Used Cars
This is not the Robert Zemeckis you’re used to, or I’m not used to, and that’s a pretty good thing, because you won’t necessarily see it coming. I had heard the name prior to listening to it being discussed on the ’80s All Over podcast, but that put my interest on high. Now, I’ve finally seen his 1980 comedy, “Used Cars,” and it makes me want to rewatch Steven Spielberg’s “1941,” which was the previous film written by Zemeckis and Bob Gale, and “Back to the Future,” which was the next Zemeckis and Gale project, so I can see if I appreciate the former more, and just experience the latter again.
“Used Cars” is a cheerfully R-rated comedy about two warring used car lots run by two brothers- the more successful one that Roy L. Fuchs runs, and the one that’s more of a home to lemons, run by Luke Fuchs. Both brothers are played by the fantastic Jack Warden, who does a great job of playing both brothers with the same gruff voice and mannerisms, but still being able to create separate characters who are their own person. Luke’s lot is seeing hard times, and they’re struggling to stay open, even as Rudy Russo (Kurt Russell) finds little tricks to try and get people over to the lot. That will only take them so far, though, and Rudy has other aspirations, like running for state Senate. Rudy needs money to make that happen, though, and he’ll have other issues to tend to when Luke dies of a heart attack, and he has to prevent Roy and Luke’s estranged daughter, Barbara (Deborah Harmon), from finding that out.
Zemeckis and Gale’s approach is wonderfully vulgar and darkly funny, taking the inherent problems that can come from buying a used car, building it on the premise of used car salesmen as charlatans and hucksters, all the while making something that is also appealing to watch. Rudy and his right hand man, Jeff (Gerrit Graham), are not the type of people you’d want to know in real life, but they’re someone we feel an immediate connection with for other reasons- there’s something endearingly silly about Rudy trying to lure customers away from Roy’s lot with a $10 bill on a fishing line, and recognizable to Jeff’s superstition about red cars. Yes, as businessmen, they give used car salesmen a bad name, but as characters in this movie, we’re right with them every step of the way as the complications mount after Luke’s death, and they have to resort to even more desperate measures to get people to the lot, even tapping into the feed of the President addressing the nation. Their commercials are basically the “no way in Hell would this ever run” version of the sort of independently-produced used car commercials you see on TV all the time, and that’s just one of many hilarious things this film has to offer us.
I’m so grateful that I finally got to this film. It’s great seeing this type of wicked humor coming out of Zemeckis while his trademark craftsmanship started to develop. We see terrific performances by Russell, Warden, Graham and Frank McRae as their mechanic, Jim, and a can’t miss supporting performance by Alfonso Arau as someone with a penchant of selling Rudy painted-over taxis and emergency cars, and who plays a big part in the crazy and fun climax, where Rudy is leading a caravan of student drivers to try and get these cars to the lot before a judge orders it closed down. It’s like a comedic take on “Gone in 60 Seconds” and worth watching the film for alone. It’s a shame that Zemeckis and Russell haven’t worked together since; I’d like to see what sort of madness they could conjure for an audience now.
