THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, March 19, 1996 TAG: 9603190030
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E7 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Movie Review
SOURCE: BY MAL VINCENT, MOVIE CRITIC
LENGTH: Medium: 82 lines
``DEUCE COUPE'' is not so much about the 1950s as it is OF the 1950s. With no hint of intentional lampooning, this tale of two brothers who build a hot rod and attempt to come of age could have been made in the '50s themselves.
Free of the satirical edges that recent moviemakers have used to view the era, this is a drive-in movie looking for a drive-in.
Complete with girls who would think twice before ``going all the way'' and boys whose moms allow them to sip eggnog only on ``special occasions,'' it has a delightful naivete that is a throwback to the way everyone likes to think it was.
Back when Eisenhower was in the White House, it could easily have played beside things like ``Thunder Road'' or ``Don't Knock the Rock,'' although it might have been the second feature on the bill.
Today, it may have trouble finding an audience beyond the nostalgia circuit.
Following what must be the most extensive local publicity blitz on record, the movie has opened a full seven years after it was filmed here. It's the only movie in town that gets uproarious applause for its settings. At the preview I attended, the sight of Doumar's Drive-In in Norfolk elicited cheers.
The independently produced, low-budget film is much better than you'd expect. It has an ambitious plot with several surprise twists. On the other hand, things are woefully uneven.
Director Mark Deimel has ambitious shots, like a Christmas tree ornament crashing to smithereens to signify tragedy. At the same time, he has the microphone showing in one scene and many scenes that go on too long.
Most intriguing is this film's overly earnest determination to be positive and uplifting, with some vague kind of message that there are no villains in the world.
Brian Bloom, an actor who makes Brad Pitt look homely, plays Ray, the older brother, the hotshot who wins the local drag race and is everyone's golden boy, especially to his virginal girlfriend Virginia. But Ray runs off to join the Air Force - a move which is pictured as being a cowardly thing to do.
That leaves kid brother Eddie left to take care of the Deuce Coupe, a vehicle that receives as much worship as John Travolta's Greased Lightning in ``Grease.''
The cast works hard and manages to keep a straight face during all the melodramatics, particularly Cameron Dye, who brings some serious intensity to the role of Link, the rival driver who, in another movie, would be the villain. Here, he's merely misunderstood.
Ashley Laurence is Marie Vitelli, the town's bad girl. Even though she's pregnant, she, too, is merely misunderstood.
Alumni from ``American Graffiti'' are on hand: Oscar nominee Candy Clark as the mom and Paul LeMat as the sheriff.
Most lacking, however, is a hip rock score. Terrible retro '50s groups have been recruited to simulate the sounds. ``Deuce on the Loose,'' a new song designed to make up for the fact that rights were lacking for the Beach Boys' ``Little Deuce Coupe,'' is terrible.
I had a lot of fun watching this movie. Why worry if you laughed at moments that weren't intended to be funny? This kind of naivete hasn't existed since, and perhaps not even during, the 1950s.
If only there were a drive-in theater for this ``Deuce Coupe'' to find a home. ILLUSTRATION: Graphic
MOVIE REVIEW
``Deuce Coupe''
Cast: Kieran Mulroney, Brian Bloom, Ashley Laurence, Danielle Von
Zerneck, Cameron Dye, Candy Clark, Paul LeMat
Director: Mark Deimel
Screenplay: James Nichols
Music: Barry Ennis
MPAA rating: PG-13 (some sexual situations but treated in highly
naive ways)
Mal's rating: two stars
Locations: Greenbrier in Chesapeake; Main Gate in Norfolk;
Columbus in Virginia Beach
by CNB