Used Cars ***1/2 stars out five as art, ***** as rock hard entertainment Zemeckis's best film, this often misunderstood move is a fun and savage attack on bankrupt American values circa the late 1970s. The movie both panders to and is critical of base Americana -- cars (and inevitable car chases), big-tit fetishes, drugs, Elvis worship, sports-politics, beautiful lying, comical fistfights, manipulative television, sniggering racism, salad bars, trailer living, bowling, driver's ed and all the rest of the cheap, tawdry and yet somehow sacred elements that make up the American tapesty. Clumsy, although entirely appropriate to the era and the topic, sentimentality and cliches both enhance and degrade the film. Russell is deftly sleazy and yet likeable, an honest-liar with larcenous intentions buried in a soft-heart. The supporting cast, particularly Jack Warden in a fun double role, is excellent, perhaps save the inevitable cameo of Lenny and Squiggey (tying into their than petty TV fame; pity McKean isn't used better). Bonus: The fight sequence between Warden and Graham is awesome.
Review of Used Cars
