Fast Company

A sentence with the words "David Cronenberg" and "car racing movie" isn't exactly something you hear every day, but yes, Cronenberg did in fact make one in the late 70s in between his horror classics 'Rabid' and 'The Brood'. Very few people outside of Canada have seen 'Fast Company', and as Cronenberg is my favourite contemporary director I've been intrigued about it for years. Now that Blue Underground have released a restored version on DVD we can all finally get to see it. Now I'd love to be able to say that's it's some kind of lost masterpiece and essential viewing for Cronenberg buffs, but to be honest it's just an enjoyable b-grade racing movie, the kind of flick AIP would have released without a blink of an eye. I seriously doubt that anyone who watched it not knowing who directed it would be able to guess that Cronenberg was involved. He himself regards it as an important movie in his career, as it was another step in his learning how to make "real" movies, and because he also met several key future collaborators. That historical interest aside it's by far the most "normal" and therefore least interesting movie he's made to date. The movie is helped immeasurably by having b-grade legends William Smith ('Run, Angel, Run', 'Invasion Of The Bee Girls', 'Boss N*gger', 'The Ultimate Warrior') and John Saxon ('Planet Of Blood', 'Enter The Dragon', 'Black Christmas', 'Cannibal Apocalypse') as leads. Smith plays Lonnie Johnson a racer under pressure from his sponsors, who are represented by the back stabbing Saxon. The two work well together and by the looks of the short interview included on the DVD seem like great buddies. The late Claudia Jennings (her final role) plays Smith's love interest Sammy, and Nicholas Campbell, who subsequently acted in Cronenberg's 'The Brood', 'The Dead Zone' and 'Naked Lunch', plays his cocky protege Billy "The Kid" Brocker. The main problem with the movie apart from the awful sub-Springsteen "rawk" score, is a dull script. With a bit more work the movie really could have been something special , but as it stands 'Fast Company' is little more than an interesting curio for fans of Cronenberg and/or 70s exploitation movies.

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.

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.

Lonnie "Lucky Man" Johnson is an veteran drag racer and head honcho of his race team that's sponsored by FastCo Oil. Their business man Phil Adamson thinks only of the sponsorships than winning and when Lonnie's hotrod explodes Phil isn't too happy. Seeing that Lonnie is the one who draws the crowds, Phil gets Lonnie to take over Bill "The Kid" Broker's car, which doesn't go down to well with Bill. Their rival team led by Gary " The Blacksmith" Black would like the chance to beat Lonnie and things do heat up when Adamson decides he wants to make some changes.

When you think of the name David Cronenberg, does drag racing come straight to mind? Most definitely not, but on this occasion he has churned out a rather normal, exploitation flick on the sport. You don't always associated the word normal to his name, but even though its an entertaining piece, it's really nothing much out of the ordinary. That's probably the best reason why it flies under radar, well it won't escape the fans' of the director's work, though. Cronenberg's excursion into "Fast Company" is pretty much a low-budgeted film that's marketed for a more mainstream audience. I didn't really know about this film that pretty much came out of the blue when I found out it was directed by Cronenberg. So I've been itching to get my hands on it and I gladly came across the 2 disc special edition release at my local library. I'm no revhead fan, but I couldn't help but get drawn into the thick of the action thanks largely to Mark Irwin's cinematography. I actually didn't mind this little picture, but you still call it a rather a hot and cold detour. The film looked great with it's semi-documentary style, where there were a lot of creative angel shots that caught the action superbly and the beautiful Canadian landscape that fills the frame also leaves a mark in your mind. Cronenberg manages to stage the set-pieces involving the dragsters quite well, as you watch some burning rubber along with the crowd. It's just like the real deal! But when it wasn't focusing on the racing it becomes the usual the good guys v bad guys theme, where it becomes morally hounded and predictable. You feel the tension between the teams and the plot shows the manipulative nature of sponsorship deals taking over the show. But the drama element runs low on fuel. It just feels leaden with a simple script that doesn't really seem to go anywhere with some underwritten plot details, but still there's a nice amount of sharp humour evident. The film's conclusion might be exciting, but still it's rather illogical you could say. The howling rock soundtrack that surrounds the film felt overly tacky and got a bit repetitious. The performances from the main two leads lifts most of the acting out of the standard mould. William Smith and John Saxon make the most out of their character's material. Saxon is a great character actor and he steals the film as the slimly sponsor adviser Phil Adamson. Smith adds a steady head to the veteran driver Lonnie Johnson. Also in the supporting roles is the gorgeous Claudia Jennings as Lonnie's love interest Sammy, Nicholas Campbell plays the up and coming youngster Bill Broker and Cedric Smith plays the competition Gary 'The Blacksmith' Black. There's definitely a lot of stunning gals in this picture. Well, cars and girls go down rather nicely don't they.

Rather a middling affair that has it's perks. When it's close to the action that's when it hits it's strides by making you feel like you're there. It's nothing overly showy, but it's a mildly entertaining romp for the undemanding.

AN AWESOME MUSEUM PIECE OF 70'S DRAG RACING "B" DRIVE-IN MOVIE HISTORY!

As other reviewers have said, this is not Cronenberg's best movie, but you need to understand even though it came out in 1979, it was shot way before that, and was one of his first movies of this commercial nature, actually his first movie with a budget of over a million dollars. So? So lighten up a bit, and look at what is there, not what lacking!

Yes, I agree with the blackxmas review above, but beg you all to view this as a "moment in time", in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, and Spokane, Washington, USA. You have to, otherwise it won't stand up to criticism using current movie criteria. In other words, do not buy this movie if you want an intriguing plot and award-winning acting! LOL But if you know a person who went to these two drag strips back in the 70s, make their day with this one!

I am not going to add any more film criticism here, but wanted to make the point that it is rare movie because of the age of this famous film maker, because few VHS copies were ever released and because it is a Northern-made drive in movie made by a young Canadian film maker. Yes, Canadian. LOL And, oh yes---- a certain November 1969 Playboy model named Claudia Jennings was featured in this movie, and tragically, and perhaps ironically, lost her life in a car accident shortly after. So, yes, I think Fatss Company is a collector's movie.

**Canada had just started offering incentives to U.S. film makers to come up north, so David was in the right place at the right time. A long string of very famous movies have been shot here in Alberta, and Brad Pitt is getting ready to star in a movie about Jesse James--right here--- as I am typing this.

One last thing: If you look VERY carefully in the stands near the crash scene, you may be able to see me in my Mopar ball cap----yes, I was there. Hey Honey--we're out of popcorn! See you at the movies!