Tucker (film): An interesting topic bottled inside of a boring film

Back when Jeff Bridges was a lessor known individual and Christian Slater had yet to completely mimic the acting of Jack Nicholson, Tucker: The Man and his Dream was released in cinemas. Directed by Francis Ford Coppola, this film ha a relatively talented cast and they managed to capture the essence of the story, but unfortunately it just isn't very interesting to watch.

I suppose some information in here could be considered spoilers, but only if you know nothing at all about the history of the real Tucker company

source

In the late 40's, World War 2 had recently ended and the world was settling in to times of peace and everyone was getting back to work, so to speak. Preston Tucker was an engineer who had designed turrets for U.S. aircraft during the war and decides that he wants to build a better automobile. At the time GM, Ford, and Chrysler were "the big 3" that controlled all of auto manufacturing in the United States. Tucker had a dream of building the "car of the future" with what was then revolutionary designs focusing on aerodynamics, efficiency, and safety features. The idea of the "Tucker Torpedo" was born.

source

Tucker is a wildly optimistic person and his positivity spreads to those around him, many of which join his project despite the fact that they face extremely difficult timelines as well as budgetary constraints. Although I found this flamboyance to be annoying, apparently Jeff Bridges studied the real Tucker's mannerisms from home movies and according to the Tucker family, nailed it.

Tucker, despite the deck being stacked against him is able to acquire the things he needs to make his revolutionary car and this is where the problems begin: His car is too good and this invokes the ire of the the already established auto manufacturers in Detroit.

source

This part of the film is extremely frustrating to watch but only because I believe that this is actually how real life works. Real innovation is likely squashed on a regular basis because of the fact that such ingenuity would damage the profitability of already established businesses.

I like a good conspiracy theory as much as the next guy, but they actually didn't focus on this side of things as much as I would have hoped. Perhaps it was to spare the feelings of (and potential lawsuits from) the real GM, Ford, and Chrysler.

Instead we are presented with an almost whimsical presentation complete with a big band, almost "jazz hands" fast-forward film that despite moving very quickly (it is presented as taking place over a year when it was actually four) the movie just drags. I found myself looking at my phone a great deal while it was on and this is never a good sign.

_{from the Youtube movies channel}

I was excited to see this film existed because I knew so little about this car company that only managed to produce 50 cars before they were forced to shut down by the rather shady operations of the government. I wouldn't say that I've really learned much after having watched it also. Seriously, it is dreadfully boring and apparently a lot of the dirtier details are left out.

It was so poorly received that F.F. Coppola (who owns one of the genuine Tucker 48's) declared it was the "last Hollywood movie he would ever make." He broke this promise just a few years later but yeah, he was upset about it too.

If you want to know more about the Tucker Automobile Company read an article about it but IMO you can give this film the ol' heave-ho.

My overall rating! 4 / 10