This would be a perfect made-for-TV movie if it were about a gang of misfit kids hatching a plot to steal treasure from under the nose of pirates or about a feisty bunch of octogenarians in a nursing home angling to destroy the creature who sucks the life of residents while they sleep. It just doesn't work as well when it's middle-aged friends launching an undercover operation to retrieve a stolen 12-year-old bike:
When Dory Van Fleet stepped out of the REI store, the black mountain bike he had locked up on the street was gone.In a steady drizzle, Van Fleet walked across the city to his home, upset about his misfortune.
But within days, Van Fleet began to take action, bolstered by friends' and co-workers' ideas. Soon Van Fleet, 38, and a network of friends devised a sting operation to get his beloved bike back.
While checking Craigslist six days after the theft, he found 10 listings for an REI Novara Arriba bike, including a posting three hours old asking $200. It matched his bike's description. "It was just too suspicious," Van Fleet said.
Van Fleet and four female friends in their late 30s and early 40s hatched a plan, complete with hand signals and code words, to try to recover the bike.
Maybe I'm too jaded in thinking that all the really great movies about 38-year olds and their beloved bikes have already been made.
Posted by floridacracker at May 8, 2007 06:46 AMMaybe I'm cynical but I think Hollywood would rewrite the story so that it's about a poor schlub who got the bicycle through a series of events that made him believe he had a right to sell it. Of course he would be selling it to get money for a "Good Cause" and the original owner and friends would be cast as a greedy bunch concerned only with possessions. By some plot twist they would also be responsible for the need to get money for the "Good Cause".
Posted by: marybeth at May 8, 2007 08:28 AMWhat a story! But no basement at the Alamo or Large Marge or Simone makes this a weak sequel. Perhaps Mr. Streisand or Morgan Fairchild can make "gold" out of this spy tale.
Posted by: Willard at May 8, 2007 11:06 AMWell, in any scenario involving this incident, I think Jane Fonda would be perfect casting.
Posted by: Donnah at May 8, 2007 11:25 AMThe BEST part was calling 9-11 and saying "I need officers right away. Move out people!" Reminds me of the old monster movies where the military would accede authority to the local professor/scientist.
Must be a Portland thing. Growing up in Philadelphia, we tracked down the kid who stole Paulie Costa's bike. We went to the police station for help. "Just take it back," came the reply. We did.
Is 38 is the new 12, or what?
"Beloved bike" does seem to indicate that.
Posted by: Donnah at May 9, 2007 11:04 PM