Review: The Gumball Rally

Confectionary company head Michael Sarrazin organises (and competes in) the title illegal cross country road race, with humourless cop Norman Burton determined to put a stop to it all. Tim McIntire plays Sarrazin’s friendly rival, with Raul Julia turning up as an amorous, Ferrari-driving Italian, and Susan Flannery plays a somewhat butch female driver. Steven Keats and Wally Taylor play cops who nonetheless compete in the race using their cop car authority to their advantage.

 

There were a slew of these comic car race/road race movies in the 70s and 80s, and this 1976 Chuck Bail (a former stuntman who directed “Cleopatra Jones and the Casino of Gold”) entry is pretty typical of them. Scripted by Leon Capetanos (“Greased Lightning”, “Down and Out in Beverly Hills”), if you like this sort of thing, you’ll like this even if the star wattage on this one is surprisingly low. Usually these things are jam-packed with stars, but this one goes more the character actor route. It’s fairly watchable for what it is, but I prefer this kind of thing when it involves David Carradine and Sly Stallone running over old ladies and hospital patients. “Death Race 2000” this ain’t.

 

The film does have a young-ish Raul Julia as an amorous, Ferrari-driving Italian, which is good for a few giggles. He steals the show, and I kinda liked the “Wacky Races” vibe with all the different vehicles. Michael Sarrazin – looking a heck of a lot like Peter Fonda – is just OK in the lead. A pre-Buddy Holly Gary Busey is wasted as an excitable hick mechanic. He just hoots and hollers a lot. As this film’s Jackie Gleason lawman ‘villain’, Norman Burton is forgettable, unfunny, and uninteresting. I did like Vaughn Taylor and his English companion drinking and driving, there’s little amusing bits here and there. Only mild amusements, but still present nonetheless. Harvey Jason gets the film’s most slapstick-y part as a Hungarian motorcyclist. So if you’re into slapstick, you’ll enjoy him. The big problem here for me is that once everyone hits the road and starts racing – the crux of the film – the characters become less interesting as we just get lots and lots of driving.

 

OK for its type, sure. But just OK…for it’s type. Diverting I guess, car racing enthusiasts might want to bump the rating up a bit. I just would’ve preferred more focus on the characters rather than the slapstick and racing.

 

Rating: C+

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