Promised Land (1987 film)

Promised Land is a 1987 drama film written and directed by Michael Hoffman, and stars Kiefer Sutherland and Meg Ryan. It is set in Utah and is apparently based on a true story. It was the first film to be commissioned by the Sundance Film Festival, and uses the drama over economic class and manhood in order to offer a critique of the Reagan Administration.

Danny Kiefer Sutherland is the academic nerd who was supposedly destined to be so successful that he earned the nickname Senator. It was felt by some that one day he would become a decent and just politician. He has returned home with his unrestrained, unpredictable, overbearing bride, Bev Meg Ryan.After a quick Christmas Eve reunion with his parents, Danny learns that his father is dying. He is unable to accept that while he left town with great expectations, he has returned a poor drifter. His desire to run from his problems again, however, prompts Bev to mock his manhood in front of some of his high school friends at a bar and the two decide to hold up a convenience store perhaps as a means for Danny to prove his manhood or because that is just what Hollywood white trash would do. ........

Source: Wikipedia