Correrías de verano

"Corvette Summer" might not be a perfect film, but it's a breezy, occasionally funny sleeper...the type of movie that used to pack them in at drive-ins all the time. Today, there's the added value of seeing Mark "Luke Skywalker" Hamill and Annie "Designing Women" Potts in very early roles before they became big stars. There's even an appearance by Danny (Partridge) Bonaduce. Good summertime entertainment!

This is a rare young Mark Hamill leading man role and he, while dorky as heck, manages to pull it off quite well. Annie Potts is the real star here in a great performance, but it's a car movie full of random coincidences that make the story have no drive (pun intended) BUT it's charming and breezy and a pleasant enough curiosity for anyone who wants to see 70's Las Vegas and young Mark Hamill before the facial scarring.

This movie is somewhat underrated, at least in my opinion, I guess that one has to enjoy cars to enjoy the movie. Anyway, it has Mark Hamill in one of his many not-so-famous roles, but he still makes the film watchable for a Star Wars fan. Pretty good chase scene at the end...

"Corvette Summer" is a coming-of-age story, but it runs pretty rough (I know, I know, I'll watch it with the car puns). It hits the right notes for such a movie, and the right characters get what they're meant to have in the end, but it's a surprisingly somber affair. Mark Hamill (looking particularly squalid) spends a great deal of time sulking through the streets of Sin City in search of his stolen hot rod, and that character just seems to sap the life outta this thing. Stick with it and there's that appropriate ending and even an eleventh-hour car chase.

But here's why this movie is worth a watch: Annie Potts. Charming, warm and unbelievably attractive, she's the reason "Corvette Summer" has any life at all. It's the kind of performance that makes you look forward to her next scene.

She's something else.

6/10

This is a charm piece that depends on the chemistry and skill of Mark Hamill and Annie Potts. Corvette Summer never quite found an audience in 1978, but today it is a cult-classic among car enthusiasts, as well as Star Wars fans who are curious about what Mark Hamill was doing between Luke Skywalker gigs. Hamill plays a high school senior who falls in love with a car he's restored. The car is stolen, and he hears it's in Las Vegas. He hitchhikes to Vegas, and along the way meets Annie Potts. Her character is determined to make a career--whatever it may be--in Vegas. Hamill is funny as someone who's a know-it-all about cars, but naive about everything else. Potts is very funny as a girl who hides her brains and feelings behind an ever-changing mask and a series of one-liners.

The film features a parade of colorful characters, including a memorable performance by the late Eugene Roche as a downtrodden school teacher. However the actors take a back seat (pun intended) to the film's non-human stars, namely the candy-apple 1973 Stingray and the city of Las Vegas itself, which serves as the film's glittery backdrop. Recommended.