Underplayed Gems

Used Cars (1980)

Used Cars poster
Directed by
Robert Zemeckis
Genre
comedy film
Country
United States
Runtime
1h 53m
Rated
R
Rating
6.4 of 10 from 295 voters
Elsewhere
IMDb
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How it feels

A crooked car salesman tries to keep his used car lot running after the owner dies. He schemes and lies to outsmart the rival dealer across the street and save the business.

fast-pacedcynicalirreverentdarkly comiczanychaoticsarcastic

What happens

Used Cars is a 1980 American satirical black comedy film co-written and directed by Robert Zemeckis. The story follows Rudy Russo (Kurt Russell), a devious salesman, working for affable, but monumentally unsuccessful used-car dealer Luke Fuchs (Jack Warden). Luke's principal rival, located directly across the street, is his more prosperous brother, Roy L. Fuchs (also played by Warden), who is scheming to take over Luke's lot. The film also stars Deborah Harmon and Gerrit Graham, and the supporting cast includes Frank McRae, David L. Lander, Michael McKean, Joe Flaherty, Al Lewis, Dub Taylor, Harry Northup, Dick Miller, and Betty Thomas. Steven Spielberg and John Milius acted as executive producers on the project, while the original musical score was composed by Patrick Williams. Filmed primarily in Mesa, Arizona, the film was released by Columbia Pictures on July 11, 1980. Although a modest box-office success at the time, it has since developed cult film status due to its dark, cynical humor and the Zemeckis style. It was marketed with the tagline, "Like new, great looking, and fully loaded with laughs." (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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