The Fast and the Fantasy

Rating: Null/10 (7 March 2002)

Ok it's very easy to shoot this film down if you are over 25 and/or have half a brain. Yes the plot is as thin as Ally McBeal, yes the dialogue is as cheesy as the milk shelf in my fridge and the characters are as false as me nan's front teeth. BUT if you are into movies there are some great things going for this well-crafted thrill ride.
I will say early on though that I'm a little biased as I love hot cars and women (they do exist), and I drive a modified H@nda myself, although not quite the extremely expensive machine that these people drive. I have rubbed up against that kind of 'scene' in the UK, but I have to say it's not at all that attractive. It's more a mixture of p***ed up lager-lads in N*vas with their fat lasses flashing their tits, or for the older gen, a few meetings in depressing shopping centre car parks standing in the rain talking to some pretty obsessive people about how they got their new air intake pipe to fit properly.
Anyway, I would recommend the DVD as the director's commentary is particularly good and actually shows you that there was a lot more intelligence behind this movie than first meets the eye.
Things that interested me: Rob Coen shot LA in a new way - using locations showing the little backstreets and the hills in its glorious SoCal sunshine (I was there recently and this is the LA I saw). He chose a multiracial cast. This is very important here. One of the points he makes in the movie is that in this particular scene, like the rave scene, the young people are getting over their past problems and all have this one thing in common - the love of speed. There is an early scene where our golden boy meets a latino racer and they initially face off, you are expecting some kind of racially-oriented dialogue, but they end up joking about the vehicle's engine and showing some mutual respect. Most people will miss this subtle scene but it's very important. So the cast is interesting in that they reflect that mix - it's just a shame they were given dialogue lifted straight from the A-Team ("It's not how you stand by your car its how you drive it".. er yeah.. ok). The film was inspired by an article about an import car scene that does exist in LA, and also around New York and many of the real 'racers' can be seen in the crowd shots.
I felt let down by the attention paid to detail in dealing with the machinery. The language they use is definitely aimed at your mum who knows nothing about cars. Yes correct emphasis was placed on NOS and electronic engine/ turbo management but was done in a way that actually made me cringe. Sorry it just was not realistic despite the director's best intentions.
Technically the film shines with some fantastic visual effects, a mix of CG and some pretty new stunt techniques ***spoiler - eg. using a special stretched van with a mockup car shell complete with actor slung between its axles that can be handbraked around... The sound production is absolutely awesome. You just have to sit back, ignore the lack of cerebral material and just enjoy the ride. Hopefully in surround sound with the bass whacked up. I don't think the filmmakers had any pretentions about the type of film they were making, or who it was aimed at, so I find myself forgiving them for some of the bad points. A little irresponsible maybe, in the complete lack of reference to safety features (seatbelts???) and the consequences of a) spending ALL your spare cash and time doing up a car and b) losing that car on a bend and seeing what happens when you hit the armco barrier.
So kids, great film, but at the end of the day if you want to do this for real, it will cost you a LOT of money - THOUSANDS OF POUNDS, you will pay your car's worth again in INSURANCE and that's IF you can get it insured, your girlfriend will possibly dump you, or trash your car out of jealousy (unless you find one with the same passion - very rare -good luck), and the POLICE and their SPEED CAMERAS will do their best to help you RUIN your license. So be careful out there!!
Oh and don't get a V**xhall, get a H*nda (your gran's C1vic is a better car than your best mate's N*va believe me) :)