Verdict
Summary
An entertaining and freewheeling pace keeps Checkered Flag or Crash instantly likable, though it has an incredibly simplistic plot, a generic script, and fair acting from a crew of pros.
Plot:
A spunky female reporter hops in the passenger seat of a dune buggy and she gets a first hand story about the thousand-mile race she’s somehow entered, and the daring driver who will get them first to the finish line.
Review:
Spunky racing journalist C.C. Wainwright (Susan Sarandon) shows up just in time to cover a thousand mile race, a big publicity stunt put on by a desperate promoter (played by Larry Hagman) that will have the wildest and craziest drivers of dune buggies, race cars, and motorcycles driving over the roughest terrain on earth in the Philippines for a big cash prize. The race is set for a three-day extravaganza, with some rest stops at prearranged intervals, and each driver is as wild and crazy as the next. Just before the race begins, C.C. hops in the passenger seat of a race buggy her magazine paid for, driven by “Walkaway” Madden (Joe Don Baker), who can’t stand the fact that he’s got to take this “libber” with him, but he begrudgingly agrees and hands her a barf bag just in case. Off they go! There’s no doubt that C.C. and Madden will fall for each other despite how much they are at constant odds with each other, and they’ll encounter cheaters, car wrecks galore, and a smashing finish.
An entertaining and freewheeling pace keeps Checkered Flag or Crash instantly likable, though it has an incredibly simplistic plot, a generic script, and fair acting from a crew of pros. It’s exactly the sort of product that flooded the drive-ins during the late ’70s, and without an ounce of sophistication it remains refreshingly easy to watch. With a country western theme song that plays twice on the soundtrack, this one is exactly as advertised. From director Alan Gibson.
Code Red’s recent Blu-ray release of Checkered Flag or Crash contains a brand new 2K transfer, plus the trailer.
