I was born in the mid seventies and was fortunate enough to experience Gary Coleman mania first hand. Kids echoed his catch phrases and mannerisms, and I even had a shirt with his grin plastered in the middle. Although he is mostly remembered for Different Strokes and for some of his run-ins with the law I have and always will associate him with the movie On the Right Track. Here he played a young parent-less scamp in New York who lives in a locker at the train station. I will confess that a lot of the details of this film have eluded me over the years but as it was played so many times as a matinée movie on TV (remember how special those were?) a lot of the images are etched in my brain. The fact that a kid your age could survive in the big city alone and could get along seemingly just fine without adults made this the ultimate fantasy movie in my opinion. I would not hesitate to watch this film again or share it with someone young. A very good moral message rings true, there is no profanity or excessive violence, Gary Coleman was memorable and Norman Fell (Three's Company fame) pops up in an all to rare film appearance. All and all a nice time capsule of the period and an enjoyable family film..what I can remember anyway...
Review of On the Right Track
