Virginia Madsen in Fire with Fire (1986)

Fire with Fire is the film that properly propelled Virginia to the top of most people’s lists. Released in 1986 to negative reviews it would find its way into many viewers hearts and still has its fans today.

By today’s standards, it’s not that great. It’s a very eighties film. Things were different then.

Joe Fisk (Craig Sheffer) is an eighties bad boy, Lisa (our Virginia Madsen) is an artsy, shy Catholic Schoolgirl. Unlikely to cross paths under normal circumstances, the two do come across each other while Lisa is out in the woods taking a photograph of herself as Ophelia for a project she’s doing and Joe is the “Fox” in a Fox and Hound game the Prison Camp is running.Their eyes meet, tensions are raised.

There are only two problems. Joe is a bad boy and Lisa is a shy Schoolgirl. I know I’ve already mentioned that but that’s how much of a problem it is.

The crime Joe is in Prison for? Punching his Dad. The Prison? Voluntary.

Lisa’s problem? After she graduates from Catholic School she’s to be whisked away to be with her parents in Sweden and attend finishing school.

Gritty stuff. Melodrama is the flavour of the day here.

Joe’s “Prison Camp” is local to Lisa’s school, on occasion the “inmates” are allowed into town for some rest and relaxation. One night when they are allowed a night at the local Cinema they come across each other again, the tension is high.

It comes time for the Catholic School to do something nice for people to show how nice they are, ideas are bandied around but Lisa comes up with the idea / plan that they should do something nice for the inmates at the local Prison Camp in the form of a Dance they can all attend.
On the night of the Dance the two steal some moments together before it all goes wrong and the inmates are all whisked away again leaving even more tension between Joe and Lisa.

The next time they get to meet up is at a graveyard where Joe is working, they steal some more moments together before they are caught by Joe’s Boss, uhm “Boss” (Joe Polito) who threatens to throw Joe in proper State Penitentiary for his misdeeds.

Back at the School Lisa is threatened with being immediately shipped off to her parents, never to return.

This is enough for the pair (and a whole bunch of other people) to organise an escape and the pair go on the run. They end up in an idyllic cabin in the woods and the pair can finally be together.

Unfortunately the pair are fugitives, and those gosh darn fugitives must be hunted down.

Cue the helicopters, dogs, guns and plenty of manpower to track the two down.I might sound like I’ve a dim view of the film, but I don’t. But I do recognise the absurdity about it all as well. The whole thing is highly improbable and could only have been made in the eighties.

That said, I was actually surprised to see how much love there is for this film when I was researching a little around it. Fair play, there are loads of dodgy eighties films I love as well, and given the popularity for the whole Stranger Things stuff it seems I’m (we’re) not on my (our) own.

The film has all kinds of now famous faces that you might more reognise today than you would have back them. J.J. Cohen, Kate Reid, Jean Smart, Tim Russ, D.B. Sweeney and Kari Wuhrer to name but a few.

Virginia is obviously young in this film. She’s trying and actually does a competent job at “Eighties Girl in Peril”. But it’s very cheesy acting, it’s not a bad thing, it fits the film perfectly and anything else would just be odd to be fair.If you’re a fan of the whole Eighties thing then you can’t do much better than this for a perfect Romance / Drama film of the time and I would wholeheartedly recommend it. If you’re not, then probably best you avoid watching this one. I guess you had to be there.

Virginia has fond memories of the film. In The AV Clubs now defunct “Random Roles” series she’d be reminded of it;

“I’m becoming one of those older people who has way too many stories. [Laughs.] But I will say that more people ask me about Fire With Fire than any other movie I’ve done, including Sideways. But for some reason, no one ever knows what Fire With Fire is called. They always say something like, “Oh, you know, that movie where you’re floating in the pond?” “Yeah, that’s Fire With Fire.” But the movie was originally called Captive Heart, which is a much better title, but then we were given the song “Fire With Fire” [by Wild Blue] for the end credits, so they named the film Fire With Fire, too. That was an ’80s thing to do: You’d have your soundtrack and your movie at the same time. But, yeah, that was a beautiful experience. I loved making that movie.”

I commented on the Kenny Loggins music video that Virginia was in for I’m Free how similar that was to this movie and having watched it again I’m absolutely convinced you could take scenes from this film and remake the original. It’d be a fun project if anyone could find the time. And, a very niche audience that would get it…

Availability:
Not too bad thanks to a recent American release, it also appears to be a region free DVD so if you aren’t in the States then you shouldn’t have a problem.

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