One thing I really like from the entertainment world (besides music) is movies that are not "perfect". If you read my other reviews here you'll see that I have some off the wall celluloid favorites.
Corvette Summer is certainly one of them. Recently I a found a near mint copy VHS Tape (yes, still have a wonderful player) in the original early 80s box it came in. I only had seen it twice before. Once on network TV and again on local TV late night.
I liked it well enough but the first times but each print was scratchy & muffled and edited. With my "like new" copy, I fully see how good this movie is. No, it's not up there with box-office giants but it's a fun film with, believe it or not,a good message at the end of it.
In watching Hammil's performance as an auto-obsessed youth, I think he completely threw himself into this role. His character is so much like that, that he's not had time for girls in his life! Demonstrated by his shyness from Annie Pott's sexual advances to him.
Annie Potts definitely is a fire-cracker in this film. She's funny, touching and even a little heart-breaking in her role. It's no wonder she went on to bigger things like "Designing Women".
The underlying message is the revelation near the end, that almost relates to today's world. The shop teacher Mr. McGrath is an underpaid educator who basically takes advantage of his prize pupil and has the car stolen (like many others most likely) to give his family the things a teacher's salary cannot.
Hammil's reaction in discovering the truth about the man he so admired, is just as real as the way a lot of us felt when we learned the world isn't "perfect".
Overall, the movie is great fun but I just didn't buy Hammil's sudden change into the egotistical jerk he became almost overnight, after forced into the shady business. (Unless his character was just trying to put on an act to fool the bad guys.)
Also, when trying to escape from the garage, his character hides in a large oil drum that's full. Now, how would he get into that thing with all that stuff stacked on top of it? As well as hold his breath in motor oil?
Of course, that's not really important,the main thing is it's a fun movie to watch and while not perfect,I feel the fact of Mr. McGrath's reluctant dishonesty, makes this a film with at least some grasp of reality.
Without that plot point, it actually would just be a silly movie about a teen who's car is stolen and has crazy adventures in finding it. Along the way, losing his virginity. In other words, just another mindless teen flick.
9 stars out of 10, much like a car can be, it runs almost perfectly.
Corvette Summer is certainly one of them. Recently I a found a near mint copy VHS Tape (yes, still have a wonderful player) in the original early 80s box it came in. I only had seen it twice before. Once on network TV and again on local TV late night.
I liked it well enough but the first times but each print was scratchy & muffled and edited. With my "like new" copy, I fully see how good this movie is. No, it's not up there with box-office giants but it's a fun film with, believe it or not,a good message at the end of it.
In watching Hammil's performance as an auto-obsessed youth, I think he completely threw himself into this role. His character is so much like that, that he's not had time for girls in his life! Demonstrated by his shyness from Annie Pott's sexual advances to him.
Annie Potts definitely is a fire-cracker in this film. She's funny, touching and even a little heart-breaking in her role. It's no wonder she went on to bigger things like "Designing Women".
The underlying message is the revelation near the end, that almost relates to today's world. The shop teacher Mr. McGrath is an underpaid educator who basically takes advantage of his prize pupil and has the car stolen (like many others most likely) to give his family the things a teacher's salary cannot.
Hammil's reaction in discovering the truth about the man he so admired, is just as real as the way a lot of us felt when we learned the world isn't "perfect".
Overall, the movie is great fun but I just didn't buy Hammil's sudden change into the egotistical jerk he became almost overnight, after forced into the shady business. (Unless his character was just trying to put on an act to fool the bad guys.)
Also, when trying to escape from the garage, his character hides in a large oil drum that's full. Now, how would he get into that thing with all that stuff stacked on top of it? As well as hold his breath in motor oil?
Of course, that's not really important,the main thing is it's a fun movie to watch and while not perfect,I feel the fact of Mr. McGrath's reluctant dishonesty, makes this a film with at least some grasp of reality.
Without that plot point, it actually would just be a silly movie about a teen who's car is stolen and has crazy adventures in finding it. Along the way, losing his virginity. In other words, just another mindless teen flick.
9 stars out of 10, much like a car can be, it runs almost perfectly.