Roadracers is a 1994 Made-for-TV Movie starring David Arquette and Salma Hayek. It is the second full-length feature directed by Robert Rodriguez after his indie classic, El Mariachi. It was produced for Showtime as part of the network's Rebel Highway series, which consisted of loose remakes of vintage American International Pictures B-movies from The '50s.
Dude (Arquette) is a cool rock and roller and Donna (Hayek) is his girlfriend; they dream of leaving their boring small town together. Teddy (Jason Wiles) is the town hot-head who bears a grudge against Dude for burning his girlfriend's hair. Teddy's dad (William Sadler), a Corrupt Cop who everybody just calls "Sarge", bears an old grudge against Dude's absent father, and makes Dude's life difficult because of it. Rounding out the cast are Dude's odd friend Nixer (John Hawkes), who's obsessed with Invasion of the Body Snatchers, and J.T. (O'Neal Compton), who cooks at the local Greasy Spoon.
This movie contains examples of:
- Blowing Smoke Rings: Shots of Dude idly blowing smoke rings in a mostly empty club are interspersed with Teddy harassing Donna at the park.
- Contemplate Our Navels: Nixer compares a french fry to the length of his life. Then J.T. takes it and smothers it in ketchup.J.T.: "You ain't doin nothin. You'll spend the rest of your days here in this little town, and you're gonna die here with one of my burgers in your hand, and that's it."
- Greaser Delinquents: Dude is this to a T. His hair is so greasy, he actually uses it to slick up the floor of the Roller Rink, causing Teddy to slip and fall.
- Hell-Bent for Leather: Dude doesn't go anywhere without his leather jacket.
- Hilarious Outtakes: The credits have a blooper reel that's mostly David Arquette trying to act cool and failing miserably.
- I Am Not My Father: Dude's Dad skipped town long ago, and everyone seems to expect him to do the same.Dude: "My dad never faced anything in his whole sorry life. All he ever did was run. Well, I ain't gonna run. Not from Teddy, not from his crooked father, not from anybody."
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It's Popular, Now It Sucks!: Dude and Donna are at Make-Out Point and Donna asks Dude if there's anybody he looks up to.Dude: "Link Wray's cool."Donna: "Link Wray... Is he popular?"Dude: "No. That's why he's cool." - The New Rock & Roll: Dude really loves Rock & Roll.Sarge: "These kids ain't the same anymore, and you know what's behind it all? Rock & Roll. That music is turning the kids into a bunch of sex-hungry, beer-drinking, road-racing werewolves."
- Make-Out Point: Sarge and his partner watch Donna and Dude's make-out session from the shadows.
- My Sister Is Off-Limits: One of Teddy's cronies and Teddy's girlfriend are siblings.Nixer: "You're sure looking pretty tonight, sister Teresa. I've got a boner the size of your head!"Crony: "Hey, that's my sister, you little weasel. I'll kill you!"
- Perma-Stubble: Dude. Every other male is clean-shaven.
- Sell-Out: The band that Dude was going to try out for. Donna loves their new sound, but it enrages Dude to the point that he strangles the singer.
- Sinister Switchblade: Teddy and his cronies brandish their switchblades several times. Eventually, there comes a point when Teddy tosses Dude a switchblade. Dude ignores it and kills Teddy with a shotgun blast.
- Smoking Is Cool: Dude smokes constantly.
- That Syncing Feeling: It's blatantly obvious that the band's not really playing. When Nixer finds a record playing behind a piece of plywood, all hell breaks loose. The audience swarms the stage, Dude chokes out the singer, and Nixer smashes all their instruments while a couple of huge Rock & Roll fans beat up the rhythm section.
- Unable to Support a Wife: Donna's parents warn her that Dude's a deadbeat like his father.Donna: "Dude's gonna get a record contract and make obscene amounts of money!"Donna's Mom: "If that happens, you have our blessing, but if not, you need to be prepared to seek other options."
