Roadracers (1994)

At one solitary moment in this droning yabba-jabba kitsch flicker one of the supporting actors, John Hawkes' lonely and latent Nixer speaks to O'Neal Compton playing a lowly diner cook and imparts a highly perceptive philosophically existential observation using a single French fried potato for illustration: "Looky here, J.T. From here to eternity is the time before I was born, and from here to eternity is the time after I die. "And this... is the only chance I get... to do it." The moment stops the forward lumbering motion of the story cold, and brings up the question of the mind at work behind this film.In some nebulous 1950s Southern California town, Dude Delaney (David Arquette) spends a lot of time tooling around in his 55 Chevy out-running the Police and going up against the cop's protected kids. His girl Donna (Salma Hayek) is Mexican, adopted by a white couple and the two are constantly terrorized by the local Police Chief Sarge (William Sadler) who uses his own son Teddy Leather (Jason Wiles) to goad Dude into breaking the law so he can arrest him. As Teddy rises to his father's demands he resorts to extreme measures that bring him and Dude into confrontation and causes the sacrifice of many of those close to dude and what he holds dear.Shot entirely in 13 days after Wes Craven dropped out to direct the New Nightmare flick, the million-dollar feature Roadracers is a jokey testament to the integrity and determination that marked the early B-films of the studio period, and if you start to wonder just why you are wasting time with it, think about the intentions behind the project.Director Robert Rodriguez has built a reputation with film school grads and dropouts alike because he touts his disdain for big-budget film productions, claiming that he can make a decent movie for a fraction of what someone like Brian DePalma makes a movie for. He's right because Rodriguez has a down-to-earth attitude in both his tastes and his abilities… but his films all exhibit this baseness, and if you are looking for polish and pizazz, you probably won't find it with this director.This movie is loud, flat-footed, obvious, and subversive. You may find yourself getting ahead of the flick on nearly every plot point- if you do it means that you're far too sophisticated for this kind of retro throw-back. That's okay because in the words of Pauline Kael "Movies are so rarely great art that if we cannot appreciate great trash we have very little reason to be interested in them." You may find yourself repeating this to yourself after the screen fades, thinking about near fetishistic moments in the film like the way David Arquette's Dude Delaney applies grease to his hair from a nearby can, or the way that William Sadler's Sarge fondles the hot-dog lunch his mother has made for him and proudly shares with his cop partner, or the way a girl's beehive hairdo destructs during a car race. I guess there a better ways to waste 90 minutes

Dude Delaney (David Arquette) is seen as the town "lost cause". At least to his girlfriend Donna's (Salma Hayek) parents, and the town sheriff (masterfully played by William Sadler). But it doesn't matter to Dude since he won't run like his father did, years ago. So the sheriff sets his son, Teddy Leather(Jason Wiles) to finish Dude off, once and for all. Luckily Dude has some plans of his own. It comes down to timing, as Dude is in a race to make his dream of being in a rock band, even all scores, make his girl happy, and keep from becoming a grease stain. Originally released on Showtime's short-lived series, Rebel Highway. It was BY FAR the best of the show, and (in my opinion) one of the best film's to date. It contains everything a movie should. It has love, humor, violence, revenge, fast cars, and great music. Not to mention a cast that fits their roles perfectly. A definite must see for ANYONE who is lucky to track down a copy.

A hip satire of 50's teenage drive-in movies. Dude Delaney(David Arquette)slicks his hair with two hands full of "grease", smokes when he's got 'em, plays a pretty mean rock 'n' roll guitar and hot rods his car with a beautiful Hispanic girlfriend Donna(Salma Hayek). Dude loves his rockabilly style rock 'n' roll as much as he hates his rival Teddy Leather(Jason Wiles). Teddy's dad just also happens to be the son of the small Texas town's corrupt mightier-than-thou sheriff(Willliam Sadler).Wild and head strong music provided by the likes of: Link Wray, Charlie Feathers, Glen Glenn, Charlie Sexton and Johnny Reno. I'm not an Arquette fan, but thought he played the role well. What can you say about Hayek...humma, humma, humma. Damn that girl is NICE. Also in the cast: O'Neal Compton, John Hawkes, Lance LaGault and Johnny Reno. A cup of coffee, a cigarette, a cheeseburger, fast wheels and rock 'n' roll...what else does a guy need? Maybe Salma Hayek!!

I first heard about this movie from a friend who knew of my love for the 50's rockabilly era, and I must admit I had my reservations. David Arquette, the kooky 1-800-CALL-ATT guy, as a tough, ultra-cool 50's rebel? I didn't think it could possibly work. Then I watched the movie, and discovered just how well casting an actor against type can work. Arquette truly brought Dude Delaney to life, and he was also fortunate enough to be surrounded by a perfect supporting cast. I especially liked O'Neal Compton as diner proprietor J.T. and the always-dependable William Sadler as Sarge, although John Hawkes, as lovable 'freak' Nixer, stole every scene he appeared in. Salma Hayek did a good job of making me alternately love and hate her Donna. Overall, I thought Roadracers was a lot of fun - quirky, exciting, funny, and with a great rockabilly soundtrack that had me dancing in my living room. Bravo to Robert Rodriguez - go, cat, go!!!!