Short Take: Used Cars

Used Cars, directed by Robert Zemeckis, is a great slapstick comedy, and wonderfully free of sentimentality. The rule of the film’s humor is that everything is corrupt, and everybody is out to fleece everyone else. Jack Warden plays twin brothers who own competing used-car lots across the street from each other in Arizona. The brother who owns the more upscale lot is trying to put the other out of business, but he’s always thwarted. The usual obstacle is the other brother’s head salesman (Kurt Russell), a resourceful fast-talking charmer who always stays one step ahead of the various schemes. He also counters them with a few of his own. The rivalry between the two businesses ultimately escalates into all-out war. The most hilarious set piece has one lot blowing up the other’s inventory in a live TV commercial. The brother who owns the upscale lot only gets the upper hand when his niece (Deborah Harmon) takes over her father’s business. That sets off a chain of events that climaxes with the grand comic spectacle of an army of clunkers racing across the desert to save the day. It probably goes without saying, but the film also gets plenty of laughs from the various salesman scams throughout its running time. Kurt Russell is a terrific comic lead. No sensible person would trust his character further than they could throw him, but he’s immensely likable, and he gives the film a good deal of its high spirits. Jack Warden is hilariously cartoonish as the more ruthless of two brothers, and pleasantly down-to-earth as the other. The cast also includes Gerrit Graham, Frank McRae, Al Lewis, Michael McKean, and David L. Lander. The film’s great scene-stealer is the second brother’s pet beagle Toby. The script is by Zemeckis and producer Bob Gale. Donald M. Morgan is credited with the bright, beautifully composed cinematography.