Greased Lightning

This one has been a favorite of mine ever since I first watched it on cable in the late 70's. Richard Pryor is just perfect as Wendell Scott, the first black stock-car racing champion. The rest of the cast is great as well, all perfect in their roles. This is definitely a perfectly cast film!

The film itself is very decent but does have a few problems, most notably that once Wendell starts racing there seems to be too many large gaps in time, as if a lot of footage that has been left on the cutting room floor. But the script does move along well even with that problem.

I would think Pryor fans especially would pick this up on DVD if it ever got a proper release, in widescreen, some commentary, and with those obviously deleted scenes left behind. Hopefully this will be on DVD before some Hollywood clown remakes this with tons of computer effects crap and ruins the whole thing.

If you're a race fan, you may not have heard of Wendell Scott. He was one of the most under rated race car drivers of all time, and for all of the wrong reasons. It really makes a person wonder how great he might have been if someone looked beyond the color of his skin.

This movie captures that struggle Wendell must of felt. This movie also shows what a great actor Richard Pryor really could have been if he was cast in more serious rolls, instead of just comedies. Sure there there was some humor in this movie, but nothing like his later movies. Richard and Clevon Little played well off of each other. Maybe this is why this movie is all but forgotten about because this movie is somewhat out of character for Richard. Sure, it is not completely an accurate account of Wendell's life, but it is one best movies Richard Pryor ever made.

So if you see it, don't expect a scream fest. But may I suggest that you see it just to see what a great actor, not comedian Richard Pryor was.

I was going to rate this movie a 5/10 or lower based upon the start. It was so absurd.

Wendell Scott (Richard Pryor) was a moonshiner steadily running from the law. He was so good he would always get away from the local sheriff in Danville, Virginia. He was able to parlay his moonshining into NASCAR racing.

That's not the absurd part. What was absurd was that the police knew who he was, knew he was running liquor, yet, for whatever reason, they had to catch him in the act to arrest him. If they couldn't catch him in his car with the booze then they would have to let him go. It was like watching Dukes of Hazard.

But, because the way the movie wrapped up and, more importantly, because Wendell Scott was a real person--I couldn't give it a bad rating in good faith. Pryor, however ill-suited for the role, represented a real black man that really won in NASCAR in the 60's. That's powerful. So, even if the movie was overly dramatized, I have to respect them bringing Wendell Scott to the public.

This movie showed the life of one mans adversity in a sport that he loved but not always loved him back. I had the great pleasure of meeting Wendell Scott at a car show in the 80's. He was a very kind hearted man that loved to meet and greet people. I have this movie on tape so that I can show my son when he grows up. It is a great story that every man of any race should see.

It's not often I get to see a movie that isn't 1) unbelievably complicated in psychological meaning OR 2) unbelievably complicated in futuristic technology SO

I found it GREAT ENTERTAINMENT, REFRESHING, POSITIVE, AND most of all CLEAN, HEALTHY FUN!

This is the best I've seen Richard Pryor star in, and the real life Horatio Alger story is a real force for success motivation, even though I am a WASP.

Only the jaded and/or mean spirited would turn this one down.