Stroker Ace
Stroker Ace is a 1983 American action comedy sport film directed by Hal Needham and starring Burt Reynolds as the eponymous Stroker Ace, a NASCAR driver.
| Stroker Ace | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster by Drew Struzan | |
| Directed by | Hal Needham |
| Produced by | Hank Moonjean |
| Screenplay by |
|
| Based on | Stand On It by |
| Starring | |
| Music by | Al Capps |
| Cinematography | Nick McLean |
| Edited by | William D. Gordean Carl Kress |
Production company | Warner Bros. Universal Pictures Yahi Productions |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. Universal Pictures |
Release date | July 1, 1983 |
Running time | 94 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $14 million[1] |
| Box office | $11.4 million[2] |
Burt Reynolds turned down the role of astronaut Garrett Breedlove in Terms of Endearment to do this film. The role went to Jack Nicholson, who went on to win an Oscar. Reynolds said he made this decision because "I felt I owed Hal more than I owed Jim" but that it was a turning point in his career from which he never recovered. Although car-themed films starring Reynolds had all previously been successes – including four made with Needham – Stroker Ace flopped. "That's where I lost them," he later said of his fans.[3]
Plot
Stroker Ace is a popular race car driver from Waycross, Georgia, and a three-time champion in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series driving a #7 Ford Thunderbird. An all-or-nothing man, he wins if he does not crash. He is arrogant and pompous, with no regard for the business side of his racing team. He also has an on-track, season-long rivalry with ambitious young driver Aubrey James, who drives the #10 Four-Star Whiskey Buick Regal.
When Stroker runs afoul of his current sponsor, Jim Catty of Zenon Oil, by dumping a load of wet concrete on him, he has to find a new one. Fried-chicken mogul Clyde Torkel, along with his chauffeur, Arnold, and newly appointed director of marketing and public relations, Pembrook Feeny, convince Stroker and his chief mechanic, Lugs Harvey, to sign up with him.
Overlooking his contract by not reading its specifics, Stroker begins a new life as the commercial face for the Chicken Pit fast-food restaurants. (The slogan on Stroker's car reads: "The Fastest Chicken in the South.") His contract proves to stipulate that he must do personal appearances, which include dressing up in a chicken suit—feet included.
Realizing that he is locked into a bad deal, Stroker devises a plan with Lugs to get out of it. Torkel is on to Stroker, though, and allows his antics because he sees the racer as his big ticket to regional fame by promoting the Chicken Pit franchise.
A ladies' man, Stroker tries to seduce the beautiful Pembrook, who is a Sunday School teacher, does not drink, and is a virgin. She spurns all of his advances until he learns to respect her views. One night, after getting her drunk on champagne, he removes her clothing and has a chance to take advantage of her, but decides against it.
Stroker is winning races under the Chicken Pit sponsorship and is in the running for the season-ending championship. At the beginning of the final race, Torkel is offered a deal to sell his franchise for a huge profit. The catch is that if he wins the championship Stroker has to sell chicken for the next two years; if he loses is he out of the contract.
During the race Stroker is at odds with himself. He drops back in the race in an effort to lose, but his ego won't let him so he quickly begins moving back through the pack. Torkel, realizing that Stroker would rather lose than be bound by the contract, makes a public announcement that he is releasing Stroker immediately. He is unaware that Stroker is moving up through the field in an effort to win.
With the news that he is free from the contract, Stroker wins the championship in spectacular fashion by flipping his car over as he crosses the finish line. Torkel then finds that the lucrative offer for his chicken franchise is a fake, cooked up by Stroker and his friends.
Main cast
- Burt Reynolds as Stroker Ace
- Ned Beatty as Clyde Torkel
- Jim Nabors as Lugs Harvey
- Parker Stevenson as Aubrey James
- Loni Anderson as Pembrook Feeny
- John Byner as Doc Seegle
- Frank O. Hill as Dad Seegle
- Cassandra Peterson as Elvira
- Bubba Smith as Arnold
- Warren Stevens as Jim Catty
- Alfie Wise as Charlie
- Cary Guffey as Little Doc
Development
Novel
The film was adapted from the 1973 novel Stand on It, an autobiography of fictional driver "Stroker Ace." The novel's joint authors, William Neely and Robert K. Ottum, based the book on actual events from the racing world but with their protagonist as the subject.[4]
The critic from the Chicago Tribune thought it "would do for stock car racing what... Semi-Tough did for football."[5] "How this one found its way between hard covers is a mystery," wrote The New York Times.
Development
In 1977, Philip Feldman of First Artists Productions announced the company had bought the film rights to the novel to make a vehicle for Paul Newman.[6] The following year Mort Sahl was reportedly writing a script.[7]
Producer Walter Wood read the novel in 1978 and decided it would make a film.[8] "I see it as an innocent, unpretentious comedy," said Wood. "I just wanted it to be a slice of fun." [9]
"It was never my intention to make a 'racing film'," he added. "I wanted a light comedy and that's what I got. I also wanted Hal Needham to direct and Burt Reynolds to star and that's who I got. I knew that they'd know about the milieu and that they'd teach me. Those guys know the film's characters. Stroker is a composite." [10]
He got Hal Needham, who owned a NASCAR racing team with Reynolds, to direct. Needham got Burt Reynolds to star. "I didn't actually ask Burt if he'd like to do it," said Needham, "but when I was in New York I looked him up and told him how funny the script was. Two days later he called and said 'Needham, I want to do that film'. I hadn't been laying a trap for him. With his other commitments I just didn't see how he could do it but he pushed everything back to fit this one in."[11]
The actor's fee was reportedly $5 million.[12] Finance came from Warners and Universal, which both owed Reynolds a film – Universal got domestic theatrical, Warners other domestic and foreign.[13]
The co-stars were Jim Nabors, Loni Anderson, Ned Beatty, Parker Stevenson, and Bubba Smith, with appearances by many NASCAR drivers, such as: Dale Earnhardt, Richard Petty, Neil Bonnett, Harry Gant, Terry Labonte, Kyle Petty, Benny Parsons, Tim Richmond, Ricky Rudd, Cale Yarborough, and announcers Ken Squier, David Hobbs, and Chris Economaki.
The film was Anderson's feature debut, although she was already well known through her appearances in WKRP in Cincinnati and in TV movies.[8][14]
Filming
Stroker Ace was filmed in North Carolina[15][16] and Georgia at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Talladega Superspeedway and the Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, Georgia.
The theme song was performed by Charlie Daniels.
"We wanted to make a very broad comedy and I was worried that the drivers might resent it when they saw it," Wood said. "But they loved the simplicity of it, so I'm off the hook as far as the racing is concerned."[9]
"If you like Burt Reynolds, you'll like this movie," the producer added. "It was made for his fans which, for a producer, is not a bad reason to make a movie. I've never been involved in so commercial a movie. I'm not really that financially-oriented. I always go for the subject. I've lost a couple of fortunes doing that. Making Stroker Ace was like being a kid and running away with the circus. But that's not my lifestyle."[10]
Music
The music score was originally written by Ry Cooder who said the film "when you’re scoring a film about race cars, you’re either playing Deep South funk or rockabilly" and that the movie "had enough racing action to make the rockabilly tempo work. I got this incredible rockabilly ensemble together, and the director just hated our music! He fired all of us right after he heard the tape." However Cooder says he later used the music in his score for Streets of Fire.[17]
Reception
The film was a critical failure. It received five Golden Raspberry Award nominations including Worst Picture, Worst Director, Worst Actress (Anderson) and Worst New Star (also for Anderson), winning one for Jim Nabors as Worst Supporting Actor.
Vincent Canby of The New York Times called it "the must-miss movie of the summer. It's a witless retread of the earlier, far funnier road-movie collaborations of Mr. Needham and Mr. Reynolds, especially of their two 'Smokey and the Bandit' movies."[18] Roger Ebert gave the film 1.5 stars out of four and wrote "To call the movie a lightweight, bubble-headed summer entertainment is not criticism but simply description."[19] Gene Siskel gave the film zero stars out of four, writing "Reynolds' reputation as a serious actor is virtually destroyed with this miserable picture. He's sending only one message here: Fans, I'm in it for the money. What other explanation is possible?"[20] Variety wrote that the Reynolds-Needham team were "just coasting in circles, trying to pick up whatever prize money might be attracted by their track record."[21] Sheila Benson of the Los Angeles Times described Reynolds as "ambling through the movie as though it were a colossal in-joke, which, of course, it must be, since it isn't perceptibly funny to anyone outside Reynolds and Needham's immediate circle."[22] Gary Arnold was somewhat more positive, calling it "a knuckleheaded but amiable summer trifle."[23]
Wood said "For the past five years, Burt has been No. 1 at the box office, and during that period, there has seldom been a good review of anything he's done."[8] However the film was a major commercial disappointment.[24]
Stroker Ace also earned a 20% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 15 reviews, with an average rating of 2.3/10.[25]
Legacy
Comedian Robert Wuhl specifically mentioned Stroker Ace as an example when he said that "Burt Reynolds makes so many bad movies, when someone else makes a bad movie Burt gets a royalty."[26]
For the 2019 Bojangles' Southern 500, Rick Ware Racing will use Stroker Ace's No. 7 car as the basis for their No. 51 car's throwback paint scheme.[27]
References
- "The Unstoppables". Spy. November 1988. p. 92.
- "A record summer at the box office". The Globe and Mail. September 8, 1983. p. E2.
- Modderno, Craig (January 4, 1987). "Burt Reynolds is the Comeback Kid". Los Angeles Times. p. L6. Retrieved July 2, 2014.
- Glick, Shav (December 20, 1973). "Inside Racing Information: Motor Racing". Los Angeles Times. p. D10.
- Markus, Robert (December 21, 1973). "But for snowstorm, Stroker Ace might be revealed". Chicago Tribune. p. C3.
- Kilday, Gregg (December 10, 1977). "Film Clips: Taking Stock at First Artists". Los Angeles Times. p. C9.
- Grant, Lee (June 19, 1978). "Humble Sahl as a Screenwriter". Los Angeles Times. p. F11.
- Chase, Chris (July 8, 1983). "At The Movies – A job for fans of Burt Reynolds". New York Times. p. C6. Retrieved September 25, 2018.
- Ryan, Desmond (June 26, 1983). "Prospect Park Graduate Brings His Movie Home". Philadelphia Inquirer. p. H3.
- Baltake, Jo (July 1, 1983). "Walter Wood, Producer". Philadelphia Daily News. p. 41.
- "Stunt Man's Big Break: Directing: Hal Needham". Los Angeles Times. June 24, 1982. p. I1.
- Harmetz, Aljean (July 26, 1983). "At The Studios, Star Billing Means a Parking Space". New York Times. p. C11. Retrieved September 25, 2018.
- Deans, Laurie (July 9, 1982). "LA Clips – Is E.T. intended to pave the way for alien contact?". The Globe and Mail. Toronto, Ont. p. E3.
- Stewart, Zan (April 29, 1983). "Burt & Loni!: Fast cars! A blonde virgin! And a great chicken suit!". Los Angeles Times. p. N4.
- "NC Film & TV Productions 1980–1989". North Carolina Film Office. Retrieved February 17, 2015.
- "Race Country USA Popular Location For Hollywood". North Carolina Film Office. December 22, 2008. Retrieved February 17, 2015.
- Schweiger, Daniel (December 1996). "Partners in Crime". Film Score Monthly. Vol. 1 no. 76. p. 17.
- Canby, Vincent (July 1, 1983). "Film: 'Stroker Ace' at Wheel". The New York Times. p. C8.
- Ebert, Roger (July 1, 1983). "Stroker Ace". RogerEbert.com. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
- Siskel, Gene (July 1, 1983). "Reynolds really hits the skids in 'Stroker Ace'". Chicago Tribune. Section 3, pp. 4, 6.
- "Film Reviews: Stroker Ace". Variety. July 6, 1983. p. 16.
- Benson, Sheila (July 1, 1983). "'Stroker': You Could Stay Home". Los Angeles Times. Part VI, p. 1.
- Arnold, Gary (July 2, 1983). "Racing Rogue". The Washington Post. p. C1.
- Pollock, Dale (July 14, 1983). "Summer Films: The Why of Those Red-Ink Blues: Summer Movies: Box-Office Blues". Los Angeles Times. p. G1.
- "Stroker Ace (1983)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved April 23, 2018.
- O'Brien, Michael F.X. (February 8, 1991). "Wuhl-Wall – Just Pronounce It Funny". The Hour.
- Page, Scott (August 23, 2019). "Rick Ware Racing releases No. 51 Darlington throwback". Jayski's Silly Season Site. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 23, 2019.