Fast Company

Fast Company (1979)

** (out of 4)

Mildly entertaining drama about drag racer Lonnie Johnson (William Smith) who is battling an evil owner (John Saxon) who is after money instead of winning. Lonnie takes new racer Billy Brocker (Nicholas Campbell) under his wing and soon the two are into a deadly game with the owner.

FAST COMPANY is a pretty strange movie from David Cronenberg. Usually when you think of Cronenberg and strange you think of the countless bizarre horror films that he made during this era but what makes this film "strange" is the fact that there's no gore, no bloody murders or anything to that nature. Inf act, FAST COMPANY is a pretty laid back picture that almost feels like a made-for-television flick and it probably could have been if it wasn't for the nudity that is thrown in.

I'm not going to say FAST COMPANY is a bad movie because it certainly isn't but at the same time there's nothing great here either. I think the film's strongest stuff are the actors who all turn in fine performances and at least make their characters fun. Smith is extremely good in his role and he's very believable in the part and helps carry the picture. Campbell is good in his supporting role and it was nice seeing Claudia Jennings in her final film. Cedric Smith is also good in his role of the rival and Saxon is perfect playing the creep owner.

The melodrama is okay but there's just not really anything here that keeps you glued to what's going on. There's some nice race car footage as well as some nice action at times but none of them really makes for a very entertaining movie. FAST COMPANY is mildly entertaining but it's easy to see why not too many people know of the film.

The famous drag racer Lonnie 'Lucky Man' Johnson (William Smith) is the star of the Fast Company, managed by the corrupt Phil Adamson (John Saxon) Lonnie is the mentor of the promising funny car racer Billy 'The Kid' Brocker (Nicholas Campbell). When Adamson makes a deal with Lonnie's competitor Gary 'The Blacksmith' Black (Cedric Smith), he takes the funny car from Lonnie and Billy. But they decide to steal the car and run independently in the next race. But Adamson intends to use any means to stop Loonie.

"Fast Company" is an incredibly dull film by David Cronenberg. The film is indicated only for fans of this great director that want to know his complete filmography and fans of drag racing. This film is the last one for the gorgeous Claudia Jennings that ironically died in a car accident in the same year. My vote is five.

Title (Brazil): "Escuderia do Poder" ("Motor-Racing Team of the Power")

William Smith plays Lonnie Johnson, an aging race car driver, who's sponsor, FastCo Motor Treatment, represented by John Saxon, is about to can him due their quest for a youthful and cheaper image. Claudia Jennings is his long-distance girlfriend in a not wholly original, but fascinating look at the traveling race-car circuit and it's casualties.

This may be the ultimate drive-in feature; part-documentary, part-exploitation puncuated by moments of eerie silence that proves Cronenberg can do anything he wants with any type of material and make it interesting. Strange, lingering scenes of mechanics maintaining vehicles with up-close clinical precision (as well as surreal inside-the-car camerawork) will satisfy Cronenberg's most hardcore fans, as well as the sense of desolation and alienation amongst the highways, broken-down racetracks, and most importantly, the fans and drivers of the Pacific Northwest. This may be Cronenberg's most interesting film, since it's material you would never expect him to tackle, and because it's the least-seen movie in his catalogue. Highly recommended and worth tracking down by any means necessary.

Stuck between "Scanners" and "The Brood", "Fast Company" is quite a strange movie among David Cronenberg's filmography. Apparently giving away his ambitious and usual themes, Cronenberg makes a pure entertainment, very close to Burt Reynolds' universe ! So what happened? Cronenberg's attachment to this film leads us to think it could be hiding something deeper. And in fact, one of the main Cronenbergian obsessions is the subject of the film : the car races are a metaphoric expression of "the re-building of the human body by technology". Is the movie any good ? Well, for a Cronenberg fan, it's quite interesting. Others should watch a REAL Burt Reynold movie !

Okay it's not the world's greatest movie, or even the greatest movie ever made about drag racing (that would probably be 'Heart Like A Wheel') but it does have its moments and there was a lot of effort put in to ensure the technical side of things was correct. Filmed entirely in Canada around Canadian dragstrips there is a sense of what life on the road is really like. Yes the characters are rather one dimensional - good guys wear white, bad guys wear black and snarl a lot, and the stunts do look like the camera was over-cranked but any true car fan will find it holds their interest, the first time anyway. Especially if you think of it more as a documentary than a movie. Plus the cars and female leads look great. I agree the ending is lousy though.