollywood movies that must be pigeonholed into categories--comedy, drama, romance--this movie dared to be all of these. And it dared to be low-key, without large, manufactured tragedies or plot hooks. Rather, it had the elegiac mood and idiosyncratic details of a fine short story, with its characters neither good nor bad but human, their lives honestly and touchingly observed by a sensitive screenwriter and director.