The Racing Scene

Garner's motorsports quest gave him a life of real intentionality. Here he is immersed in a community that shares his passion that oh by the way comes with the risk of death. From the love of the sport, teamed with experts he trusts, captured in close ups. Nothing is missed of the drama unfolding. And most of it happens as just matter of fact like a home movie in the Garner narration. This quest for elite performance with his team leads to a a notable denouement in Quebec. Talk about living with breakdowns. The inside story is these performers have a very short time frame to prepare anything and nothing is for certain.

James Garner decides to take up racing. First, he's doing an off-road race through dusty Baja. It is a documentary following Garner's racing team, the inbetween, the garages, behind-the-scenes, and everything else. Next, he's in England and Silverstone. They eventually start racing Formula-A.

This is a buffet of racing with James Garner as the waiter. They are doing a lot of different styles of racing, mostly endurance races. I thought Garner would be the one racing, but that's mostly not the case. This is good for racing fans and Garner fans. I'm more the later and his easy charms come easily. There is a constant stream of cars although I can't always spot his car. It's a slice of the racing world with Garner doing lots of narration.

I saw this on SpeedVision, which usually bores me to tears. A year in the life of James Garner, his car, and his racing team. Garner's narration really lets you know the strategies, the problems, the stresses of running such an operation. Note: these are endurance races, where mechanics and engineering count for at least as much as drivers.

We get a real look into all that goes into a racing team. Love the racing and all the behind the scenes action. Great, informative documentary.

Sports docs don't come duller than this James Garner vanity project, which was the first film directed by Andy Sidaris. He would go on to helm some very diverting B movies but diversion is about the last thing in evidence here as the movie is basically a series of monotonous and unremarkable races with second and sixth place finishes (kinda like this film). I bailed somewhere between the contest in Connecticut and wherever the final race was after becoming officially sick of Garner's droning narration which thinks it's funnier and more perceptive than it is, even dragging in poor old Walt Whitman for poetic validation. I also wearied of the film's draggy pace that makes the races seem like they're being run under water. And if an auto racing pic cannot move at a good clip, with a sense of danger in the air, which is also absent in Sidaris' vision, then why bother making it? To flatter its star, I suppose. Solid C.

PS...I also could have done without the film's sexism which renders women as either eye candy or clueless, poky drivers.