Synopsis
A young hell raiser quits his moonshine business and tries to become the best NASCAR racer the south has ever seen. Loosely based on the true story of NASCAR driver Junior Johnson.
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Cast
- Jeff BridgesElroy Jackson Jr.
- Valerie PerrineMarge Dennison
- Geraldine FitzgeraldFrau Jackson
- Ned BeattyHackel
- Gary BuseyWayne Jackson
- Lane SmithRick Penny
- Ed LauterBurton Colt
- William SmithKyle Kingman
- Gregory WalcottCleve Morley
- Art LundElroy Jackson Sr.
Recommendations
- 80
The New Yorker
The casting, the acting, and the milieu seem effortlessly, inexplicably right. This movie transcends its genre; it isn't only about stock-car racing, any more than The Hustler was only about shooting pool. - 75
TV Guide Magazine
Well written and subtly directed, The Last American Hero concentrates on the human elements of the story without becoming overly sentimental. - 70
Time Out
Like a Thunder Road filtered through the perceptions of the '70s, it's an invigorating and touching movie. - 70
Variety
After a fumbling start which looks like bad editing for TV, The Last American Hero [based on two articles by Tom Wolfe] settles into some good, gritty, family Americana, with Jeff Bridges excellent as a flamboyant auto racer determined to succeed on his own terms and right a wrong to his father, played expertly by Art Lund.
