A local Pinewood Derby competition transforms an average group of dads into overzealous rivals desperate to build the winning car. As egos swell, the kids are lucky if they get to pick the paint color. While the dads are busy with outlandish gimmicks and sabotage, the underestimated scouts pull together and discover the true meaning of sportsmanship.
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Sadly Over-hyped
People are voting emotionally.
It's an amazing and heartbreaking story.
It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny
Down and Derby is a movie that moms with boys will find most interesting. Although the film is geared towards boys and their dads, moms with boys in the cub/boy scouts may get the biggest kick out of this movie. The substance of this movie is about winning at all costs by the dad of the cub/boy scouts who have entered the Pinewood Derby. The boys are supposed to be SUPERVISED by the dads, not the dads supervised by their sons. The movie goes through some comedic phases until the moms save the day by taking their sons away from the dads. Three of the dads finally come to a compromise. In the end, most of the dads realize that it is more important that the boy enter his own car into the race. Of course, it wins, even beating the number one winning car of all time. This of course is unrealistic, but it's Hollywood. It is the moms who try to tell the dads -- win or lose, it is the BOY's race and the Boy's fun. Moms enjoy. Get a group of you to watch the movie. Popcorn and snacks all around.
There were over 300 people of all ages watching this projected outdoors at our school's movie night. Everyone loved it. It's a spoof on adults competing with each other through their kids -- much better than "Kicking and Screaming". Adults acting like kids -- a crowd pleaser with children with smart comedic moments that adults will enjoy also.You'll be surprised by how much you enjoy it. Greg Germann gives a great performance. Why don't we see more of him? I think it was Pat Morita's last movie before he passed away. And, the main child actor (Adam Hicks) is very impressive. He was the same kid who stars in "How to Eat Fried Worms".If you're a scout or have done the Pinewood Derby, this will have extra appeal. All our kids want to do now is build a pinewood derby car...
This is a great movie for the family of all ages. The movie is funny and well acted. It is also professionally written and directed. If you are a scouting family or were a scout yourself this movie will appeal to you for sure. Even if you are not a scouting family the comedy of trying to do a father-son project is something we all can relate to. Actually I learned something from this movie and will be letting my son do a bit more of the work on 'his' pine wood derby car! Besides, I have my own car to build now. The movie is a fathers desire to build a winning car and relive his childhood while trying to let his son live his own. Check out this movie if you can and we'll see you at the races!
I had read nothing but negative reviews of this movie. I went with a friend out of sheer boredom, and we were both laughing our heads off the whole time. He and I had both been boy scouts and had both had our share of pinewood derby experiences... perhaps that added to our glee.I think the critics missed the mark because they are adults looking from an adult perspective, but this movie is from kid perspective; nothing adult about it.The movie is a caricature about family relationships, midlife crises, childhood rivalry carried into adulthood, unexpected triumphs, and unexpected defeats. It is truly good clean fun - no cusswords, no sex, nothing but silly antics. The kids acted like kids and the adults acted like kids, just as one would expect from a kid's perspective.This is no epic - it is completely silly. But it is fun, funny, entertaining, and family friendly. THANKS, Hollywood, for the rare non-offensive to anyone (that I can imagine) movie.