Tucker: The Man and His Dream (1988)

Simply Perfect

I really wanted to like this movie. I feel terribly cynical trashing it, and that's why I'm giving it a middling 5. Actually, I'm giving it a 5 because there were some superb performances.

The acting is good, and the firecracker script has some excellent ideas.

The biggest problem with this movie is it’s a little better than you think it might be, which somehow makes it worse. As in, it takes itself a bit too seriously, which makes most of the movie feel kind of dull.

We need to start with the plot - it's engaging and relatively true. It captures the spirit of American ingenuity with decent acting and nice cinematography. But somehow, this film is laughable and almost a farce. As noted above, Bridges' performance is almost a sketch of a clown, rather than a visionary like Preston Tucker. He's likable and funny, but you never get the sense he takes anything seriously, unless it's his wife's dress color being denied a spot in the auto paint selection. The supporting cast is very solid, with Martin Landau and Lloyd Bridges showing their experience. Dean Stockwell has a cameo as Howard Hughes, the only part of the film which is not based on reality. Elias Koteas is also in the film, showing the promise of his future - he was also in Some Kind of Wonderful at the same time. Try comparing the roles and see his diverse abilities. But again, for some reason, the film just is not good. Perhaps it's the light-hearted way the screenplay touches upon antitrust issues and collusion between automakers and lawmakers. It's a big suggestion to make, and the film does not explore the conspiracy fully enough.

Tucker is an excellent movie, a true story, about how one man ,Tucker, managed to achieve his dreams fighting against one of the most powerful industries in USA, the Automotive industry.Tucker started his company in a simple Barn, and from there he started producing cars in the biggest warehouse ever built.You can see Francis Ford Coppola's hand in the movie, the movie is from 1988, but it looks from 2011.I highly recommend this movie to entrepreneurs who are looking for inspiration.Gabriel Renom

Don't expect to learn much from Francis Ford Coppola about maverick car designer Preston Tucker or his dream of challenging the Detroit automaking establishment in the late 1940s. Coppola's long-delayed pet project is a transparent revision of the director's own equally futile, early '80s pipe dream of creating a rival Hollywood movie studio, with the blame for its eventual failure placed squarely on a conspiracy of corporate envy and bureaucratic greed. The film has all the depth and complexity (not to mention the same antic pace) of an old Warner Brothers cartoon, and like a cartoon can be a lot of fun, showing all the giddy optimism of post-World War II America, overplayed here to the point of near-hysteria. It's thin stuff, but on the superficial level of craftsmanship alone the film is a visual showcase, running out of gas (so to speak) only during the inevitable courtroom summary, set in Chicago but shot (to the amusement of Northern Californians) in downtown San Francisco. At the climax of his trial Coppola's screen analogue is allowed the chance to restate the theme of the film, which was never more meaningful than 'you can't fight City Hall'.

This is one of the best films that take place during that key period just after the conclusion of World War 2. It was a period of unbridled optimism about the future of the United States and a time where almost anything seemed possible.The film tells the true story about Preston Tucker(played by Jeff Bridges) and his attempt to create the perfect car for the future, the "Tucker". This car would have everything in it from a rear engine to fuel injection. However, as he gets started building the cars, he realizes that his goal may have been an unrealistic dream as the big three automakers use their power and political influence to try and block him from creating something that would compete with them. The Tucker character is one you cant help but cheer for as he never gives up on his dream.The 1940's feeling of the film is perfectly captured by a zippy score by Joe Jackson and Joan Allen perfectly plays Tucker's supportive wife who stands by him every step of the way.This is a terrific film about a man who never gives up.