Okay, I admit it: I got the idea to buy and watch the Kenny Rogers NASCAR classic “Six Pack” from reading Delicious Tacos. (Link, and site, NSFW.) But even if I hadn’t found out about the movie’s existence that way, at some point it would have come across my radar screen. This flick has everything: Kenny Rogers, Dale Earnhardt, Ricky Rudd, the squared-off ’81 Thunderbird, a sixteen-year-old Diane Lane. Did I mention Kenny Rogers?
The funny thing is this: it’s not a terrible movie at all.
The NYT review for this movie, quoted in Wikipedia, notes that “orphans find a father, a lonely man finds a good woman, an unsuccessful racer makes good on the comeback trail, and everybody lives unreasonably happily ever after.” This isn’t exactly stirring stuff if you want your movies to depress or challenge you, but it makes for a pleasant 108 minutes.
To begin with, the Kenny Rogers we get in this movie is the most iconic Kenny Rogers of all: the early-forties, white-haired crooner who sang “The Gambler” and made country music acceptable for the East Coast easy-listening crowd. (The theme song, “Love Will Turn You Around”, is probably one of the finest examples of the cheerful-romance pop-country genre, ever.) He’s tough but lovable, equally at home throwing a fellow racer over the hood of a stock car or fighting back a yawn as he searches the streets for a runaway girl. You can argue that America in 1981 was almost equally divided between the people who saw Alan Alda as the perfect male role model and the people who saw Kenny Rogers as the perfect male role model. And if you want to have a solid understanding of how society has changed with regards to age and aging, consider this: Kenny Rogers in “Six Pack” was just three years old than Paul Walker in “Fast and Furious 6”.
By modern standards, this is also far from the kind of squeaky-clean, politically-correct film that most people would expect. There’s a disturbing amount of focus on Diane Lane’s sexuality, from the bouncing-breast shots in pit lane to a scene where she goes into another racer’s trailer to distract him so the “Six Pack” can steal some parts from his car. Another one of the kids is remarkably foul-mouthed, as seen in this tribute video below (language NSFW):
You really couldn’t get away with that now, but it’s interesting to note the difference between “Six Pack” and “Bad Words”, a Jason Bateman film that’s debuting in theaters. In the former, the kid swears and the adult corrects his behavior; in the latter, the adults swear mercilessly and the child is reduced to a sort of bewildered silence. We’re no longer a society where every adult feels some sort of responsibility for every child in the vicinity, nor are we a society where children can be trusted with random adults. There’s also the typical Seventies/Eighties distrust of authority in this film; the cops are the bad guys and the community of racers deliberately excludes law enforcement.
This notion — of racing as an insular world, a sort of traveling circus — is as old as Hollywood and as new as the aforementioned Fast&Furious films. Wherever the stock car racers go, there’s a party at the bar and the pretty girls all know who the drivers are. Even after two years spent retired from racing (we never find out why) the girls are still waiting with open arms for Kenny, er, Brewster. When Ford comes calling to take our hero to the big-time of Grand National racing, the other drivers come along as well somehow. It’s the promise of joining that world in one form or another, I think, that drives a lot of people into so-called “car culture”. Remember what Brian O’Connor’s boss tells him in the original F&F? There’s all kinds of family. This is, largely, a movie about a driver rejoining his true family even as he creates a new one away from the track.
Alright, that’s enough for the analysis; let’s talk cars. There’s plenty of actual circle-track and NASCAR racing in this film, with a thankfully minimal reliance on fake-looking in-car shots. Stock footage of a Winston Cup race is used, and the film clearly had plenty of help from Ford and NASCAR, right down to the appearance of the Petty #43 near our protagonist’s vehicle on the starting grid. Dale Earnhardt and Ricky Rudd feature prominently in the final race; some viewers will no doubt be confused to see Mr. Rudd in the “3 car”.
The small-oval and dirt-track footage was shot specifically for “Six Pack” and it’s just plain enjoyable to see the Late Models of the era go sideways to the checkered flag. There’s relatively little “movie racing”, in the sense that nobody ever goes worst-to-first or makes impossible moves. A subplot dealing with a cracked head is handled with reasonable accuracy. Last but certainly not least, there’s a rather amazing back-roads chase featuring a box truck and a motorhome dragging a race car. If you’ve ever wanted to see someone drift with a trailer attached, this is the movie for you.
As race movies go, this is considerably better than stuff like “Days Of Thunder” or “Driven”. It’s recommended for any fans of Kenny Rogers, oval racing, or Diane Lane. Two thumbs up. And remember: Love will turn you around.
While I don’t mind this article I do miss the auto industry insight this web site used to provide.
Yes.
There are filler stories on every website when they get a Slow News Day.
Would you rather see a heads-up about an older racing movie some of us never heard of, some of us loved, and some are going to track down? Or would you rather piss and moan because there’s not ANOTHER post about ALL THOSE DEAD BODIES because of the long-delayed GM ignition recall when no substantial developments at all seemed to have occurred since the last one posted?
If you are aware of any in-depth reporting that’s not being done by this website, barring lack of interest/expertise/funding for the illegal spying methods (except for the government) that would be required to produce said reporting, fire away.
I loved this movie when I was a kid and I haven’t seen it in years. Thanks for the reminder…
LOL just saw this on Kenny Rogers’ FB page, small world.
FYI Diane Lane is smokin’ hot still.
Diane Lane — Yes she is.
This movie must have done really well in the flyover state drive-ins. NBC commissioned a TV pilot that aired in ’83. It had Don Johnson in the Brewster Baker role. He got “Miami Vice” instead, which is a blessing or curse depending on your P.O.V.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0938335/?ref_=fn_al_tt_2
More interesting is that Joaquin Phoenix is one of the kids, and former NAACP chair and civil rights activist Julian Bond as a judge. Finding that one must be impossible.
Diane Lane will always be Judge Hershey (forgiveness if I got the name spelt wrong)
Yes she is, and will be 50 in about 10 months.
I love me those 50 year old hotties.
Erin Gray seems to be holding her own as well. (Lilah in this movie)
They filmed at the dirt track on hiway 92 about four miles from my old house in Woodstock, Georgia. It was a big deal in town.
This movie has been completely off my radar. Granted, I was 1 when it came out, but still [I love plenty of movies older than I am]
Relatively realistic racing approved by Jack and a young Diane Lane. I’m in. Hopefully netflix or similar service has it streaming.
Also, Jack two additional items:
1) I hope you’re feeling better
2) Have you seen the IMAX film Super Speedway? If not, it’s WELL worth getting on blu ray. They mount an IMAX camera on top of a mid 90s CART car [you know, back when they were truly awesome]. Add to that Mario Andretti driving it, Paul Newman narrating, restoring one of Mario’s old racers, and some other excellent stuff, and it’s a great 50 minutes. Oh, and some good music from Mark Knopfler as well!
It doesn’t surprise me that Mark Knopfler did the music. He’s got a well regarded car collection:
youtube.com/watch?v=Ze6Cn4Lc3Gw
I was always partial to Nick Mason’s (Pink Floyd) collection, but Knopfler has a heck of a collection too.
Great comment, and +1 on the general awesomeness of Super Speedway. There’s also:
– great footage of carbon-fiber chassis being fabricated
– great footage of a Cosworth turbo V8 being dyno-tested
– Mario flying an ultralight, cooking s’mores with various Andretti family kids, feeding his pet pig, reflecting on how lucky he is to have not been killed, and just being Mario
– Michael (in the special features) spinning his car time after time in the exact same spot (Turn 11 at Mid-Ohio, if memory serves) until the director is satisfied with the shot
– the sounds of Indy racing back when it was “truly awesome,” as Sammy said.
On the downside, there are no boobs (that I recall) and no Kenny Rogers.
Super Speedway. I’m on it. Thanks!
Only movie I felt was worth IMAX treatment. The full POV lap…
I watched this movie, probably on HBO, back when it came out. More than once. Jack is pretty much spot on, it was pretty good. While I appreciated the racing, Diane Lane was key for me. She’s a year older than I am, and I was pretty well smitten with her in this movie.
Another Diane Lane movie I recall liking was this “Now, Ladies and Gentlemen, the Fabulous Stains.” Came out the same year.
OK, so are impure thoughts about Diane Lane now OK, since she’s clearly of age, or are we still dirty old men for ogling her?
And I do remember this movie as a good example of the “foulmouthed kid” genre – probably the best known example is “The Bad News Bears,” which is a TOTAL trip to watch today.
OK, so are impure thoughts about Diane Lane now OK, since she’s clearly of age, or are we still dirty old men for ogling her?
I don’t know, do you own any movies featuring the talents of Tracy Lords?
I miss Walter Matthau, his talents as a character actor were very high. Billy Bob Thornton should be smacked around for thinking he could hold a candle to that man in a remake.
I miss Jerry Orbach for the same reasons.
Traci Lords? Who? Never heard of her…I plead the Fifth…
She was a porn star in the mid 80s who started doing it underage, she later became an actress. She’s the vampire chick in Blade if you have ever seen it.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traci_Lords
She was also UNDERAGE when she filmed 99% of them. Therefore her work in that industry was burned and destroyed after the truth came out.
I was being a wisearse to the “of age” comment.
I think you missed my sarcasm, 28…
@PrincipalDan
You’ve just carbon dated we three.
@FreedMike
I suppose I did. Although since only one of her films is legal in the US and her heyday was the *mid-80s*, the Y crowd may have been unaware.
*NBC chime* The More You Know!
I think that since it was ok for me to ogle her then, since I was 16, I am retroactively entitled.
Not sure what the rule is in the more general sense, with say, Selena Gomez.
Gomez is over 21; therefore, I approve your ogling.
What’s wrong with Days of Thunder, anyway? Everyone keeps telling me that movie sucks, but they don’t tell me why.
I don’t mind “Days of Thunder” either. The plot is completely copied out of “Top Gun,” the racing is silly, and the whole intro for Tom Cruise (on the Harley) is utterly ridiculous, but it’s pretty easy to see why he and Nicole Kidman hooked up, and Robert Duvall is pure awesomeness incarnate.
Fun fact: John C. Reilly starred in both Days of Thunder and its near-perfect satire Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby. I don’t know of any other actor pulling off that feat.
If it helps to understand, Ebert pegged it as the ultimate formulaic Tom Cruise Picture© because it contained:
1. The Cruise character, invariably a young and naive but naturally talented kid who could be the best, if ever he could tame his rambunctious spirit.
2. The Mentor, an older man who has done it himself and has been there before and knows talent when he sees it, and who has faith in the kid even when the kid screws up because his free spirit has gotten the best of him.
3. The Superior Woman, usually older, taller and more mature than the Cruise character, who functions as a Mentor for his spirit, while the male Mentor supervises his craft.
4. The Craft, which the gifted young man must master.
5. The Arena, in which the young man is tested.
6. The Arcana, consisting of the specialized knowledge and lore that the movie knows all about, and we get to learn.
7. The Trail, a journey to visit the principal places where the masters of the craft test one another.
8. The Proto-Enemy, the bad guy in the opening reels of the movie, who provides the hero with an opponent to practice on. At first the Cruise character and the Proto-Enemy dislike each other, but eventually through a baptism of fire they learn to love one another.
9. The Eventual Enemy, a real bad guy who turns up in the closing reels to provide the hero with a test of his skill, his learning ability, his love, his craft and his knowledge of the Arena and the Arcana.
See also Top Gun, The Color of Money, etc. The formula has just gotten stale.
Yep, same formula for “Cocktail” too.
But “Color of Money” is a Scorsese movie, so it’s awesome anyway.
In Color of money, the mentor becomes the hero, the hero becomes the villain, and all sorts of goodness occurs.
Cocktail, though…
3. A lot of women are taller than Thom Cruise.
The best part of Days of Thunder was the opening, having been in the Daytona infield on race day in the mid 90s, I can tell you the scene perfectly captured the mood and anticipation of the race.
When I first screened “Days of Thunder” my initial thought was this is going to absolutely ruin what little credibility stock car racing has left, while perpetuating the total redneck image. Over the years I mellowed on it, actually finding it not too bad. But then came the absolutely horrible “Talladega Nights” crap. That franchise is so bad it makes “Days of Thunder” look like “The 10 Commandments” by comparison.
The real problem with “Talladega Nights…” is that it was made about 20-25 years too late for it to be as culturally accurate as it was supposed to be. When Dale Jr. won at Daytona a couple of weekends ago it was the first time a racer born in the part of the country where NASCAR is traditionally the most popular won a Sprint Cup event since…? I couldn’t even tell you. Everyone is from the west or the midwest now. The idea that NASCAR as an organization is laden with redneck culture is as anachronistic as watching the movie “Three Kings” after Saddam Hussein was overthrown in 2003.
Oh I disagree, Talladega Nights was and remains a hilarious and popular movie, they hit the timing just right as the sport evolved from a “good ole boys” to a stage for drivers from all over coming to cash in.
Just because the drivers are coming from other areas of the country or world doesn’t change the culture of the sport, and NASCAR still has a very southern, flyover state culture. Not to mention, they have rednecks all over the country, not JUST the south. It isn’t a put down either, many of my family and friends are proud rednecks, its like a badge of pride to NOT live in LA or NYC these days. Plus, the sport is still mocked by the elitists on the coasts.
For the record, I really liked Days of Thunder (and most of the other Tom Cruise “formula” movies before he got so nuts with Scientology). I also liked Six Pack and Stroker Ace too, so maybe my taste is questionable! They just don’t make fun movies like those anymore.
Right, Sacha Baron Cohen’s character = a caricature of the F1 driver as imagined by the caricature of a NASCAR fan while Juan Pablo Montoya, and actual F1 driver attempts somewhat less successfully to make it on the Sprint Cup circuit (shouted with full voice from behind my seats at Talladega watching the race from October 2010 as the cars were on the backstretch and Montoya overtook someone: “F*** YOOOOU, JUAN PABLO!!!!!”)
And yes, redneck culture is not just a phenomenon measured by the Mason-Dixon line, and never has. But that movie (to me, anyway) speaks more about the identity of the NASCAR driver moreso than the fan (though the success of the movie confirms that the fans relate to it as well)…and that particular, stereotypical “good ol’ boy” driver has been in the process of being phased out of the sport ever since guys like Jeff Gordon started winning championships.
It’s an interesting demographic phenomenon, the dying out of the Southern born-and-bred NASCAR driver…pretty much all of the current generation of star drivers are midwesterners or Californians, and that’s not an accident; those are the only parts of the country where you can find independently-owned and managed short tracks in sufficient numbers to enable drivers not born with silver spoons in their mouths the opportunity to hone their skills to the point where they’re ready to compete in the larger national circuits. In the South, where most of the big tracks are, economics have all but shut the smaller tracks down…up-and-coming drivers from the heart of NASCAR country aren’t getting the competitive advantages at younger ages that the drivers from the rest of the country are.
They shot some of the NASCAR Winston Cup footage at the old Atlanta International Raceway (as it was then known) in its original oval configuration. I know, because I was there as a teenager with my dad. The new tri-oval setup is A LOT faster, but now it’s just like all the other tracks either in shape or distance. Being a pure 1.5 mile oval with even banking and symmetrical turns gave that track a personality of its own. The CART series used to race there, too.
I went to college with the kid who played Louis in this, therefore my friends and I goofed on the movie mercilessly (and I have unreasonably avoided seeing it). However, it must be said that he (the actor) was actually a good guy in real life!
I’m glad the movie is entertaining. Maybe TTAC should have a series about cheesy 70s car movies. “Used Cars”, anyone?
Kurt Russell’s first movie post-Disney. Great call.
I’m virtually certain we’ve reviewed “Used Cars”, but if we haven’t, you can bet we will, ASAP.
You have, but they are few and far between. I have a draft of something written on my Volvo but at the moment its in the shop getting a starter rebuilt.
“Used Cars” was solid – Robert Zemeckis’ first major movie. He went on to do “Back to the Future,” “Roger Rabbit” and “Forrest Gump”. Terrific director.
I try to forget that he also did “Contact”. So many good movies, then that.
I liked “Contact,” actually…not his best work, but still pretty solid. His last movie was “Flight,” which was excellent.
Zemeckis is like Spielberg and Scorsese – he’s never really made a truly bad movie. Some are better than others, but no outright bombs like “The Lone Ranger” or “Wild Wild West”.
I just hate the end where the Alien takes the form of her Dad. All the build up for that crap.
Flight was excellent.
H.B. Halicki’s original Gone In 60 Seconds belongs on that list. A clip of Halicki’s frame bending jump in the original “Eleanor” Mustang showed up as stock footage in 1980’s Stunt Rock, which Jack reviewed for R&T. That’s gotta be the cheesiest car movie ever.
http://www.roadandtrack.com/go/pop-culture/stunt-rock-the-movie-the-last-film-you-need-to-see
Everything HB Halicki made was so over the top 70’s in all it’s glory they are wonders to behold. Crappy crappy movies to anyone that’s not into cars (my wife when I tried to get her to watch once) but to car people they are wonderful.
My favorite would be “The Gumball Rally”
So many great lines in that movie…
“It’s a handsome piece of machinery”
“I wish it would run”
“And now, my friend, the first rule of Italian driving: What’s behind me is not important”
I saw Used Cars in the theatre with my parents when I was 11. Fast cars, *lots* of swearing and bare breasts. Those were the days before. If I tried to take my kids to a movie with all that nowadays I’d probably be arrested if my wife didn’t kill me first…
OK, if we’re on to late-70s and early-80s car movies, how about “Corvette Summer”, or “Grand Theft Auto”?
Or “Cannonball Run”?
What about the only other movie luke skywalker ever made outside of starwars (think it was in between ESB and totally drug afflicted Luke in RoJ. Highschool shop class makes super trans-am with right side steering, car is stolen, Luke wanders the wild, stumbles into his shop class teacher’s shady business, turns out shop class teacher stole super car to fund his shady life style, drama, action car battle ending, Luke and super trans-am win.
Actually, that’s not the only other movie Mark Hamill made aside from “Star Wars” – he was in “The Big Red One,” which was a darn good war flick.
@rnc – you are describing Corvette Summer… same movie. But you got the car wrong, it was a custom Corvette, hence the name. But the bad guy drove a custom Trans Am, looked way better than the Vette too.
“Corvette Summer”…absolutely. People who don’t like that movie I will never understand.
“Cannonball Run”…Burt & Hal, Sammy & Dino, Jackie Chan, Roger Moore. Terry Bradshaw. Too. Much. Fun.
How about Hooper?? With Burt Reynolds and a pre-drugs Jan Michael-Vincent, based on the real life of Hal Needham who directed it. Rocket powered Trans Am FTW. I think Burt had a real thing for the Trans Am. :)
I have Hooper on DVD. Lots o’ fun. Burt was great in his heyday.
Since we’re talking NASCAR movies & Burt has nobody mentioned Stroker Ace? Loni Anderson in her heyday and it also had the Big E if I remember right, been probably 25 years sine I’ve seen it.
I confess I’ve never seen this movie, but it’s from my childhood. A time when we only had three channels on the TV, and Kenny and Dolly could appear at any time singing a duet. Largely thanks to the ’81 television writers strike, the musical variety show reigned supreme in that time, and in southern Missouri were very popular on local TV. You’re right, this was Kenny Rogers in his prime, and now this flick will be in my next Amazon order.
Since we are talking old slightly NASCAR related movies, I have to mention “Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry” Peter Fonda plays an aspiring NASCAR driver. Oh and one of the crashes from the film was used in the opening credits to “Fall Guy”
tin men.
danny devito, barbara hershey
a story about aluminum siders with a passion for women and cars. having worked in the aluminum siding business as a young adult (ages 16-21) it is all too real.
They certainly do not make movies like this these days.
Thank goddess.
Jack, try tracking down James Garner’s 1969 “The Racing Scene”.
If it matters, I like the movie reviews. Cars are part of our culture and the movies reflect that.
Glad to see you’re into reading the manosphere, Jack.
With the way you write, I suspected it for a while.
Keep up the good work.