Hands on a Hardbody: The Documentary
Twenty-four contestants compete in an endurance/sleep deprivation contest in order to win a brand new Nissan Hardbody truck. The last person to remain standing with his or her hand on the tr... Read allTwenty-four contestants compete in an endurance/sleep deprivation contest in order to win a brand new Nissan Hardbody truck. The last person to remain standing with his or her hand on the truck wins. An absurd marketing gimmick at first glance, the contest proves to be much more.... Read allTwenty-four contestants compete in an endurance/sleep deprivation contest in order to win a brand new Nissan Hardbody truck. The last person to remain standing with his or her hand on the truck wins. An absurd marketing gimmick at first glance, the contest proves to be much more...
- Awards
- 3 wins total
Featured reviews
One person here commented that the film exploits the poor people in the contest. I disagree. The people are presented as rounded individuals and the film includes interviews with the main characters, showing their viewpoints and not in a condescending way. The audience will find them amusing, but the tension comes from taking the contest seriously, and therefore, we take the contestants seriously too. We laugh at the human condition.
It's a shame this DVD is out of print. We still need this film!
This movie follows 20 people in their attempt to win a pickup truck. What I loved about this film is that (a) even that there's no action sequences with special effects, the film has a wonderful sense of tension and suspense, due largely to (b) the fact that the director doesn't just turn the camera on and expect magic to happen, but managed to interview a number of the contestants before hand and really get into their heads via some well done interviewing and editing. This film has some wonderful psychological portraits, which make the suspense heightened as you wait to see how the contestants hold up over the very long wait.
While I watched this, I was sort of reminded of the Dogma 95 resolution, to only use hand-held cameras and available situations, so that the story and the acting are what stand out, not "movie magic." By those standards, this film measures up quite well -- and it's not even fiction!
Did you know
- TriviaIn 2005, the competition was halted after one of the contestants broke into a nearby Kmart, took a shotgun from the sporting goods section, and committed suicide, which occurred during one of the breaks in the contest.
- Quotes
Benny Perkins - 1992 Winner: I like to get down there earlier so my odds are higher.
- ConnectionsReferenced in Bernie (2011)
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Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official site
- Language
- Also known as
- Hands on a Hard Body
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Gross US & Canada
- $563,482
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $7,607
- Jul 12, 1998
- Gross worldwide
- $563,482