Pros:
-- Story's uninspired, but not so bad. Same goes for cinematography and direction.
-- Lead actor playing "Johnny" is trying so hard to be Brad Pitt, it's almost charming. You'll find yourself saying, "Aww, look at the guy trying to be Brad Pitt
"
-- I love this guy "Red," the auto junkyard owner who trains Johnny in racing. He's so authentically and simultaneously grizzled and whimsical, you'll think he's the child of an unholy union between Nick Nolte and Michael J. Pollard.
-- The actor who plays rival racer "Mickey Stiles" is obviously coked up throughout the whole movie. No one's that good an actor. But it works. Keep this actor on coke. (BTW, IMDb says he's the freakin' voice of "Putt Putt" from my kids' video games!)
Cons:
-- The racing scenes are so obviously shot in fast motion you'll half expect Boots Randolph's "Yakety Sax" to be playing in the background.
-- But you won't hear "Yakety Sax" because the same nondescript hip-hop song, which consists of nobody rappers yelling, "WHAT AROUND HERE!" over and over, underscores every race. As if it means something. But it doesn't.
-- Daniel's father and sister are obviously somebody's relatives or friends. Actors this bad and ugly don't get cast without knowing a producer or somebody.
-- Helicopter turn-by-turn in the last race comes out of nowhere with no explanation, while the view from helicopter shows no race at all, just some highway traffic. Who are they? Radio traffic reporters? Cops? And why do they talk like surfer dudes?
-- Final, climactic racing scene comes and goes so quickly, you won't even realize it, because it consists almost entirely of close-ups of drivers yelling, "Come on! Come on!"
-- Bad guy parole officer is so suitable a dou©ebag that you want him to really get it at the end. But when it finally happens, you won't stop laughing. Really, hours later, you won't stop laughing.
Final verdict: I bought "Street Racer" for a buck from a Blockbuster that was going out of business, knowing full well that stocking movies like this helped put Blockbuster out of business. It was worth a buck and 90 minutes of my time. It will be on a blanket in my driveway at my next tag sale.
