Used Cars

Starring:Kurt Russell, Jack Warden, Gerrit Graham, Frank McRae, Deborah Harmon, Joe Flaherty, David L. Lander, Michael McKean, Michael Talbott, Harry Northup, Alfonso Arau, Al Lewis (III), Woodrow Parfrey, Andrew Duncan, Dub Taylor, Claude Earl Jones, Dan Barrows, Cheryl Rixon, Wendie Jo Sperber, Marc McClure
Director: Robert Zemeckis
Studio: Sony Pictures
Product Type: DVD

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This 1980 film by director Robert Zemeckis gives no indication of things to come in his career (Contact, Forrest Gump), but it is representative of a certain cynical humor he shared early on with writer-partner Bob Gale. Kurt Russell and Jack Warden star in a sketchy comedy about competing used-car salesmen who resort to outrageous tactics to lure customers away from each other. The jokes, like the characters, are intentionally recycled, self-conscious comic fodder from a baby-boomer's lifetime (such as Gale's or Zemeckis's) of immersion in pop culture. That makes Used Cars more pastiche than original (the film's title itself suggests that), but as such it has some good, if vaguely familiar, laughs in it. Russell, particularly, is very funny as a practiced con man. --Tom Keogh

Customer Reviews:

Used Cars-Review.......2007-05-13

Very happy with the condition of the dvd and the timeframne that it was received in.
Thanks

A wickedly funny, funny movie !.......2007-04-05

I just finished seeing USED CARS for maybe the sixth or seventh time, and the first time on DVD. This outrageous and diabolically funny movie from the two Bobs, Zemeckis and Gale, died at the boxoffice in 1980, steamrollered by AIRPLANE, but thanks to cable, VHS, and now DVD, it's alive. . .IT'S ALIVE!!!

USED CARS is a movie for everyone who has ever felt they just got suckered by an auto dealer (which probably means 99.9 percent of the United States). Kurt Russell, cast against type, plays a sleazy used car salesman with an eye on the Mayor's office and, as the film progresses, an unfortunate streak of genuine goodness. As mentioned in the wonderful, hilarious commentary on the DVD, the two Bobs were thinking Bill Murray, but Russell does them proud. Gerrit Graham (of PHANTOM OF THE PARADISE) is Russell's salesman sidekick, and gets one of the movie's best gags (which I won't spoil for you, but it involves a very smart dog, a rock, and a station wagon full of kids). The always welcome Jack Warden gets to play not only the owner of Kurt Russell's car lot, but the owner's realllly oily brother, who owns the lot across the street and can't wait for his sibling to kick the bucket. Warden has a field day (and, as stated in the commentary, this was Warden's first R-rated movie, so he takes advantage of it and cusses up a hilarious storm). Everone else in the cast is just great, from Frank McRae's manic mechanic to Deborah Harmon (from Second City) as Jack Warden's daughter to Al Lewis (yep, Al Lewis!) as a peripatetic Judge to David L. Lander and Michael McKean as technical masterminds who patch in to a Presidential Broadcast. Familiar faces are everywhere in USED CARS; you will see future Director Alfonso Arau, Woodrow Parfey, Joe Flaherty, Dub Taylor, Wendie Jo Sperber, Marc McClure and even Dick Miller in the cast. Everyone gets to have lots and lots of fun.

And. . .acres and acres of Bad Leisure Suits!

The two Bobs did a lot of research for USED CARS, soliciting stories from many actual car salespeople, so when you watch the film bear in mind that these are the stories they could get away with showing--imagine what they COULDN'T use!

This is a laugh riot, the kind of comedy that will have you roaring. Now, it's not for everyone--the humor gets pretty raunchy. Definitely not for kids.

And there is a boatload of special features on the DVD release: hilarious commentary by the two Bobs and Kurt Russell (I wish more DVDs had commentary in which the principals enjoy what they are doing so much!), deleted footage (some of which is infamous), original advertising for USED CARS, radio spots, a TV spot for the actual car dealer who let them use his lot to film, and much more.

This one's a keeper. USED CARS is a funny, funny film. Not Disney funny, but STRIPES, WHERE'S POPPA and BLAZING SADDLES funny. Be careful when you drink your soda during USED CARS: you'll find yourself doing a classic "spit-take"!

"We blew the @#%& out of that over priced muter@#$%" and made a funny funny movie at the same time.......2007-03-27

Ouch, my sides still ache just thinking about this crass, profane, over the top comedy for ADULTS(it's rated "R" for a reason)and i'll watch it many more times before i die. Kurt Russell(fresh off the "Elvis" T.V. movie) SHINES and along with Jack Warden(the slimiest and funniest bad guy ever) rules over this movie like a con-artist king as they one up each other in the slime they use to sell the worst cars to ever grace the screen. Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale(Back to the Future)go for every sick joke they can and find most of them in glorious fashion. From "R" rated ads for T.V.(take that Janet Jackson) to useing dead bodies to reach their goals(you have to watch to find out how) this is one of the funniest movies made in the 80's or ever.

An overlooked comedy classic worth watching........2007-03-16

This was NOT one of Kirk Russell's finer moments, but an admirable effort was given not only by him, but most of the cast as well. This was Russell on the edge of greatness in 1980....a year later, he appeared in a role that would be so shockingly different from "Used Cars" that he seemed like a different person. He landed the lead role in John Carpenter's "Escape from New York", then followed it with Carpenter's gore-fest remake of "The Thing".

There's not much more I can add that hasn't already been said about the late, great Jack Warden, who passed away in 2006. Playing the dual role of feuding brothers Roy and Luke Fuchs, Warden shines but not the Oscar caliber performance that earned him two Best Supporting actor nominations (Shampoo and Heaven Can Wait).

Gerrit Graham, if he'd been given the opportunity, could have carried this movie by himself. He's Russell's superstitious friend and fellow salesman. Graham certainly had some of the funnier moments in the film. In his most memorable scene, Graham, in yet another illegally broadcast commercial, dressed up as cowboy, proclaims that the price of this car is "too f@#king high!", and then begins blasting happily away at the auto with a 12-guage shotgun.

Cheryl Rixon's all-too-brief 'accidental' strip-tease is one of the other highlights of the film. Rixon had gained fame as a Penthouse Pet, then later, the magazine's Pet of the Year in 1979.

This is a great movie for a rainy day or when PBS is having yet another fund drive (big yawn followed by zzzzzzz). The film has its ups and downs, but overall, a solid B+, with some great sight gags.

Kirk Russell was just approaching the zenith of his career, and it's interesting to see him in this kind of role. Like many veteran actors, he's had his share of stinkers (Big Trouble in Little China), but 'Used Cars' seems to fall somewhere in the middle.
Jack Warden is gone now, God rest his soul, but he went on to play other memorable roles...'While You Were Sleeping', 'The Replacements', "Crazy Like A Fox' (TV).
Never quite reaching the star status of his fellow actor Russell, Gerrit Graham sort of faded into quiet obscurity, taking roles in low-budget horror fare like 'Child's Play' and 'C.H.U.D. 2, Bud's CHUD'.
Cheryl Rixon still resides in L.A., and makes her living selling her own custom-designed jewelry known by the name Royal Order.

While there may be better comedies available on DVD, this is an important 'snapshot' showcasing several early careers, and well worth watching. Very recommended.

go get it.......2007-01-31

This was a movie that I saw as a child and i thought it was funny back then and my husband loves it an laugh every time like it's the first time he's seen it and i thought it would be a great movie for my teen son's to watch. I would have given it a ten but you only asked for five.

Great American Rail Journeys Alaska's Gold Rush Train DVD Driftwood Productions Inc. And Oregon Public Broadcasting, 2000. Relive the Gold Rush Era aboard the restored parlor cars of the White Pass & Yukon Route Railroad. from Skagway -- one of the best preserved Alaska frontier cities, and home to the Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park -- journey along the mountainous path used by stampeders in the late1800s to the White Pass Summit and on to Lake Bennett.

Average customer rating:

Great American Rail Journeys Alaska's Gold Rush Train DVD Driftwood Productions Inc. And Oregon Public Broadcasting, 2000. Relive the Gold Rush Era aboard the restored parlor cars of the White Pass & Yukon Route Railroad. from Skagway -- one of the best preserved Alaska frontier cities, and home to the Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park -- journey along the mountainous path used by stampeders in the late1800s to the White Pass Summit and on to Lake Bennett.

Manufacturer: Good Times DVD
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Special Interests | Genres | DVD | Video
ASIN: B000E45TOY

Product Description

Discover abandoned gold rush sites and fascinating lore narrated by local storytellers as you enjoy breathtaking gorges, glacier-fed waterfalls and mountainsides graced with wildflowers. A truly incredible engineering feat, the 100-year-old route is an international Historic Civil Landmark and one of the steepest railroads in the world.

Average customer rating:

Used Cars-Review
A wickedly funny, funny movie !
"We blew the @#%& out of that over priced muter@#$%" and made a funny funny movie at the same time
An overlooked comedy classic worth watching.
go get it

Used Cars [Region 2]
Starring: Kurt Russell , Jack Warden , Gerrit Graham , Frank McRae , and Deborah Harmon
Director: Robert Zemeckis
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video