Greased Lightning

1977 "He drove 'em wild!"
6.4| 1h36m| PG| en
Details

The true life story of Wendell Scott, the first black stock car racing driver to win an upper-tier NASCAR race.

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Reviews

GamerTab That was an excellent one.
VividSimon Simply Perfect
Taha Avalos The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.
Rosie Searle It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.
Wizard-8 I knew nothing about the real life race car driver Wendell Scott before watching this film, so I was really interested to see what this movie would teach me about him. After watching it, I have to say the movie is very uneven. On the positive side, the movie does give the audience a good taste of the various struggles Scott must have gone through with his ambition to be the first black race car driver - we see racism both casual and more intense. As Scott, Richard Pryor does at first seem a little uneasy in a role that's more serious and less comic than usual, but he eventually finds his groove and for the rest of the movie delivers a pretty good performance, from showing joy to showing frustration. On the other hand, the movie sometimes seems aimed at a more yahoo crowd than one that would more appreciate a dead serious examination of the legend, such as the treatment of Scott's time in the moonshine trade (plenty of yuk yuk comedy and car chases.) The screenplay also awkwardly and suddenly jumps ahead in time a number of years a few times, which leads to some unanswered questions. Supporting characters, such as those played by Pam Grier and Beau Bridges, don't get that much to do.Despite flaws such as those, the movie is worth a look. While uneven, it's never a slog to sit through. And though you can tell Scott's real story was in many ways a lot different than what this movie claims, as I said it does give you a good taste of some of what Scott went through.
MartinHafer I had never heard of Wendell Scott before I saw this film. This isn't surprising considering I am not a NASCAR fan nor was Scott all that successful a race car driver. But, he was the first black driver-- and he began racing in an era of extreme overt racism, and for that reason the film clearly deserved to be made...though it does seem to paint a false image of the man when it came to winning races. He was good but he just didn't win very often.The casting in this movie is odd. After all, Richard Pryor plays Scott and this isn't a comedy. And, Pam Grier plays Scott's wife-- and this isn't an action or exploitation film. But regardless, the acting is fine, the story reasonably interesting and it's a nice little homage to the Jackie Robinson of NASCAR. Worth seeing but not the best or most exciting black American film of the era.By the way, since the film was made in the 1970s and is about (mostly) the 1950s, you'll hear a ton of politically incorrect language. I appreciate that, as racism is ugly and I don't want to see it sanitized in the least!
markandjudie I was young when I first saw this movie , but since grown up with it . Everything about this Movie is great from Start to Finish . I recommend watching this movie .Especially if you are racing fan ..I would like to add one thing . One location of the filming was not listed in the credits. From the trailer of the movie , and into 1:42 seconds of the trailer their is a race scene. This was actually filmed in a little town in Byron Georgia at track Called Middle Georgia Speedway. I went to the abandoned track the other day , you can still see the props from were is was filmed. All the Actors worked so well together in this movie .And you could tell Time and patience was essential.
angelo-14 This movie showed that. Nothing can hold you down. Not even color. Wendell Scott showed what a person can do. When the backs and prejudiced are up against the wall. I'm so proud of him I dont know what to do. I can view this movie over and over again.