Roadracers

source: Roadracers

Moviecut—Roadracers

Wow! It's very rare to get such an excellent, entertaining film made for TV. It's a cool homage to 50's road movies with David Arquette on top, TOP form as possibly the coolest character ever put to screen. Rodriguez' unmistakable editing and filming style combined with a snappy soundtrack and a nice dark tone to the story make this a must-see. It should have been released in cinemas.

This movie was on TV some time ago and since I like Robert Rodriguez movies a lot (most of them), I thought I give it a try. It was great, Dudee (Arquette) and Donna (Hayek) were so cool, the music was great, a real macho kind of movie. The bad guys and the story were great to, plus it was funny at some points too. So if your a rockabilly fan and a fan of the fifties life style you must see it you MUST! Trust me!

This movie is just nuts. It's a true original. It has so many little things that are just stupid and seem to have no point, but is ultimately tied together as a serious drama, which is really weird. Even movies that defy convention conform to some rules, but this is just all over the map and I love it. The bald girl losing her wig was both puzzling and hilarious both times it happened. It makes you wonder why such a ridiculously juvenile comedic device was used in such inappropriate circumstances, and I guess that may well be the whole point of it. It actually did hold together as a serious drama despite the odd tangents, which is all the more impressive.

I saw this movie one night at a friends house, and I haven't been able to find it since. It gets played occasionally on those 'cool' movie channels but I always miss it. After seeing it once, it became my favourite movie of all time. I haven't quite figured out why, but it just is.

The beginning of this movie rocked. It had good music and a fun tone. But it was ruined by the violent end. Rodriguez doesn't know how to make a movie without violence. It is to easy to end a movie with one character pulling out a gun and shooting everyone. I wanted to like this movie, but it just fell apart.

I am a Robert Rodriguez fan. And becuase of that (and Salma Hayek) I rented this peice of crap. David Arquette is one of the worst actors I've ever seen. The tone of the movie is all messed up too. Some scenes are supposed to be funny slapstick material but at the end a dude gets a whole in his chest courtesy of a shotgun. If you like greaser movies (God save you if you do) then maybe you should watch this. If you're looking for something like "Desperado" or "From Dusk Till Dawn" then steer clear. Not even Hayek can save this peice of dung.

I saw this movie two or three years ago and even though I don't remember the plot I still remember what a waste of talent and potential it was. To begin with the title and video box are somewhat deceptive, not only does this movie have nothing to do with road racing it has very little to do with cars. The tone was all over, it was a drama with slapstick thrown in, that could possibly work but in this case it didn't. Also, it was filled with scenes that took me out of the movie, that made me think "that would never happen". For example someone throws a catsup bottle at someone else's head from across the room and the bottle shatters as if it were made of delicate china. That would never happen, those bottles are thick and if anything were to break it would be the guy's head. Also there's a scene where someone who can't roller skate at all a few minutes later is such a good skater he can bend forward at the waist and just graze the floor with the top of his head. Most people can't even do that standing still. There are some good scenes in this movie which makes it all that more annoying because it shows you how good it could have been.

A friend of mine saw this movie on Showtime & recommended it. I had the good fortune to rent - & later buy the laserdisc version which includes a Director's commentary track. The film's good, but RR's commentary makes it MUCH better. Hearing how he ended up getting this gig, what exactly he was given to work with and how he ended up with the film you're watching, is another great story for fans of the director or just film-making in general. On the comment track he alludes to lots of other material that he has from this project, like videos made during production, and makes an offhand comment to the effect that 'someday if this ever comes out on DVD....' Well, I for one would stand in line for a copy. If you enjoy the 10 minute film school features & other extras on RR's DVDs, you too should petition the powers that be to release RoadRacers on DVD - along with the original (&/or new) commentary track & extras. It's am important step in Rodriguez' evolution from maverick indy to maverick big-league filmmaker. A DVD version would be a must-have for any fan.