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Movies for Truck Drivers Who Want Something Different
by Kevin Gardner
You say you love movies about trucking, but you’re getting a little bored of watching Smokey and the Bandit and Convoy over and over. If you are looking for something a bit different that is good for a laugh but still involves lots of truck driving, you might want to consider trucking movies given the Mystery Science Theater 3000 or Rifftrax treatment.
Mystery Science Theater 3000 is a television show from the ‘90s that has become a cult classic, about a poor man who is shot up into space against his will in a twisted experiment where he is forced to watch bad movies. Luckily, he has some robot friends to make the movies a little less horrible, while providing a lot of laughs for those who are watching it all. Rifftrax is much the same thing, only without the backstory and without the robots – it’s just three funny guys riffing on horrible movies. So how does this relate to trucking movies? Read on to find out.
Riding With Death (Mystery Science Theater 3000)
Riding With Death (1976) is not actually a movie – it is two episodes of a failed television show strung together to make a movie. It also doesn’t really have much to do with “riding with death,” either, really. The plot concerns a secret agent who is capable of making himself invisible in order to thwart the bad guys and ensure justice is done.
The first half is the part to watch if you are looking for some truck-driving adventure (although the second half is good as well, involving race car driving and more invisibility), as this short-lived television show tried to capitalize on the trucking craze of the ‘70s. The hero has to transport an explosive new gasoline additive and adventure ensues. Long before the days of fleet tracking devices, the bad guys have to find some creative ways to keep track of the hero while trying to cover their tracks. Buckle up for some brake cutting, invisible fighting, runaway truck on a steep grade fun.
Highlight: A robot who somehow acquires a trucker’s body and another robot who transforms into a superhero that the '70s truly needed.
Trucker’s Woman (Rifftrax)
This 1975 film tells the story of a college student (who appears to be around 45) who drops out of school when his father (who appears to be the same age as his son), a trucker, dies in a suspicious accident. The son takes over trucking duties for his father, along the way trying to fight rampant corruption in the trucking company where he works – the same place his father worked. Oh, and he falls in love with the corrupt business owner’s daughter (the business owner who may have had his father killed. Got it?). It is pure '70s cheese, with lots of truck driving, fist fighting, and of course the story of a trucker and his woman.
Highlight: A mysterious shot of pizza that has perplexed anyone who has ever seen this movie.
Breaker! Breaker! (Rifftrax)
Maybe these movies sound a bit out there for you and you would like something a little more mainstream – or at least with an actor you may have heard of. How about a Chuck Norris movie?
Breaker! Breaker! tells the heartwarming story of a man (Norris) desperately searching for his brother, last seen driving through a town run by a corrupt judge. Norris is a truck driver, and so is his brother, and so are all of the people who come to the rescue at the end.
Highlight: Semi trucks destroying random buildings despite being given very little reason to do so.
If you are tired of all of the typical trucking movies, give these a try. They really have to be seen to be believed, but they may be too painful to watch on their own. Make them more watchable by seeing the Mystery Science Theater 3000 and Rifftrax versions!
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