Down and Derby
Down and Derby
PG | 15 April 2005 (USA)
Down and Derby Trailers

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.

Reviews
Supelice Dreadfully Boring
Dirtylogy It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.
Casey Duggan It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny
Ezmae Chang This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.
K Miller If you have any experience with the pinewood derby you will love this cleverly written film about the extremes some father's go to to win. Having participated in several pinewood derby's as a young Boy Scout, I loved the idea of this film. It spoofs the all too common tendency of a father to take the building and racing of their "son's" derby cars way too seriously. The competition becomes more between the fathers than the sons. The gags are clever. The spoofs, while exaggerated as they need to be for comedy, are all too real. Take the time to watch this film when you'd like to enjoy a good laugh, not to mention, a good message about putting your family first.
jstone-5 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...
djdekok Well, let's see. Men are stupid, living vicariously thru their sons and would rather pursue their hobby than enrich their marriage and family life; all married women have large breasts and shallow minds, Japanese men are even more stupid and shallow than their American counterparts.yup, these are ideas that we want in the heads of America's boys and young men...It's appropriate that I write this review on Thanksgiving...what a turkey this movie is! It was and should be an embarrassment to the American Film industry. The Boy Scouts of America should put as much distance as possible between themselves and this sinfully bad movie.As far as the "satire" and "parody" comments, those remind me of the tired old line "I don't know what you're talking about" when the murderer is uncovered (It's obvious he does). In other words, they call it a satire because deep down they know how BAD their work is. (See "Charlie's Angels", Eddie Murphy in "Harlem Nights", etc.)
Saturndriver This movies was one of the great movies about scouting that has come out in a long time. It was clean, funny, and can be related to by all levels of scouts and adults alike. Observant scouts and adult leaders will recognize the approximate 4 to 5 errors in the film dealing with the uniforms. Overlook those errors and you have a great family movie. You may choose to show the movie to your district or council. In that case, use the movie as a test to see who is paying attention to find those errors and give a prize the scout with the most errors found. I was heartbroken to see that it was in the theaters for only one week. Maybe if it was released it in January in time for the Pinewood Derby races, and publicized it a little, it probably would have had a better turn out. I can hardly wait until it comes out on VHS or DVD so I may buy a copy. As a Cubmaster, I am willing to help my district and/or council in showing it to the Cub Scouts.