Stroker Ace (1983)

A Disappointing Continuation

It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

It is interesting even when nothing much happens, which is for most of its 3-hour running time. Read full review

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

For racing movie fans, "Stroker Ace" is hard to beat. It's definitely better than Driven and far less effective than Days of Thunder. It offers a comical, honest view of the sport through the life of Stroker Ace, who has secured a ride from a novice car owner intent on leveraging every ounce of Stroker's fame to sell chicken. It's the only race film to cover sponsorship honestly. Few know, Burt Reynolds was a stunt man before making it as an actor. He has always had an affinity for stunt men and this is homage to these icons that entertain us at grave risk to themselves. Hooper is a stunt packed film that is entirely over-the-top in scope from Westerns to bar brawls to cars, you've never seen all of this in one flick. It's a solid movie after all.Overall rating: 7 out of 10.

When Bewitched was running on television half of the plots involved Darrin's job where he and Larry Tate every week contended with yet another egotistical company president. The plot of Stroker Ace hearkens back to those days of Bewitched and it has Burt Reynolds as a NASCAR driver doing everything possible to get out from under a contract with a sponsor who's a blithering idiot.Although Burt certainly gets in his innings in Stroker Ace, especially seeing him in a chicken suit and driving his car in a race in one, the best one in Stroker Ace by far is Ned Beatty. Beatty got an Academy Award nomination for playing the all powerful, malevolent media mogul in Network. Here he takes the same character and plays it for laughs and he's absolutely hysterical. Beatty owns a fried chicken company and he could easily have been one of McMahon&Tate's clients from Bewitched. If outrageous overacting lead by Ned Beatty isn't reason enough to watch Stroker Ace, than certainly the curvaceous Loni Anderson should do. Loni is giving out with her best Marilyn Monroe imitation as Beatty's advertising person who thinks that what Beatty is asking of Reynolds is tasteless and stupid. Of course she falls for Burt on the screen and in real life.I'm not a NASCAR fan, but I don't think you have to be to watch Stroker Ace and enjoy it. I have however become a fan of the Professional Bull Riders in recent years and they have their sponsors set up in a similar fashion as does NASCAR for its various drivers. I don't think the PBR has any sponsors as outrageous as Ned Beatty. If this film was about the PBR I can just see Beatty insisting to Guilherme Marchi that he ride a bull in a chicken suit or something equally bizarre.The film got bad reviews and I can't see why. It's not sophisticated comedy to be sure, but it's not all that bad. And Ned Beatty alone is worth seeing and appreciating Stroker Ace.

In the Nascar Fan Base there is a Curse associated with this movie. For all the Race care divers and how it affected their Carers after the movie. Even the Actors & Director seem to be affected also. Only 2 Drivers were able to contend for more championships and a lot of them have Died or been Killed, Race teams have been disbanded or not been competitive.Most of the Actors have fallen off the charts from were they were before the movie came out. Both Hal Needems Movies (production co.) and Race team is no more. It is a good movie to look to the older days of Nascar. But You might even consider that some of the Tracks that they were racing on then are not on the schedule now either so maybe that was another part of the curse?

Look, this is quite possibly one of the best movies America has to offer the rest of the world. To hate this movie is to hate freedom itself. I remember that the early 80's were a time of uncertainty. The economy was weak, communism threatened us all, and nuclear destruction was almost a certainty. Out of that confusion came a hero, Stroker Ace. Ned Beatty's performance in this movie showed he was never again to be type cast as a one dimensional victim in the wilderness. His triumph is an inspiration to all. The on-screen chemistry between Burt and Loni draws obvious comparisons to Brad and Jennifer. Jim Nabors is a poet. Go see this movie tonight!