Roadracers

Roadracers (1994)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Bad boy Duke Delaney (David Arquette) hopes to escape his small town by becoming a rock star but the local sheriff (William Sadler) and his jerk son (James Wiles) are constantly trying to keep him down. One way of doing so is by insulting his Mexican girlfriend (Selma Hayek) but Duke always finds himself on top of whatever he's doing. ROADRACERS was director Robert Rodriquez' first film after the EL MARIACHI success and it was his entry into the Showtime "Rebel Highway" series. Unlike other entries in the series, this one here really isn't based around any single AIP film but instead it seems to be mixed with many of them in the juvenile sub-genre. Also unlike many of the others films in the series, this one here features all sorts of style, clearly the director pushing his own trademarks onto the genre. I thought this helped make the film a lot better than it would have been otherwise because there are some really stylish and fun moments scattered throughout this thing including a big gun battle towards the end of the picture and there's also another fun sequence inside a roller rink. The director manages to keep the film moving a pretty good pace and I thought he perfectly nailed the atmosphere of this time but of course with added bonus of some sexuality and profanity. Arquette is surprisingly effective in the role of the rebel. I thought the actor did a good job with that laid back style and he managed to have some nice chemistry with Hayek. Speaking of her, she clearly steals the film with her fiery performance. Sadler is also extremely good in his part of the villain and O'Neal Compton is good as a restaurant owner. I think the story is a tad bit all over the place and seems to be trying to do too much and this is especially true in the last twenty-minutes. I also found it strange that the film would pay so much homage to INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS even though it wasn't an AIP film, which this series was remaking and paying homage to. However, it does lead to a very fun cameo but I won't ruin who with.