The Wild Racers

This portrait of an F1 racer is seems like hours to sit through. Way too many Jump Cuts, voice-overs, bad lighting, poor sound quality and thin plotline is enough to turn off even the most avid Racing fans. Fabian stars in another Grade C film in his meagre film career showing off how he goes hitching up with girl after girl only to prove every Race car groupie is as futile as the career itself. The only reason I labored through this dreck was to see Talia Coppola (Shire) in her debut screen appearance which was way too brief given she only has about one minute of screen time. Some good sequences of the European cities and landscapes are showcased, but you would be better off flipping through an old Travel catalogue. Save your time.

I had to look up the dates on Wild Racers and LeMans. For the first hour of the movie it felt like the director was telling Fabian, " Do everything the way McQueen did it in LeMans". He even drives the same car. Remarkably, LeMans was made 2 years later. While I'll never put the two movies (or Fabian & McQueen) on the same level, they both had that same "Groovy" sixties vibe. That's what I love about sixties racing movies, they're like a time capsule of culture & style. The hair, the clothes, the way they talk...it's quite entertaining. Probably because racing is perceived as a young man's game. Living on the "Edge" as it were. I don't think if they made a period movie about the sixties, they could make it as convincing as the real thing.

Which leads me to the racing. While the racing footage in "Wild Racers" was excellent, it wasn't real. "LeMans" was real racing, real racers and real tension. Fabian, as good looking as he is, is no match for the hard intensity of McQueen. And McQueen was a bonified race car driver. An enthusiast of motor sports in general. Having driven and rode in competition, he had a leg up on Fabian.

It would be easy to pass Wild Racers off as a vehicle to launch the heart throb, crooner, a'La Elvis Presley, but that would be doing the actual film making a disservice. It's a very hip, inventive movie that takes some cinematic chances for the era it was made. Shaky cam, interesting camera angles, and lighting,very artsy when compared to the contrived schlock of a typical Elvis movie.

Perhaps, not a break out role for Mimsy Farmer, (did she ever have one?) she is breathtakingly, beautiful here. Like a vulnerable Amy Adams. I'd watch it again just for her.

All in all, a pretty decent, lazy Sunday afternoon, flick. If your asking, "Should I ?" I'm saying, "Yeah, why not"

Following THE YOUNG RACERS, producer Roger Corman returns to the European Race Car circuit for THE WILD RACERS, which actually only really centers on one... played by a great singer turned limited actor in American import Fabian, actually decent here since he never has to oversell a contentedly cocky persona...

Deliberately clashing against the progressive 1960's French New Wave influence of Corman's director Daniel Haller, using future JAWS editor Verna Fields for a myriad of jump-cuts from creative camera angles to create a deliberately art-house showcase showcasing a young handsome driver with almost everything...

Except the initial ability to actually win races since he's that secondary blocker with the sole purpose of letting the better driver succeed... which reverses about halfway through...

Yet most of WILD RACERS is a love story between Fabian and an actress who coincidentally held wildly onto a rebellious roll-bar in the previous years low-budget exploitation HOT RODS TO HELL, but blonde beauty Mimsy Farmer (initially hanging out with a young Talia Shire) plays the good girl this time...

Docile, vulnerable but not entirely insecure, she's a seemingly perfect opposites-attract fit for Fabian's moody, borderline verbally-abusive upstart who'd gone through a few girlfriends already, from a lanky French model to ditsy yet likable British lass Judy Cornwell...

And while the best thing here is how the movie itself is made... a kind of speedway BREATHLESS with psychedelic camera tricks along with jazzy music interludes and dance-crazy nightclubs... Fabian and Farmer have enough tension and chemistry to make the audience hope their relationship reaches the finish line.

Roger Corman has one of the most unbelievable records when it comes to filmmaking. While he's directed over 500 movies, he only reportedly lost money on one of them! Now I am not saying all his movies worked well at the box office because they were great films or artistic triumphs. No, instead Corman knows how to make very, very cheap films that the public accepts and goes to see. Such is the case with "The Wild Racers"...a film which, technically, is very bad...but the overall movie is still worth seeing despite its many shortcomings.

The movie is about a racecar driver named Jojo (Fabian). Jojo has apparently worn out his welcome driving in the States and has now moved on to Europe to Formula One racing. While he is doing well, he insists he must always win...and is ruthless in pursuing victories. Along the way, he treats people like dirt...particularly his girlfriends.

The first portion of the movie is a mess. Instead of SHOWING any of Jojo's races or even showing Jojo, the film shows various clips of NASCAR style racing...with voiceovers from various drivers who hate his guts. It's sloppy. Later, the film switches to the story and you see and hear Jojo. However, this is also a problem because of the many, many rapid edits...really, really sloppy looking ones at that. It's supposed to be stylish, perhaps, but looks amateurish...as well as the extensive use of stock footage.

So why did I still give the film a 5 even if the film is technically bad? Well, the portrait of a high functioning sociopath IS interesting. You can't help but watch...much like you would if you saw a trainwreck...you can't help yourself from getting pulled up into it. Still, the film is clearly one which could have been better and I am sure may will dislike the vague sort of ending to the story.

This movie will BLOW YOUR MIND! I cant believe this movie is seen by very few people it is easily one of the best i have seen in my lifetime. The plot is full of heartwarming love and fast action. The only thing that triumphs the directing is the WRITING! Max House is a great writer and it is very sad that this is his only credit, might as well quit when your at the top i guess. I really wish to see more of Max House I hope he is still doing well and writing lot's! I will keep this review short and brief but i can't say it enough SEE THIS MASTERPIECE PLEASE AND SPREAD THE WORD.

Thanks.