User reviews

Kurt Russell is Rudy Russo a slimy, dishonest used car salesman working for Luke Fuchs (Jack Warden) who yearns to be in Congress, where the real payola is. When Luke dies from one of the schemes of his evil brother, Roy (Jack Warden again pulling double duty, who owns his own used car lot across the street) to get Luke's car lot, as his is going to be bulldozed to make room for a new offramp. It's up to Rudy to hide Luke's death from both Roy and Luke's daughter, Barbara (Deborah Harmon), whom Rudy is falling for despite himself. This movie is one of Robert Zemeckis's best films (right up there with the first "Back to the Future"), but whereas that's more or less a kid's fantasy, however great it might be. This is a true blue adult comedy that wears it's R rating on it's sleeve. And is all the more hilarious for it. Filled with a great many quotable lines, memorable scenes, and wonderfully zany characters, it's no wonder that I love it so much.

My Grade: B+

DVD Extras: Commentary by Robert Zemeckis, Kurt Russell, and Bob Gale; Outtakes; TV spot; 8 Radio spots; Advertising Gallery; filmagraphies; and Trailers for "So I Married an Axe Murderer", "Multiplicity" and "Groundhog Day"

Eye Candy: Deborah Harmon and Cheryl Rixon each get topless

Following "I Wanna Hold Your Hand", Robert Zemeckis directed the equally silly "Used Cars", about the antagonistic high jinx between two used car salesmen (Kurt Russell and Jack Warden). This isn't the sort of movie that you watch to change your life or pick up on double meanings or anything like that; you watch it to have fun. And indeed you will! Whether it's the R-rated commercials, or anything else, the movie's a hoot the whole way through. Like "Big Trouble in Little China" and "Overboard", it shows that Kurt Russell really works best in comedy. Just great.

A mile of cars. Imagine that...

Around the time that Steven Spielberg's WWII comedy started vanishing from the collective moviegoer memories, the entire 1941 team, also including producer John Milius co-writing with Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale, had a new movie out that bombed in theaters, unlike 1941 that, despite its maligned reputation, did turn a profit...

The irony is the Robert Zemickis directed USED CARS, co-written by Gale and produced by Milius and Spielberg, was getting the kind of "sleeper" attention within its predecessor's ebbing wake...

As the decade drove on, thanks to cable and the video boom, USED CARS became a beloved comedy classic while 1941 was mired in every "worst movie" list...

And CARS is a terrific little film taking place on a used car lot, of course... or rather two of them, each owned by twin brothers, both played by Jack Warden...

Luke Fuchs is the underdog with an underdog staff led by Kurt Russell in his first real chance to grow beyond the previous two decade's worth of Disney flicks (right before John Carpenter turned him from a bland TV Elvis into a hard-edge science-fiction Clint Eastwood ala ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK and THE THING)...

As salesman/would-be politician Rudy Russo, Russell embraces the attributes of a likeable anti-hero scumbag alongside neurotic schemer Gerritt Graham, giant black mechanic Frank McRea and a trained beagle named Toby...

They're all fighting the evil corporate-backed brother Leo (aided by lawyer Joe Flaherty and an intense Harry Northup): his "gallant" car lot economically trouncing the dilapidated "goofus" across the street...

Therein USED CARS proudly touts the unapologetic R-rating, which probably kept it from being initially successful...

A shame because the curse word overkill (in particular Jesus Christ, uttered more than a Billy Graham sermon) and a few nude shots aren't entirely necessary...

Although, as a dressed-down conventional comedy mixed with a supped-up drive-in exploitation, it's glaringly obvious Zemeckis/Gale were, before igniting the mainstream with BACK TO THE FUTURE, proving to Spielberg they could do their own raunchy thing their own raunchy way, more ANIMAL HOUSE than CLOSE ENCOUNTERS...

And in that, the first half is the most entertaining and humorous, providing glimpses into various creative/crafty stages of sheer unbridled dishonesty, wielded by these tattered lowbrow salesman...

From, right off the bat, changing a speedometer to the most involving sequences making "illegal commercials" (with the help of early hackers Michael McKean and David L. Lander of Lenny & Squiggy fame): breaking into a live football game and even President Jimmy Carter's televised address...

And while the gluttonous glee's eventually curbed by a sweet-natured yet ultimately equally-crooked woman-next-door Deborah Harmon as Russell's subtle love-interest, so much downright fun's had early on that the second half drags comparably once these lovable liars are literally taken to court...

At which point USED CARS, like 1941, goes all-out with enough action-packed/vehicle-smashing distractions to sell this gloriously addictive wreck into something that feels brand spanking new.

One of the funniest movies ever made. I remember watching it on video in the early '80s and expected something really bad (from the cover on the video cassette). There was a movie released around the same time called GAS, which was awful, awful, awful. I saw Used Cars after GAS and expected the worst. And Used Cars is STILL as funny as ever. Perhaps even funnier now (and interesting to note that Kurt Russell really displays great comic timing in this, and it is director Robert Zemeckis' only R-rated film). Zemeckis was one naughty school boy with this film, and those expecting something along the order of Forrest Gump, Back to the Future or Castaway will be in for a surprise! If you're a fan, get the DVD - the commentary with Russell and Zemeckis and screenwriter Bob Gale is priceless. I think they were drinking a little when they did the commentary. It is one of the most entertaining commentaries I have heard.

A classic in bad taste, in the best Mel Brooks and Farrelly Brothers fashion--and 50 bucks never killed anyone!

Watch movie at least once a year, truly underrated. If you have never watched, take the time to do so..

A comedy written by the guys behind "Back to the Future" and featuring Kurt Russell? I'm in. And a no-nonsense exercise in sophomoric humor, it is (which isn't a bad thing).

Russell plays the sleazy used car salesman to the hilt, showcasing some admirable comedic chops (as well as a gift for physical comedy). And Jack Warden is hilarious in the dual role of the Fuchs brothers, giving a delightfully nasty performance as the scheming Roy L. Fuchs. But Frank McRae easily steals the show with his random tirades and misfit sense of humor.

Chock full of frivolous profanity, topless ladies and sight gags, "Used Cars" shows a cynical sense of humor on the part of the writers (Zemeckis, Gale) and feels like something John Landis would've done (with an "Animal House"ian ending). It's cheap and sleazy, and makes no apologies for it. And the laughs come naturally.

7.5/10

Rudolph 'Rudy' Russo (Kurt Russell) sells used cars in a almost failed shop owned by Luke Fuchs (Jack Warden). In this shop they sell wrecked cars, with the stripping painting and other horrible things but Russo has a dream: make a good publicity of the shop, sell all the damaged cars to make money and run for a Senate's chair. Luke's brother Roy (also played by Warden) also has a used car shop right in front of his and he also has a plan: To buy his brother shop and moved out to it since the City Hall has planned a project that's gonna made him close his spot.

In "Used Cars" the rivalry between car salesman's and their weapons to attract more clients is a very funny thing. Russo is a talented guy who uses of deceiving and smart moves to sell a used car but he's not selling so much lately. After Luke's death things got worse and he knows that Luke's brother wants to take over his business He hides Luke's corpse, saying to all even to Luke's estranged daughter (Deborah Harmon) that he's traveled to Florida and starts to run with the things on the shop making awkward and funny commercials. Along with Jeff (Gerritt Graham, one of the most funny actors I've seen. Great performance he has here) another salesman and a mechanical (Frank McRae) they produce with a couple of friends some of the weirdest commercials ever, interrupting a football game or President Jimmy Carter's speech, leaving the audience in a total state of shock.

In real life we would probably hate these characters because all they do is lie to obtain a sale. But writers Bob Gale and Robert Zemeckis (who directed the movie too) saw a great opportunity to make a very intelligent and funny movie about salesman who don't care about anything except themselves. One moment that you can die laughing is when Jeff is trying to sell a big car to an big family. He tells to the family to make a test-drive and meanwhile he puts his dog Toby under the car and puts something on the wheels. Then the car passes by and he starts to cry, says that they killed his dog and convinced the family to buy the car. This scene is very funny because the dog wasn't killed and he acted so ridiculously funny, it's such a smart dog.

There's a war between Russo and Roy about who's gonna win the possession of the shop; the publicity lies and many other things. This is one the first films directed by Robert Zemeckis ("Back to the Future", "Cast Away", "Contact") and it's so strange not seeing any visual effects here. By the end of the movie I couldn't believe that this is one of his works. And it's a great film, very underrated and surprisingly funny. 10/10

Kurt Russell stars in this early 80's comedy with an amazing supporting cast. Many familiar faces from the 70's and 80's including Jack Warden, Gerrit Graham, Frank McRae and President Jimmy Carter. Although this was a major production, this was shot in just 28 days. While more of the films of this large of cast and budget were shot in 40-60-100 days, Used Cars took less than a month to produce. A wonderful satire on salesmen and political candidates, the movie attempts to show the comparison and does so. The final climax with the western style chase scene through the Arizona desert is right out of a John Wayne movie. It raps the entire movie up in a wonderful package filled with comedy and a good ending. One of the better comedies of the early 80's.

This is one funny movie. Kurt Russell shows his comedic side and is hysterical - so are Gerrit Graham and Jack Warden. Robert Zemeckis made a gem very few people saw and this is my favorite movie of his. See it if you want to laugh like hell.

Rudy Russo (Kurt Russell) is an unscrupulous used car salesman of a rundown lot owned by Luke Fuchs (Jack Warden). Rudy wants to run for State Senate. Luke is willing to lend him the $10k needed as long he promises to help him keep his lot from his brother Roy (Jack Warden). Roy owns the lot across the street, and has tried buying off the mayor and sending in the Consumer Protection Agency. He even tries to kill Luke by sending in somebody to scare him to death. The scheme actually works and Rudy hides Luke's body with the help of Jeff (Gerrit Graham) and Jim (Frank McRae). They pretend that Luke is going to Florida. Rudy starts doing crazy schemes pirating the big football game broadcast, having strippers, and breaking into a presidential broadcast. Then Luke's estranged daughter Barbara (Deborah Harmon) shows up.

This is the start of a great run by Robert Zemeckis. This is hilarious starting with the outrageous boob shot in the pirated commercial. Kurt Russell is doing great. The wacky schemes are mostly funny. It just needs an extra stupid side kick for some wild physical comedy like Belushi or Bill Murray or John Candy. The pairing of David Lander and Michael McKean comes close, but they're only in the movie when they pirate broadcasts.

I read the other reviews for "Used Cars", and found each to be positive and supporting this movie. Each user said that it was hilarious.

Well, after I saw the feature, I was greatly disappointed, mainly in Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale for the profane and rather pointless script, and for Speilgerg for actually producing a film like this.

--THE GOOD--

• The film was funny at times. A few scenes are a bit memorable

• The stunts were outstanding

• The dog (Toby, played by "Peanuts") is excellent and is the best member of the

--THE BAD--

• The dog (Toby, played by "Peanuts") is excellent and is the best member of the cast (A dog can do better than Kurt Russell? Watch this film)

• EXTREMELY profane movie, with unnecessary nudity and swearing

• The film was not edifying in any way

• It is an embarrassment to the country of the United States

I actually don't recommend this movie, unless you really want to see it. It is intended to be a comedy, but will really get only a few laughs out of you. There are two or three scenes that are really funny, but that's it. The movie is 1 hr and 54 minutes long (basically 2 hours), and each funny scene lasts only a minute.

Don't let the other reviews fool you, because they already fooled me. The authors of those reviews are most likely great fans who saw the film when it first came out. Well, now, the movie isn't that great. It really is about a 5/10, highest 6.5/10. Not a movie for kids. Not a movie for most people.

One of Spielberg's earlier works, this comedy in the "Caddyshack" school of cheap laughs is hilarious. Lots of great one liners. Watch it with the guys, and let the wives watch something else like The LifeTime Channel.

Used Cars started at a significant deficit for me because I'm not inclined to like any fast-talking slick car salesman, and this movie is all about those guys. In fact, these are the worst of the worst because they are knowingly ripping off the public and they seem to be in it just for the fast dollar. I genuinely hated these characters from the first moment we met them. However, there was just a minor bit of saving grace in the fact that Kurt Russell is still a ridiculously charming guy, and I WANT to like him even if he is acting like a creep. Also one of Jack Warden's characters and Deborah Harmon's character are nice people, so you don't want to see them suffer. But my investment in the stakes of the film was extremely low, since I don't particularly care if both used car lots get shut down.

The logic of the world we see in Used Cars is almost comically ridiculous. In fact, I wasn't laughing at many of the things I knew they expected to be jokes, but I chuckled a number of times at the backwards way the law worked in the film. The fact that someone can get away with violence, nudity, and pre-empting live TV for an advertisement is insane. But then it becomes laughable that a simple one-word exaggeration is grounds for getting your business shut down in the same movie. Let's see...what will the judge crack down on more, "a mile of cars," or bare boobs preempting a football game? It's just dumb movie logic, and I never thought it added to the comedy in a good way, but more in a way where I was laughing at the film. I still had a few chuckles with Used Cars, and the final big car convoy was admittedly fun, even if I hated most of the people driving in it.

Early Robert Zemeckis movies tell me that Robert Zemeckis should never have worked from a large budget. His small movies have all of his charms and none of his major issues. He builds clockwork like plots, fills them with fun characters, and tells the stories with an infectious energy. He's like Nolan with less pretention and a greater sense of fun. Used Cars is a very fun early example of how Bob Zemeckis and Bob Gale could put their heads together to put on this kind of show.

The movie begins with one of Zemeckis's wonderful long tracking shot, starting from a car suspended in the air over a dusty road, panning down to another car on the ground with someone tinkering under the dashboard on his back, and finally to the odometer that suddenly jumps back several hundred thousand miles. Out pops Rudolph Russo, played by a young Kurt Russell. He's a used car salesman with big dreams of buying his way into the local political machine. He's sold everything he has, but he just needs another $10,000 to get to the required $60,000 donation that will get him in. The problem is that the car lot he works on is the run down sibling of the successful used car lot across the street. The two lots are owned by brothers as well. Luke is the kindly owner the lot where Rudolph works, and Roy is the owner of the lot across the street. Both are played wonderfully differently by Jack Warden. Roy wants Luke's lot, and has been willing to use underhanded means to get his hands on it, unsuccessfully so far.

Luke, though, suddenly dies of a heart attack, and Rudolph is suddenly faced with an out of reach goal. He'll never get that $10,000 if Roy inherits the lot and demolishes it, so Rudolph hides Luke's body and starts running the lot the way he wants. His methods tend to involve ethically risky things, and this is where the movie gets a lot of its humor. It's all outrageous stuff, starting with hijacking the television feed of a local football game where they interject an ad hoc commercial that accidentally results in female nudity. It boosts sales. He hires strippers to dance on top of the cars the same night that Roy puts on a family friendly carnival as a promotion across the street. It boosts sales.

In the midst of this appears Luke's long-lost daughter, Barbara. She wants to finally reconnect with her father, but Rudolph has buried her father in a hole in the lot in order to earn $10,000 for his nascent political career. It doesn't help that he ends up falling for her. When she figures it out, despite the rather outrageous ploy to dig up Luke, pretend he's coming back from vacation in Miami, and get his corpse to drive, covered in gasoline, into a power line so that his car explodes. She kicks him off the lot, tries to take over, and films a commercial that Roy is able to use his connections to manipulate into her making a false statement. Roy uses that to get her shut down, but Rudolph comes to the rescue. The assertion inserted into her commercial was that she had miles of cars, but she only had a couple dozen on her lot. Roy has used his connections to the governmental power centers to go after her far more than the law would require with the prospect of shutting the lot down completely.

Well, Rudolph tells Barbara to simply say that she has miles of cars. How will Rudolph bridge the gap between the reality and the assertion? Well, this is where the Bobs' clockwork like plotting comes into play. Several little things were established very early in the film, in particular that there's a car lot a ways away that has a couple hundred junkers that Rudolph could have bought but decided not to. There's also a driving education teacher from the local high school with a couple hundred students in need of practice. All of this comes together in a madcap chase as Rudolph and Barbara get the gaggle of students to the cars and then back to the lot. It's high energy and really fun and funny along the way.

Of course it all comes down to the wire, and everything gets resolves satisfactorily. There's nothing particularly challenging about the film, but that helps it along with its light touch. Rudolph's move away from his dreams of politics could have been sorted out better. It makes sense as he watches the machine grind his newfound love down into dust, but it seems mostly forgotten by that point. The opening act is also kind of slow and drags a bit, but everything ends up paying off anyway. Still, I really did enjoy this early Zemeckis film.

One of the best films produced by Steven Spielberg, full of comedy and much, but even a lot of action. Full of fantastic scenes, with a truly fantastic story, funny, captivating and fun. I highly recommend it. One of the best movies ever.

This is a romantic comedy, but not one I would watch with my wife!

The tasteless jokes and one-liners roll out almost non-stop.

The movie verifies most everything we believe about used car salesmen, the "My boss will have a heart Attack" sales scene nearly brings me to tears I laugh so hard. Russell is at his best with some of the best character actors around joining in, I especially like the goofy Lenny and Squiggy, they just play two very disturbed individuals. Don't look for any deep meaning here, just crude humor a a very funny movie.



I give it 8/10

Rudy Russo (Kurt Russel) is a used car salesman in a lot right across the road from another used car lot, a much more successful one, run by Mr. Roy Fuchs (sounds like 'Fukes' by the way, played by Jack Warden), the much more successful of the two Fuchs brothers. The other Fuchs brother, Luke (also Warden), is on much harder times, and with a heart condition. Russo wants to just raise enough money so his handsome mug can get into a state senator position- he already has the printout made up of his profile in the position- but his hopes are curtailed briefly with the near-sudden death of Luke from a heart attack (a sabotage, to be sure, but just one of many).

The way to fight back: he and his crew, Jeff (Graham) and Jim (McRae) film crazy commercials that cut into special events, like football games and Jimmy Carter's address to the nation. A big hit, sure, but then what about Roy's 'who-do-you-think-your-fooling' vendetta, with the reappearance of Luke's daughter Barbara (Harmon) in the mix? It's this set-up, more or less, which makes up the wonderfully nutty atmosphere of Used Cars, which is maybe more outrageous, and maybe just as funny, as other notorious comedies of 1980 (Airplane and Caddyshack namely, though Blues Brothers still slightly takes the cake with the predilection for wild car stunts). Zemeckis and Bob Gales' screenplay is about as savage satirically as an episode of South Park, or even Network, as it views this world of desperate, mean, and crude car salesman with an appropriate amount of cynicism.

While there's also the exuberance and wild adventure quality to the picture that one sees in a lot of Zemeckis's work as a director, it's just fun to see him go for broke, or go past points I'd reckon he'd go for (or hoped he would go for if he had the cojones, which here he definitely does), like with the filming of the commercials (first one more zany, the second probably funnier as Jeff dons a good-old-boy get up and shoots at/explodes some cars and Jim. Beneath the fun, Zemeckis doesn't want the audience to forget what this group is in: pure, American bull-s***, some of it of the raunchy, all-in-good-fun-and-profit kind like the late Luke Fuchs' ilk, and meaner and nastier with Roy Fuchs.

Taking aside the given shallow romantic sub-plot, barely revisited by film's end, or the threat of the climax running off the rails of it being like some crazy late 70s-early 80s send up of an old Western, there's a fantastic cast here for this great script. Russell, often donning a very short tie and polka-dot suit, and with that grin and look like the most atypical of swindlers, and he exudes so much charm and sleaziness that he can turn to one or the other or both on a dime, making it a rare comic powerhouse not to be found much elsewhere in his career (the Carpenter flicks are another matter). Also a lot of fun are Jack Warden and Jack Warden, putting in Roy Fuchs a bonafide antagonist with a full-blown two-dimensional character (make that one and a half dimensional, today's your lucky day folks!) Also, there's Graham, who is a really cool surprise- on top of this with his obscure turn in Home Movies from the same year- as the other dealer, who stoops so low as to use his dog's presumed death to sell a station wagon. Hell, there's even a wacko judge late in the film that's a total hoot.

It's very quotable ("Margaret, let's take a look under the hood, shall we?"), it takes itself only so much seriously that we can get invested in the story, and its level of raunch is still high enough, and hilarious enough, to get get the likes of morning DJ shock-jocks laughing about some of its classic scenes today. It's so unlikely, but it might just be one of Zemeckis's best, a small tour-de-force early in a career that would otherwise be (fun/sometimes great) blockbusters and practically always chock-full of special effects.

Bob Zemekis struts his stuff along with regular aide-de-camp writer Bob Gale to produce a great early 80s comedy. Laughs fly non-stop as an eclectic cast of characters, led by the always-great Kurt Russell, get involved with events that no normal person would deal with. Sexual innuendoes, complicated misunderstandings, and pirated commercials during the President's speech are a few of the elements that work well here. Truly a movie that will always enjoy repeated viewings. Why can't modern-day comedies be more like this one?

Used Cars ***1/2 stars out five as art, ***** as rock hard entertainment Zemeckis's best film, this often misunderstood move is a fun and savage attack on bankrupt American values circa the late 1970s. The movie both panders to and is critical of base Americana -- cars (and inevitable car chases), big-tit fetishes, drugs, Elvis worship, sports-politics, beautiful lying, comical fistfights, manipulative television, sniggering racism, salad bars, trailer living, bowling, driver's ed and all the rest of the cheap, tawdry and yet somehow sacred elements that make up the American tapesty. Clumsy, although entirely appropriate to the era and the topic, sentimentality and cliches both enhance and degrade the film. Russell is deftly sleazy and yet likeable, an honest-liar with larcenous intentions buried in a soft-heart. The supporting cast, particularly Jack Warden in a fun double role, is excellent, perhaps save the inevitable cameo of Lenny and Squiggey (tying into their than petty TV fame; pity McKean isn't used better). Bonus: The fight sequence between Warden and Graham is awesome.

This forgotten and funny movie is one of the first movies of acclaimed director Robert Zemeckis . After the success of "Romancing the stone" , "Back to the future" and "Who framed Roger Rabbit ?" Zemeckis became one of the most popular 80's directors . Too bad "Used cars" is sadly overlooked movie . It isn't as good as the movies mentioned above , but it's still a solid fun.

"Used cars" is lovely fun in 80's style . It was written by both Zemeckis and Bob Gale (who wrote the "Back tot the future" trilogy) . I like it over the top humor . It feels like a cartoon in many places , but that's not a bad thing. My favorite jokes are Russel's tricks to make people buy cars , especially the one with dog . The heart attack joke is great too and the commercial. There is great race in the finale of the movie , which shows signs of how talented director Robert Zemeckis is.

Kurt Russell is fun as the wise-guy car salesman . He always had talent for comedy and he doesn't have to be an action hero to be funny. The rest of the cast is solid. Oh , and the dog is cute.

If you'll looking for fun , unpretentious movie to relax you came to the right place. I give it 6/10.