1 line
1.6 KiB
Plaintext
1 line
1.6 KiB
Plaintext
Richard Pryor plays Wendell Scott, a war vet with a love and talent for driving. After initially putting this to good use as a moonshine runner, he ends up in the world of stock car racing, facing an overwhelming amount of racism as he struggled to be taken seriously and, ultimately, become a champion on the track.<br /><br />If, for me, there was anything less than completely satisfactory about this picture, it would be that it seems that more could have been told about Scotts' life story. The picture moves along incredibly well (this 97 minute picture really flies by), which proves to be both good and bad. It just felt that the film-makers were only giving us brief glimpses from certain points in this life. But the story is still an important one, and it's worth sticking with, concluding on an upbeat, uplifting, and inspiring note.<br /><br />It gets lots of points for its sincerity and high likability factor, with Pryor turning in one of the finest performances that I've seen from him. It's a true revelation in showing how good he could be dramatically. Supporting him extremely well are Beau Bridges, as a former competitor turned ally, Pam Grier, as his loving and supportive wife, Cleavon Little as lifelong crony Peewee, Vincent Gardenia as blustery redneck sheriff Cotton, Richie Havens as mechanic Woodrow (Mr. Havens also sings the catchy songs very well), Earl Hindman as arrogant star racer Beau Welles, and Noble Willingham as slick Billy Joe Byrnes, the man who gets Wendell into racing in the first place.<br /><br />It's an enjoyable little film and hopefully I and others here can help to get it some more attention.<br /><br />7/10 |