Ravenswood R
All eyes are on Stroker Ace as he checks his toupee, chases women, gets in rowdy but good natured bar fights, pulls pranks, and makes a series of very bad decisions regarding his stock car racing career. He accomplishes this by questioning nothing and going along with whatever dimwitted opportunities arise around him. If you wonder: Is Miller Beer interested in buying a fast food chicken restaurant chain? Yes. Is Jim Nabors a head mechanic who spends no time working on cars? Yes. And, are there people in chicken costumes? Is there a jaunty country theme song? Is Loni Anderson in it? Yes, yes, and yes. Is it funny? No. This entire project is a hopeful cash grab and displays a complete lack of respect for the audience, although you could argue the characters, including Stroker, are so dumb they actually make the audience feel better about themselves. Anything they put on the screen is good enough for the moron segment of the American public with $2.50 in their pocket in 1983, but being dumb is not necessarily being forgetful, and people have already seen this several times before, so it deserves to flop, and it does. I give it three stars for the name Stoker Ace, because it is the only cool and memorable thing about the movie.
Rated 3/5 Stars •
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
10/10/23
Full Review
StephenPaul C
LOL, the funniest 01 hour: and 36 minutes ever!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
05/17/23
Full Review
Audience Member
Fun movie good racing movie
Rated 3/5 Stars •
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
12/11/22
Full Review
Audience Member
Oh, what could have been. This movie was based on the very funny book "Stand On It" by "Stroker Ace", (the nom de plume of Bill Neely & Bob Ottum). but was an utter disaster.
The book is screamingly, outrageously side splitting hilarious, mixing real life off track incidents, (where the name were changed to protect the guilty), with a straightforward, (if also satirical), look at what it's like to be a race car driver. When I read the book in the 70s, well before the movie came out, I literally envisioned both Burt & Ned Beatty in their respective roles. That part of the casting was dead on perfect.
But the film is destroyed by a witless script by Hugh Wilson, (WKRP & the first Police Academy film), & Hal Needham, Smokey & The Bandit & the first sequel to it, the first two Cannonball Run flicks), & directed by Needham. So, we get the names of some of the main characters from the book, about a page & a half of the book's dialogue at the most, & the rest is Smokey & The Bandit Go Racing with Bubba Smith recreating his schtick from Police Academy.. Oh yes, we also get Burt's latest squeeze, (at the time), Loni Anderson, completely wasted in the film, & Jim Nabors is just kind of there. It's horrible, it's vapid, & it's not funny in the least.
Oh, did i mention the skin crawling, slimy, disturbing & unfunny attempted rape scene, where Burt gets Loni, (playing a virgin!) drunk on champagne, & almost takes advantage of her after she passes out, breaking the fourth wall, as he attempts to rationalize the act to us in the audience? Yep, that's in this terrible movie.
Before watching this piece of garbage, I'd recommend gouging your eyes out with a hot poker instead.
Rated 0.5/5 Stars •
Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars
01/24/23
Full Review
probowl 4
A handful of comedic moments keep this mediocre film as a semi-cult hit within the NASCAR community but that's about it.
Rated 2.5/5 Stars •
Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars
11/30/17
Full Review
Audience Member
Director Hal Needham and his star Burt Reynolds seem to be making their favorite kind of movie over again, indulging on a budget of fast cars, objectified blondes, and smug, sour comedy.
Rated 1.5/5 Stars •
Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars
01/17/23
Full Review
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