Eat My Dust (1976)

Will Opie get the girl?, 2 January 2009

Hoover Niebold (Ron Howard) steals a race car to impress the girl of his dreams, Darlene (Christopher Norris). It seems that Darlene has a thing for fast cars and the guys who drive them. Hoover sets off with Darlene, but the law is in hot pursuit. And in Hoover's case, the law comes in the form of his father, Sheriff Niebold (Warren Kemmerling). Can Hoover evade his father and all of his friends, find enough gas, and not wreck his car all in the name of love?

I hadn't seen Eat My Dust since its initial release way back in 1976. Back then, my brother and I somehow convinced my dad to take us to see the movie. He slept through the whole thing while we had a great time with all the car crashes and comedy bits thrown in. So did it hold up 32 years later? You betcha! I had a great time re-watching it tonight. Eat My Dust combines just the right amount of over-the-top car chase scenes, surprisingly effective comedy elements (Dave Madden, aka Reuben Kincaid, is hysterical as Big Bubba Jones), an enjoyable mandolin-infused soundtrack, an appealing cast, snappy direction and cinematography, and some of the best looking hot pants and go-go boots I believe I've seen into one enjoyable package. I realize that Eat My Dust probably couldn't stand the light of a real critical appraisal, but I'm not a real critic. I watch movies for enjoyment and I enjoyed Eat My Dust.

One thing that really surprised me was how much I got out of the plot. The relationship between Hoover and Darlene was actually very well done. I admit it, there were moments that tugged at my heart. Sounds silly for a Roger Corman produced car chase movie, doesn't it? But you just really want to see a guy like Hoover get the girl. I don't use words like "sweet" very often to describe a movie, but that's what I thought about Hoover's feelings for Darlene. It made the ending that much more effective.

7/10