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Dragstrip Girl
Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment // R // January 22, 2002
List Price: $32.99 [Buy now and save at Amazon]
The Movie:
One out of apparently a few pictures that were remade as part of Showtime's "Rebel Highway" series in the mid-90's (some of which, such as "Jailbreakers", have also recently been re-released onto DVD), "Dragstrip Girl" generally has many of the same plot pieces as the previous pictures; bad boy (Raymond Cruz) from the wrong side of the tracks falls for a good girl (Natasha Gregson Wagner) who goes to an elite school. The fact that he's a car thief just might sour their romance, although it never seems to in films like this.
That, or the fact that all of the actors do a bad job at trying to act like they're in the middle of a 50's B-movie. The dialogue is, as expected, terrible, but it doesn't help that the actors seem like characters from some sort of evil version of "Happy Days". Directed by Mary Lambert ("In Crowd"), this isn't the worst of the "Rebel Highway" series, but no one would likely confuse it for a good picture, either.
Miramax has tried to sell this picture as something similar to "The Fast and the Furious", even nearly copying that film's cover art and using the words "fast" and "furious" in the first sentence of the back copy. Those looking for action won't find that much of it here; while it is a movie that deals with drag racing, there are only a few small sequences of something resembling action. The other 80 minutes or so out of 83 wander aimlessly as the two persue a hardly interesting or believable romance.
The DVD
VIDEO: The film is presented by Miramax in its original 1.33:1 full-frame aspect ratio, which I'd guess is the film's OAR, given it was originally a television picture. As with some of Miramax's other basic B-movie releases, the image quality seems to indicate that not much effort was put into their presentation. Sharpness and detail are generally fair, as the picture has a soft look and can look very murky and muddy in some of the darker scenes.
Further problems arise throughout the entire picture. Mild grain shows up inconsistently and distracts when it does appear. There didn't seem to be much in the way of wear besides a few minor specks and marks, but a few instances of edge enhancement and pixelation were visible. Colors could also look slightly smeared. Overall, this is a mediocre presentation.
SOUND: The film's stereo soundtrack doesn't fare much better. The music sounds thin and lacks presence, while dialogue seems rather low in volume and occasionally muddled.
MENUS: Nothing but the basics; using the cover art over again.
EXTRAS: Not much: "Sneak Peek" trailers for the other releases of former Showtime material to DVD: "Shake, Rattle and Rock", "Jailbreakers" and "Confessions of Soroity Girls".
Final Thoughts: "Dragstrip Girl" is weakly acted and written; hardly enough happened throughout the film's 83 minutes to keep my attention. Miramax's DVD edition is rushed effort (although that's not to say the movie deserves better) that offers very average audio/video and hardly any supplements for the $32.99 price tag. Skip it.
One out of apparently a few pictures that were remade as part of Showtime's "Rebel Highway" series in the mid-90's (some of which, such as "Jailbreakers", have also recently been re-released onto DVD), "Dragstrip Girl" generally has many of the same plot pieces as the previous pictures; bad boy (Raymond Cruz) from the wrong side of the tracks falls for a good girl (Natasha Gregson Wagner) who goes to an elite school. The fact that he's a car thief just might sour their romance, although it never seems to in films like this.
That, or the fact that all of the actors do a bad job at trying to act like they're in the middle of a 50's B-movie. The dialogue is, as expected, terrible, but it doesn't help that the actors seem like characters from some sort of evil version of "Happy Days". Directed by Mary Lambert ("In Crowd"), this isn't the worst of the "Rebel Highway" series, but no one would likely confuse it for a good picture, either.
Miramax has tried to sell this picture as something similar to "The Fast and the Furious", even nearly copying that film's cover art and using the words "fast" and "furious" in the first sentence of the back copy. Those looking for action won't find that much of it here; while it is a movie that deals with drag racing, there are only a few small sequences of something resembling action. The other 80 minutes or so out of 83 wander aimlessly as the two persue a hardly interesting or believable romance.
The DVD
VIDEO: The film is presented by Miramax in its original 1.33:1 full-frame aspect ratio, which I'd guess is the film's OAR, given it was originally a television picture. As with some of Miramax's other basic B-movie releases, the image quality seems to indicate that not much effort was put into their presentation. Sharpness and detail are generally fair, as the picture has a soft look and can look very murky and muddy in some of the darker scenes.
Further problems arise throughout the entire picture. Mild grain shows up inconsistently and distracts when it does appear. There didn't seem to be much in the way of wear besides a few minor specks and marks, but a few instances of edge enhancement and pixelation were visible. Colors could also look slightly smeared. Overall, this is a mediocre presentation.
SOUND: The film's stereo soundtrack doesn't fare much better. The music sounds thin and lacks presence, while dialogue seems rather low in volume and occasionally muddled.
MENUS: Nothing but the basics; using the cover art over again.
EXTRAS: Not much: "Sneak Peek" trailers for the other releases of former Showtime material to DVD: "Shake, Rattle and Rock", "Jailbreakers" and "Confessions of Soroity Girls".
Final Thoughts: "Dragstrip Girl" is weakly acted and written; hardly enough happened throughout the film's 83 minutes to keep my attention. Miramax's DVD edition is rushed effort (although that's not to say the movie deserves better) that offers very average audio/video and hardly any supplements for the $32.99 price tag. Skip it.
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