3: The Dale Earnhardt Story

Just finished watching this movie and I thought it was very well done. Barry Pepper was probably the the best actor for this movie, he pulled off the look perfectly. This movie did a great job of retelling Dale Earnhardt's life story. They also did a great job of mixing old race footage into this movies footage. Some things I didn't like, I thought the story was a little rushed, and some of the important events were left out. The racing wasn't as intense as that in Days of Thunder, but the story made up for it. If you don't know why they called this guy the best in Nascar you better watch this movie, great movie I give it a 7/10.

Several years ago ESPN made a decision that they were going to expand their vision and focus to include original entertainment programming. This has led to a slew of made-for-TV films, dramatic mini-series, and specials about fictional or historical sports personalities and events. Although the acronym ESPN has always stood for Entertainment Sports Programming Network, ESPN never had the desire, budget, or ability to produce this type of original entertainment. Just like MTV has become less about music videos and more about reality TV, dramas, soap operas, and animated series, ESPN seems to be headed down the same wrong path. That's why when I saw the trailers for '3' the last couple weeks, I figured it would be poorly done and over-dramatized just like every other original project ESPN has touched. Surprisingly, that wasn't the case. Barry Pepper, who has been good in everything else I've seen him in, puts on a good performance this time too. I've never been a fan of auto sports, or Dale Earnhardt for that matter, but I was entertained by this movie every bit of the way.

This is overall an excellent movie. A must see for all nascar fans.I only saw 1 not already mentioned error. Dale Earnhardt actually drove 2 different times or stints in his carrier for Richard Childress. He drove for another owner from 1982-1983. The other owner was Bud Moore and the car was the #15 Wrangler Thunderbird. In 1984 He(Earnhardt) returned to Childress taking the reigns of the #3 car from Ricky Rudd. The movie was very interesting in the way Dale Earnhardt was presented as a human being. One that had feelings, faults, shortcomings and not as some kind of bigger than life superhero.Though now a legend in racing it shows how he climbed the ladder to success. Excellent job by Barry Pepper.

This movie will likely get good viewership because it was heavily marketed, but it made too many assumptions about Dale's life. They did not do enough research prior to releasing this movie. Many, many important parts are left out, and it felt extremely disjointed and rushed. Often, I was saying, "oh, I guess they are moving on to the next thing." The ending was terrible and did not delve into an important part about how he became who he is today. Trust me, many non-Nascar folks realized a lot after his death. I am a racing fan, and I think many who love Dale Earnhardt will be afraid to admit that this movie was terrible. I hope some are not afraid. I do not think Formula One would ever allow such a poor movie about their superstar such as a Senna or a Schumacher. I give this 1.5 out of 5 stars. A big shame.

"3: The Dale Earnhardt Story" isn't going to win a lot of non-Nascar fans over to the sport, but as a biography, it is well-made, offers some believable insights on what made Earnhardt the often enigmatic person he was, and, in Barry Pepper, provides an eerily close approximation to the 'look' and 'feel' of the racing legend. Pepper will certainly receive an Emmy nomination for the role, and delivers such a powerful portrayal that you nearly forget how good the rest of the cast is.

While Elizabeth Mitchell is more glamorous than the real Teresa Earnhardt, she is quite solid and believable in the role; to truly appreciate how important Teresa's intelligence and business acumen were to Dale, it would have required a much longer movie, and might have seriously tilted the story away from Dale's other relationships, and the balance that Pepper and director Russell Mulcahy achieved.

Dale's early years come off best in the film, with a wonderful performance by J.K. Simmons as the inspirational Ralph Earnhardt. The grittiness and 'backwoods blue-collar' feel of Earnhardt's upbringing is well-conveyed, and reminiscent of "Coal Miner's Daughter" and "The River". The film loses a bit of steam when Dale begins racing, and as he achieves success, a lot of memorable moments had to be edited out, or telescoped down, which has disappointed some Earnhardt fans. Considering the time and budget constraints, however, I found the story to be remarkably accurate.

The young actors who portrayed Dale's children as adults should be singled out for recognition; race car driver/first-time actor Chad Mcumbee, while low-key, is pretty impressive as Dale Jr., conveying both a pride in his father, and frustration in being 'held back' so he could complete his education before being permitted to race; Corri English, while too cute, has an infectious smile and manner, and exhibits the Earnhardt joy of fast cars; best of all is newcomer Frank Glidden as oldest son Kerry, who, in a few brief scenes, offers a balanced, sensitive interpretation of the son Dale abandoned, finally winning his father's attention and respect, even as he sees Dale Jr. outshining him on the track. I look forward to seeing more of Glidden's work in future!

While there will certainly be a more detailed and polished feature film about Earnhardt in the future, this ESPN production is not without it's own merits, and provides an entertaining, dramatic overview of the racing legend's life.