I once saw the world’s strongest man be very weak. “Go Away,” he bellowed at a nervous schoolboy seeking his autograph. I only mention this because it happened at a stock car rally in the UK, which is my sole experience of the full-contact vehicular wrestling known as Demolition Derby. Well, that and the tech demo that shipped with the original PlayStation, the one with the animated T-Rex, and one round of the video game Demolition Derby. Which wasn’t a very good game. The original Gran Turismo is still ace, though.
“… shows the preparation and opening rounds of a demolition derby…”
I am adding all this padding because the nice little film Wrecked a Bunch of Cars, Had a Good Time could have used more content itself. In my supreme idiocy, I reviewed this thinking it was feature length. So when the credits appeared ten minutes in, I was ready to start watching a film as it ended. That was disappointing, and obviously, directors Matt Ferrin and James P. Gannon can not be blamed for how thick I am. However, this mistake on my part had the benefit of illustrating an actual issue with the film: It barely gets going. Maybe that is appropriately meta for a film about cars that resemble scrap heaps, but I definitely would have liked more. It felt like the topic was gold to be mined, so it’s frustrating to see one shovel load of dirt get flipped, and then blackness.
The eleven-minute-long film introduces us to some devotees of the sport and shows the preparation and opening rounds of a derby, doing so with energy and humor. The first driver we meet has sustained so many injuries he has an easier time telling us about the bones he hasn’t broken. The footage of the derby was captured at night and was full of atmosphere. However, the stygian lighting means the sensors on the cameras are cranked up to ISO 1,000,000 or something – meaning some of the videography has more artifacts than that helicopter footage of Chornobyl. That just adds to the charm, though.
But yeah, I needed more. S**t, I need this to be a feature film, with Brad Pitt as a beat-up driver on one last do-or-die bid for glory. As it is, this is a nice little appetizer of screaming engines, technical savvy, and testosterone.
"…a nice little appetizer of screaming engines..."
