It was hard to rate this fairly because I grew up in 1957 and drove a hot rod '33 Ford with a hopped-up '47 Ford flathead. We lived to race the rich kids with the '57 Chevys and '58 Corvettes. The story line was very near to how things were in 1957 only we did not boost cars and strip for parts, just an occasional "midnight requisition" of a Stromberg carburetor or some linkage or maybe some chrome from the local salvage yard. I had Latino friends too in a nearby city who ran a custom car body shop and from whom I learned to work lead with a paddle. I also saw much fact in the "dragstrip" activities only we used a diagonal highway outside our town. We usually scoped out the local State Trooper to be sure he was not working.
The Los Angeles connection made it reminiscent of her mother and how Natasha Richardson Wagner's mother, Natalie Wood also served to flag two drag racers in "Rebel Without A Cause," which became a cult classic for us. The story was pure screenwriter work contrasting the "haves" with the "have-nots" and the similar ending involving a death. This part I thought was done particularly well avoiding to much racism, though it was touched on. I thought the acting was fairly good given this was early roles for most of the actors. In all, I recommend it for a nostalgia factor but today's hip-hop crowd may find it too juvenile. I believe you old people like me will like it also.
The Los Angeles connection made it reminiscent of her mother and how Natasha Richardson Wagner's mother, Natalie Wood also served to flag two drag racers in "Rebel Without A Cause," which became a cult classic for us. The story was pure screenwriter work contrasting the "haves" with the "have-nots" and the similar ending involving a death. This part I thought was done particularly well avoiding to much racism, though it was touched on. I thought the acting was fairly good given this was early roles for most of the actors. In all, I recommend it for a nostalgia factor but today's hip-hop crowd may find it too juvenile. I believe you old people like me will like it also.