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Hollyyy Porsche...

I really liked Lightning McQueens (played by scruffy Owen Wilson) awestruck reaction when he first saw Sally (Bonnie Hunt in the Blue Porsche) in the Pixar movie "Cars". It's pretty much the same reaction i have when i see one of my favorite cars, such as, among other cars a Porsche. Sally though was a very uncommon color for a Porsche especially in that body type (996 Carrera). You may see that baby bluish color in the early 80's Porsches but i doubt you would find them in the late models. Another thing i thought was odd when i saw the cast of characters was why the Porsche, which plays Lightning McQueens love interest, was played by a relatively older actor Bonnie Hunt. Of course that oddity was answered once i saw the movie, the Porsche played a former L.A. lawyer who left the fast life behind and found solace in the small but bustling town of Radiator Springs off historic route 66 (the town i'm sure is fictitious), well bustling until they built an Interstate nearby which pretty much obscured Radiator Springs from the face of the Earth. So you could say she fits the bill...

The movie was hilarious and really good in a 'Finding Nemo' kind of a way but somewhat very predictable, although if you consider the premise, that might be okay... I literally Laughed Out Loud in one of the opening scenes " The Piston Cup". Its an offshoot to the NASCAR Winston Cup Series (now replaced by NEXTEL as the main sponsor). Without the benefit of review and synopsis, I knew young and brash Lighting McQueen was going to run into trouble and possibly risk not making the unprecedented Piston Cup tie-breaker race in California once he fell off the trailer (he fell off the trailer because his Truck Driver fell asleep, lol how funny is that?). Although he was impertinent, i knew that he was going to befriend the entire town during his short stay there, repaying his debt to society, and that they would lament his departure once gone. Perhaps the most obvious of all scenarios was the fact that one of the local inhabitants was a former three time Piston Cup Champion named Doc Hudson (played by Paul Newman) who left the limelight after a horrid racing accident and has been livng in obscurity for the past 50 years, i mean instantly i knew, once Doc Hudson's secret was discovered serendipitously by Lightning that he would eventually become his crew chief. Even for a non-Nascar fan that was almost self-evident, right?

Lighting McQueen, like most of the leading men in movies now and then, would eventually end up with the fair leading lady, i mean that's almost a law in movies. Their love story, although your typical 'girl despises guy then guy grows on the girl' scenario, it was pretty cool and cute even. You get over the somewhat puzzling idea that an exotic sports car big time lawyer would move to a small town once she told her almost tragic sentimental journey from Big City to busted up Radiator Springs. You almost felt sorry for Sally when Lighting was finally leaving. However, you knew after the race there would be a sweet reunion because that was the right thing to do. No, i don't mean the right thing to do in the movie, i mean the right to do period. Yes i totally got into this love interest, because if i have learned anything in life, it's that Alfred Lord Tennyson was right -- Better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all--. Freakin' corny, but hell, he is right, damn it...

Despite its predictive nature, the movie was nothing but pure entertainment and ingenuity. Everything was just done right, its like those jeans that fit just right... It was hilarious but not overly outrageous, the cars were fine in detail but still naturally cartoonish, the cast was star studded but not to the point of insanity... The gruffy former three-time Piston Cup Champ Doc Hudson character played by Paul Newman was a nice touch and the Michael Schumacher skit-- just magnifico.

Like i said, done just right, like a Porsche...

Posted by: Marc Gabay
Thursday, November 09, 2006