Truckin' Man

Truck driver Mike Kelly is sure his father's death was no accident. He sets out to prove his crooked boss had a hand in the accident.

This cheap, poorly made movie is barely worth writing about. Just about everything in Truckers Woman (or the more apt title, Truckin' Man) is bottom-of-the barrel - production values, acting, sets, sound . . . you name it and it's probably pretty bad. And unlike a lot of movies of this ilk, it's not sleazy enough to even be a good exploitation film. I will, however, give Trucker's Woman credit on two fronts. First, when it comes to the characters Mike Kelly and Karen Fontaine, they're relationship is somewhat oddly compelling. Second, the music fits perfectly with the film. A low-budget trucking movie set in the South should have a whiney, twangy country music soundtrack.

2/10

Seriously, what is up with all the trucker films of the 70's, there is absolutely nothing all that enthralling about watching big rigs. Granted, there is Smokey and the Bandit, but that was not a pure trucker film where middle aged men drop out of college to pursue a career in trucking because their father was killed in an accident/possible murder. The film is very 70's and you get a guy trying to take out the trucker mafia plus some aggressive flirting that borders on sexual assault, yup, it's a 70's film!

The story literally has a guy die in his truck and his 'son' drops out of 'college' to become a trucker and follow in his dad's footsteps. Probably for the best seeing as how the son looked to be about the same age as his dad, must have been struggling to find a major. Well, an old man who really liked the main guy's dad suspects that the person that worked on his truck rigged it because he was planning on opening another terminal as the current one was fraught with corruption. Well trucker dude's son is going to get to the bottom of it no matter how much plaid he inexplicably has to wear!

No real stars of note in this one other than Doodle's Weaver, who I only really know his name and seen a couple of films of and Larry Drake who looked so pudgy in this thing. He would actually become much more healthy looking later in life, here he is in Dark Night of the Scarecrow mode. The main guy looks like a game show host in his late 30's or early 40's and nothing like a college student and the women are all mildly attractive.

So, this is a film that you are going to have to enjoy watching the wheels on the truck go round and round because there is not too much more than that. A brawl or two and a shootout at the end involving more barrels and pushcarts than guns are about all the action to see. We also get to see a lot of the 'hero' trying to make it with this girl and then proceed to do everything in his power to be a creep to her. This trucking man is a jerk and his woman needs to move on!

After his father is mysteriously killed while driving a tractor-trailer, "Mike Kelly" (Michael Hawkins) quits college and joins the same trucking firm to find out why. It's during this time that he meets an attractive woman named "Karen Fontane" (Mary Cannon) at a roadside diner and they begin to have a romantic affair not too long afterward. Meanwhile, Mike begins to encounter some suspicious people working at the company and combined with the heavy-handed tactics of the boss "Frankie" (Sid Rancer) begins to makes things quite difficult for management and things rapidly spiral out-of-control afterward. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that this was obviously a low-budget production with relatively unknown actors and rather poor picture quality as well. Yet despite these obvious faults this type of movie managed to fill a void at drive-in theaters who were often desperate for cheap films during this particular time in America. That said, while this may not have been a good film by any means, it wasn't terribly bad either and for that reason I have rated it accordingly. Slightly below average.

This is a TV movie level film. Starring Christian Slater's father--he would later go on to be more successful in several Daytime Drama. Mike Kelly is a typical 70s trucker. He is called in after his father's death and slowly becomes aware that perhaps the old man was murdered by the officials at the trucking company. As Mike investigates, the daughter of the trucking company's owner falls for him--much against the will of her father. Mike--again typical of the 70s male attitude--leads her own, and through a series of misadventures the pair are drawn closer to each other. The film is light, and the humor tries. If you can catch the Rifftrax version you will enjoy it even more.

The highlight of this all time turkey is the subliminal shot of pizza that lingers a little too long to actually be subliminal. It's the most subtle and profound part of this film that's otherwise about a bunch of unlikeable characters and the women who inexplicably go to bed with them.

If you missed the 1970's, this film will make you happy you're too young to remember the celebration of trucker culture.

Thank goodness I only watched the Rifftrax version. I can't imagine the regret and self-loathing that would have ensued if I had to watch this movie without their commentary.

Features Larry Drake 12 years before L. A. Law. Proof that aspiring actors just need work, no matter how terrible the work is.