Steve Tesich's most successful play Baba Goya was filled with a group of lovable, idiosyncratic characters. His first screenplay, Breaking Away, which won him an Academy Award in 1980, is peopled with an equally likeable and engaging cast. Dave, Mike, Cyril, and Moocher are new high school graduates in Bloomington, Indiana. This summer is to be their period of transition.

Dave dreams of joining the Italian bicycle team; he learns Italian phrases, listens to Italian music, and even passes himself off as an Italian exchange student when he falls in love with a sorority girl at the nearby campus. Mike, the high school football star, takes out his futurelessness frustrations upon well-to-do university students. Cyril, whose father has no faith in him, hides his depression behind a facade of humor. And Moocher makes up for his short stature by building up his muscles and making a serious commitment to his girlfriend.

After an on-campus row, the four townies — in Bloomington known as "cutters" — are allowed to participate in the university's Little 500 Bicycle Race. It is their chance to prove to everyone — and mostly themselves — that they are winners. But Breaking Away is not only about friendship and competition, it is also a touching tale of youthful initiation into adulthood. Perhaps the most poignant sub-theme of the movie is the transformation of the relationship between Dave and his dad, a used car salesman. Their movement from misunderstanding to mutual respect is handled with light humor and sensitive emotional shadings.

Peter Yates knows how to get the most out of the story's action sequences but is also wise enough to put the real accent on character development. He has drawn excellent performances from Dennis Christopher as the Hoosier equivalent of the Italian stallion, Dennis Quaid as a kid who's having trouble adjusting to his non-hero status, Daniel Stern as a comic buffoon, and Jackie Earle Haley as a small man with a big heart. Paul Dooley is marvelous as Dave's middle-class father.

Breaking Away is one of the best ever cinematic depictions of the adolescent experience. It accurately conveys the pain, confusion, frustration, and exhilaration of this transitional period. After empathizing with the four cutters' depression and pariah status in the first part of the film, we can share in their glory at the end. In so doing, we tap into that kind of transcendent moment we all hope to experience at least once in our lives. And it feels good!