A wacky, sprightly and thoroughly enjoyable pre-"Repo Man" car repossession nab 'em, chase 'em and crash 'em comic caper yarn that's set in ritzy Beverly Hills and infused with a distinctly easy'n'breezy sense of extremely 70's nutty irreverent humor. Darren McGavin, as chronically crusty, frazzled, excitable, irascible and delightful as ever, stars as Michael Nolan, a square, sadsack, perpetually luckless straight-arrow middle-aged loser who's jobless, penniless and down on his luck. Nolan stumbles his way into employment working as a repo man for a loopy carjacker outfit run by the bawdy, lusty, sharp-tongued Flo (Sylvia Miles in top-rate raunchy form). Nolan befriends and learns the ropes from sassy, spunky, smart-mouthed, fiercely self-reliant 16-year-old tomboy "Larry" (saucily played by the Joe Fosterish Denise Nickerson; the gum-chewing Violet in "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory"). Complications ensue when Nolan falls for kooky, vampy, vivacious brunette spitfire Gloria (a nicely flaky turn by the stunningly elegant and voluptuous Joan Collins), a hot mama in a smoking silver Trans Am that Larry is itching to boost.
Directed with invigorating panache by Don Weis, further galvanized by John Beal's funky, syncopated, lowdown groovy disco score, a pleasingly zany tone, several rousing and capably executed car stunts, W. Lyle Richardson's tart script, a zippy pace, zingy slang-loaded dialogue ("Let's pop that hop"), Don Birnkrant's whiplash-inducing cinematography, a seriously cool theme song, and the expected metal-mangling vehicular carnage, "Zero to Sixty" bristles with lots of souped-up brio and vitality, making a swift 96 minutes rip along at a dizzyingly breakneck clip. It's a testament to McGavin's remarkable talent that he effortlessly manages to create a winningly hapless and harried character amid all the frantic nonstop tomfoolery. Moreover, McGavin's terrific star performance receives able support from Miles, Collins, Nickerson, the Hudson Brothers as a trio of super-slick wiseguy hipsters, Lorraine Gary (Roy Scheider's wife in the "Jaws" movies) as a perky late-night diner waitress, and David Huddleston as a cantankerous millionaire. Ebullient, cheeky and buoyed by an infectiously carefree playfulness, this immensely lively little number roars across the screen in a most entertainingly goofy and dynamic manner.
Directed with invigorating panache by Don Weis, further galvanized by John Beal's funky, syncopated, lowdown groovy disco score, a pleasingly zany tone, several rousing and capably executed car stunts, W. Lyle Richardson's tart script, a zippy pace, zingy slang-loaded dialogue ("Let's pop that hop"), Don Birnkrant's whiplash-inducing cinematography, a seriously cool theme song, and the expected metal-mangling vehicular carnage, "Zero to Sixty" bristles with lots of souped-up brio and vitality, making a swift 96 minutes rip along at a dizzyingly breakneck clip. It's a testament to McGavin's remarkable talent that he effortlessly manages to create a winningly hapless and harried character amid all the frantic nonstop tomfoolery. Moreover, McGavin's terrific star performance receives able support from Miles, Collins, Nickerson, the Hudson Brothers as a trio of super-slick wiseguy hipsters, Lorraine Gary (Roy Scheider's wife in the "Jaws" movies) as a perky late-night diner waitress, and David Huddleston as a cantankerous millionaire. Ebullient, cheeky and buoyed by an infectiously carefree playfulness, this immensely lively little number roars across the screen in a most entertainingly goofy and dynamic manner.