Ask Max (1986) and its Place in the BMX Movie Pantheon

Somewhere on the internet someone suggested that there was this movie, "Ask Max," about a kid who invents a bike that can jump by the press of a button. This sparked my memory as something I had seen...

The movie stars Chunk from "The Goonies" as the kid inventor and aired as a Disney made-for-tv movie in November of 1986. It has a super-rare running time of 44 minutes, which turns out to be a great length for a children's movie, in my opinion.

The story is a standard setup which launches a somewhat unconventional story. Max is a kid inventor who's unrealistically smart but his inventions are always getting him into trouble. Max is also bullied by the jocks and has his eye on the prettiest girl in school. He's also fatherless which isn't explained and his mom sometimes has trouble paying the bills.

So he invents a bikes that's super rad because it does sweet jumps over cars and stuff.

So this is where things turn. In order to help his mom with the bills, he sells his bike invention to a major corporation and he includes in the contract that he gets to be on the Board of Directors. So you can imagine it's a slight oddity that this Disney movie... meant for kids... then turns its attention away from the sweet BMX bike in order to have discussions on breech of contract, gross profits, product lines and layoffs.

Then, with his newfound money, the story becomes a Richie Rich/Blank Check story, as a kid is suddenly able to buy anything he wants. Then, the story returns back to the corporate world as Max tries to save a plant from being shut down.

Nothing about the movie sparked any memory whatsoever except for the idea of a bike that jumps automatically, which, strangely, accounts for a very minor amount of running time. It feels like the bike that jumps is featured for 5 minutes before getting to the real meat of corporate greed. Still, assuming there isn't a second movie with this exact plot device, I am left to assume that this is the movie I remember from childhood.

So, if you're having trouble keeping track, here is the rundown:

• "Rad" is a movie about a high-school kid who races against the pros in a BMX race. It features Ray Walston.
• "Ask Max" is a movie about a little kid who builds a BMX bike that can jump. It features Ray Walston.
• "The Dirt Bike Kid" is a movie about a little kid who gets a magical dirt bike that can fly.
• "The Skateboard Kid" is a movie about a little kid who gets a magical skateboard that can fly (and talk).
• "BMX Bandits" is a movie I've never seen.