Snake & Mongoose

I disagree with Netflixry. My dad used to drag race, so I grew up at the race track. I majored in Broadcasting in college, so I'd like to think I also have a decent grasp of film making. Is this film on the level of Forest Gump or Titanic? No, it's not. But Snake and Mongoose didn't have their budget either. Does it have a 'made-for-TV' feel to it? Yes it does. But I wouldn't call the film horrible. In fact, my dad and I were talking after watching it, and we agreed that it's probably one of the best racing movies ever made. Will a die hard drag racing fan notice a few minor inaccuracies? Yes. But on a whole, this film was still a lot more true to the historical and technical aspects of racing than Heart Like a Wheel, Days of Thunder, or Driven. So if you're a motor sports fan who doesn't realistically expect the production value to be on the same level as Jurassic Park, I'd say it's a good watch, worth your 90 minutes of time.

If you're looking for award winning caliber acting or writing here then this is probably not the movie for you , as it has a definite B-movie stamp on it. However, I found myself engaged enough in the story, based on true events, to be quite interested throughout.

It chronicles the 20 year drag racing rivalry between Don "The Snake" Prudhomme and Tom "The Mongoose" McEwen, culminating at the NHRA U.S. National Championships, in 1978 at Indianapolis, Indiana. This was rather a friendly rivalry even culminating in a business partnership at one point.

The two men were polar opposites in personality with McEwen, portrayed by Richard Blake, being outgoing, gregarious, and always looking at innovations and the big picture, while Prudhomme. played by Jesse Williams, being a "nose-to-the-grindstone" type who was completely focused on winning races.

Led by McEwen's excellent marketing skills, they eventually landed the large toy manufacturer Mattel as a sponsor, and it proved to be a highly beneficial partnership for all concerned, with the Hot Wheels toy promotions. This also helped bring drag racing onto the national scene and brought a whole new wave of fans on board.

With a good supporting cast including Ashley Hinshaw, Tim Blake Nelson, Fred Dryer, Noah Wylie, and Kim Shaw the movie was also enhanced by its' interspersion of actual drag races and the national TV coverage at times. There's also a short but funny interview clip with the real Prudhomme and McEwen which was valuable to see.

Having watched drag racing on TV years ago, I found this film overall to be interesting, despite, as mentioned, the wooden dialog and acting.

I was a teen and really into drag racing back then so I certainly remember the Snake and Mongoose. With that being said I really enjoyed this movie even though it's obviously pretty low budget. As a race fan I really liked seeing how hard of a struggle it was for even the guys who were doing all the winning in those days like the Snake. And the way it was the Mongoose who pushed all the business deals and how the ideas came about was very interesting as well. And who knew McEwen was into making safety innovations as well!

Of course every second of the vintage racing films (which make up a good portion of the movie!) was a delight and spotting shots of Linda Vaughn and Jungle Pam an added bonus. The shots of the kids in real '70s clothes brought back lots of memories too.

So if you are at all into motorsports, or even if you simply bought the Snake and Mongoose matchboxes back then, it's certainly worth a guilty pleasure movie night!

For some reason, the actor they played Tom "the Mongoose" McEwen kept making me think of Greg from the Brady Bunch...:)...I was a kid in the 60's so I remember these names well (snake and mongoose) we had their Hotwheels, we knew of their racing prowess and until a couple days ago when I saw this on cable, I had totally forgotten about them for decades...:)...

I didn't realize how truly great Don Prudhomme was as a drag racer...I was very impressed seeing some of his runs! I remember going to drag races at Atco NJ...The sound of those funny cars is like NOTHING you've ever heard if you haven't watched a drag race...The ground quakes!

Overall this a great biography of an interesting set of characters and a great look back on this period! I'm glad I saw it...

Too bad this didn't get more traction. It's actually a great movie. It's more than just about racing. It's got real heart & depth, shows how teammates bring different strengths to the table. Personally I love cars & racing but I think anyone can enjoy this movie.