GRAND THEFT AUTO - DVD review

You've no doubt heard me mention (and you're no doubt tired of hearing me mention) that Roger Corman is the undisputed king of the B-grade, independent movie and the unofficial godfather of Hollywood. In over half a century as a producer and director, he has given a start to almost everyone of any significance in the industry. "Grand Theft Auto" (1977) was Ron Howard's first big-screen shot at directing, and Roger Corman was the movie's executive producer. This new "Tricked Out Edition" of the film is a part of the Roger Corman Collection, which includes more films than you want to think about.

Here's what Corman has said about the production: "'Grand Theft Auto' was Ron Howard's directorial debut. I first met Ron Howard when he starred in 'Eat My Dust' for me. I couldn't afford Ron's salary, so I gave him a salary and a percentage of the profits. After "Eat My Dust" opened to really huge figures, Ron said he'd do a sequel for exactly the same money, plus he'd do another job for free… he'd direct the movie for nothing! Ron and his father Rance came up with a winning idea for 'Grand Theft Auto,' a chase movie where Ron could be the legitimate lead, but not be in every scene so he could concentrate on his directing. Ron has gone on to direct a series of critically and financially successful films, including the Oscar-winning 'A Beautiful Mind.' I'm proud to have been a vehicle to launch Ron Howard on his esteemed directorial career."

You know all those early roles Howard played where he's a nice, sweet, easygoing kid with little definable personality? In "Grand Theft Auto" he not only directs but stars as a nice, sweet, easygoing kid with little definable personality. And that's exactly what the movie looks like, too. It casually meanders from one car wreck to another with hardly a thought or a glance backwards. Unfortunately, there is hardly a thrill or a laugh along the way, either, despite a lot of commotion.

Yes, the movie is a comedy. It's a poor man's "Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World," with people chasing each other all over the countryside, stealing cars, and leaving a pile of crashed, crushed, broken, and mangled automobiles in their wake. Co-writer and director Ron Howard, executive producer Roger Corman, and editor Joe Dante were the people responsible, and I suppose we can excuse them for the crudeness of their product. Corman we expect to make cheapies like this, it was Howard's first film, and it was one of Dante's early efforts. Nevertheless, one might have hoped for a little more polish than something resembling a made-for-TV movie.

Howard plays Sam Freeman, a pleasant, young, mop-haired fellow not unlike Opie Taylor ("The Andy Griffith Show") or Steve Bolander ("American Graffiti") or Richie Cunningham ("Happy Days"). He's an environmental research student who wants to marry a young woman named Paula Powers (Nancy Morgan), whose father, Bigby Powers (Barry Cahill), is a very wealthy and very powerful man, running for Governor of California. He and his wife (Elizabeth Rogers) want their daughter to marry a rich, dorky, polo-playing flake named Collins Hedgeworth (Paul Linke), and they refuse to allow her to marry a poor guy like Freeman, whom they consider a low-class fortune hunter.

So, Sam and Paula do what any red-blooded American kids would do: They try to elope. They borrow without permission the vintage 1959 Rolls Royce of Mr. Powers and head for Las Vegas. The father hires a private detective, Ned Slinker (Rance Howard, Ron's father, who also co-wrote the script), to go after them, along with a crew of pursuit vehicles and a helicopter. Paula's mother borrows without permission a Volkswagen bug and takes after them. The doltish Hedgewood takes after them in his own Porsche Carrera. The police go chasing after the mother for stealing a car and Hedgewood for speeding. Somehow, a reward goes up for the capture of the couple, the media get wind of the adventure, and a radio DJ, Curly Q. Brown (Don Steele), begins tracking them on air, with everybody on the street who wants the reward money chasing after them, including a preacher, two garage mechanics, and a busload of senior citizens. Then some comic gangsters get involved, and.... Well, you get the idea. As Howard's character says, "This is gettin' a little outta hand."

Meanwhile, nothing catches fire. The movie just lumbers along from one crash site to the next, with stiff acting, a herky-jerky pace, and virtually no wit or humor. Like a lot of low-budget films, "Grand Theft Auto" is pretty dreadful, and it is only Howard's lighthearted spirit, as director and star, that keeps it from disintegrating altogether. Sill, eighty-four minutes never felt like so long a ride.

Video:
Here's the thing: For the first time in years, Buena Vista give us a film exclusively in 1.33:1 fullscreen. I dunno; maybe they haven't heard that a majority of television buyers these days are purchasing widescreen sets. In any case, I have no idea if the engineers are giving us the film's original fullscreen camera negative (from which the filmmakers would have matted the theatrical widescreen), or if this format is a pan-and-scan of a wider print. Actually, it does show a good deal of information at the top and bottom of the screen that the filmmakers might have later trimmed; but I'm only guessing here.

The colors are bright and showy, almost cartoonish, which is entirely appropriate for the silliness of the action. There is some grain inherent to the original print, but it is not much and never a distraction. Definition is only so-so, and one notices an occasional slight moiré effect here and there in things like automobile grillwork. I can't say I was entirely happy or unhappy with what I saw; like the film, the video quality is merely undistinguished.

Audio:
The disc menu bills the sound as Dolby Digital 5.1, but you could have fooled me on that one. There is barely any left-to-right stereo spread, let alone any rear-channel activity. Luckily, there is a good, clear midrange to make up for its other deficiencies.

Extras:
The keep case labels the disc the "Tricked Out Edition," but I didn't see anything much different about it from an earlier "25th Anniversary Edition." There is a brief introduction to the film by Roger Corman; an eight-minute featurette, "A Family Affair," with father Rance and brother Clint, who worked in the film; and, best of all, an audio commentary with Ron Howard and Roger Corman that is by far more interesting than the film itself.

Things conclude with a meager twelve scene selections; a chapter insert; a well-worn theatrical trailer; English as the only spoken language; French subtitles; a slipcover; and a keep case with those annoying little latches on the side.

Parting Shots:
There is nothing in particular about the rather mundane car crashes that make up "Grand Theft Auto" to suggest that Ron Howard would go on to direct movies like "Night Shift," "Splash," "Cocoon," "Backdraft," "Apollo 13," or "A Beautiful Mind." Here, we just have simpleminded, knuckleheaded nonsense that drifts good-naturedly from one disaster to the next, with little nuance or subtlety. You can hardly dislike the movie any more than you can dislike any of Ron Howard's youthful acting roles; they are all friendly and bland.