Used Cars is my favorite comedy of the 70s. Vastly underrated, and despite being one of the first movies directed by Robert Zemeckis, it’s all but forgotten in Hollywood lore for one reason.
The film’s main villain is Jimmy Carter.
Much like The Goods, released this weekend, Used Cars was set during a time of economic hardship, apathy for all things political and a failed liberal savior lecturing on a nightly basis – true to the notion that we don’t make history, we merely repeat it. The film, which John Milius was a co-executive producer, was of the times, almost too much. It felt dated by the time the Reagan 80s rolled around. Considering the late 1970s, just after Watergate, Jack Warden (who ingeniously plays the battling Fuchs brothers) isn’t far off the mark when he laments the moral of failings of our political class with the statement, “There used to be a time when you bought a politician the son of a bitch stayed bought.”
The theme is apparent throughout. Rudy Russo, played by Kurt Russell, is as sleazy as the next car salesmen, so only naturally he sets goals on becoming a state senator. This culminates in a scene in the back of a limo that explains political thinking than any movie of the last 30 years. The film had a thick anti-government spirit.
“You are f***ing with the President of the United States.
“Yeah, well he f***s with us.”
After airing a pirated commercial during Carter’s infamous “malaise” speech, local media come to the lot for answers. Gerrit Graham, playing salesmen Jeff, responds that his lot is honest and doesn’t like being associated with the President of the United States. A brilliant line, one we’ll never have a chance to hear again because today’s entertainers lack the gumption and the spirit to let creativity take course over politics.
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Great stuff, FN’! This movie is forgotten only by the most foolish of movie fans and thanks for the reminder to pop it in after Charles Bronson’s Hard Times tomorrow.
Oh, Donn Landee left me a message to let you know this movie came out the same year as Women and Children First, 1980.
Yes, yes, I have slipped in my vast knowledge of the Van Halen canon. That tends to happen when a band hasn’t released new material in 11 years. I like artists that actually create music. Of course, my card-carrying member status was revoked after I went on the mailing list and trashed the last tour repeatedly. Funny, those YouTube videos, Wolfie’s backup vocals sound a lot like Mike’s.
I can’t believe you missed the three new songs on the Best of Both Worlds greatest hits comp. Don’t worry, not much of a loss. The nitty-pick was more for the release year of Used Cars, though. It’s OK, though, your mind’s otherwhere these days. Speaking of which, can we share the good news here yet or not?
Used Cars was released in 1980, I usually consider the aught year after the nine to be part of the former decade, bad habit of mine, so technically I was correct and technically I wasn’t.
And you can share whatever you would like, don’t know if anyone would care to know, however.
Well, Team Threedonia cares — congratulations to the JohnFN family, soon to be three-ee-ee in the family. Yup, a magic number!
As for your year rule, while I like and appreciate the technicality, that would make me a child of the 60s, and I think God gave me that extra month in the womb (free catering, free swimming pool … why leave?) to save me that association.
Hi, ScottDS from Big Hollywood and Dirty Harry’s Place. I check out your site now and then but this article attracted my attention, especially since I’m a huge Zemeckis/Gale fan and I recently listened to the DVD commentary for this film (which is hilarious and even features some jabs at the Clintons).
My question is… assuming the story would remain more or less the same, would this film have the same impact if it had been released during a different administration? Call me a cynic but I couldn’t imagine the compliments if Reagan had been president and they still had the same dialogue: “He — with us” and so on.
Scott… thanks for commenting and checking us out! It would be different with Reagan because it wouldn’t have been true. Carter wrecked an already languishing economy. Reagan revived it. A joke like that in 1984-5 for example would’ve gone over like a lead balloon. In 1980 — it was comedy gold AND true. If it had come out in 1981-82 it might have been funny too since were in the Carter hangover recession, but after the assassination attempt in ’81 it would’ve been too soon.
Zemeckis had Reagan jokes in Top Secret (and perhaps Airplane II (can’t remember that one specifically) — which were sort of typical actor-type jokes, etc.
That’s what I figured the answer would be – it would render the line invalid. Thanks!
The team of Zucker/Abrahams/Zucker did Top Secret! and, in addition to the Reagan joke (about his being an actor turned president) they got in a Jimmy Carter joke, too… something about “escaping in a balloon during the Jimmy Carter presidency” even though the film takes place in the 40s!
Airplane (by the ZAZ gang) had the “I haven’t felt this awful since we saw that Ronald Reagan film” line but Airplane II was written and directed by Canadian filmmaker Ken Finkleman and is much more savage: naming a mental hospital after him, joking about senility, etc.