markandjudie
I was young when I first saw this movie , but since grown up with it . Everything about this Movie is great from Start to Finish . I recommend watching this movie .Especially if you are racing fan ..I would like to add one thing . One location of the filming was not listed in the credits. From the trailer of the movie , and into 1:42 seconds of the trailer their is a race scene. This was actually filmed in a little town in Byron Georgia at track Called Middle Georgia Speedway. I went to the abandoned track the other day , you can still see the props from were is was filmed. All the Actors worked so well together in this movie .And you could tell Time and patience was essential.
knsevy
Richard Pryor shows his versatility, in this story of a black moonshine runner who forces his way into the white-dominated professional racing circuit. I'm not sure how historically accurate it is, but the film drew me into the story, right off the bat. When they establish Pryor's character as a WWII veteran, that automatically buys some sympathy, and it's not hard to guess how hard it would have been for a black man to make his mark in the white-dominated south, let alone the white-ultra-dominated auto racing field. This particular aspect of racing, I think, still shows today in the incredibly-low percentage of black drivers in the major leagues of auto racing. I know it's not because African-Americans can't build or drive cars - I believe it's still because of the redneck image of pro stock-car racing.Anyway, off my soapbox. This is a great movie. Pryor is very believable and turns in a fine performance as the protagonist. It's also great to see how the small local drivers started to build up the sport into the massive, ugly organization that is is, today. The film also kept my interest by showing the NASCAR races, year after year, showing their evolution and devolution.I thoroughly enjoyed this film, front to back - of course, I'm kind of tilted towards car films. But the way the actors played out their characters in this film made them very human. I recommend this to any open-minded NASCAR fan. This'll show you where it came from.
Chris Foster
Whenever you think about influencial people in African-American sports history, you mostly think of Jackie Robinson, but during the Civil Rights movement of the late 1950's and early 1960's, a young racer from Danville, VA quietly broke NASCAR's color barrier and that was Wendell Scott. I think Richard Pryor did an excellent job of portraying Wendell Scott in this film and showed what is was like to race in the South at that time (1950's-1960's). This film shows that anyone can do anything, regardless of their ethnic background. The real Wendell Scott's racing career was cut short due to a serious accident during a race in Talladega, Alabama in 1973. Where would some of today's African-American racing drivers be if Wendell Scott did not open the door? A must-see for racing fans in general.
helpless_dancer
A little different sort of comedy for Pryor; not as raucous and vulgar. In fact, the last half was more of a drama than a comedy. Pretty much run of the mill biography of some racer I've never heard of; lots of fun car racing scenes - many of them the real thing. When the film ended I had to wonder if every southern racecar driver is a redneck racist idiot or if the picture overdid it just a tad.
AD
