Speed Zone! (1989)

Director:

Jim Drake

Writer (WGA):

Michael Short (written by)

Release Date:

21 April 1989 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Action

Tagline:

A comedy that's over the limit and beyond the law!

Plot:

Our racers are back for a third time in Speed Zone, a continuation of cannonball run 1 and 2. It's the...

Plot Keywords:

Automobile | Cross Country | Driver | Racing | Illegal Grand Prix Race

Awards:

1 win & 2 nominations

Cast

John Candy	...	Charlie Cronan
Donna Dixon	...	Tiffany
Matt Frewer	...	Alec Stewart
Joe Flaherty	...	Vic DeRubis
Tim Matheson	...	Jack O'Neill
Mimi Kuzyk	...	Heather Scott
Melody Anderson	...	Lea Roberts
Shari Belafonte	...	Margaret
Brian George	...	Valentino Rosatti
Art Hindle	...	Flash
Dick Smothers	...	Nelson van Sloan
Tom Smothers	...	Randolph van Sloan
Peter Boyle	...	Police Chief Spiro T. Edsel
Don Lake	...	Whitman
John Schneider	...	Donato

Also Known As:

Cannonball Fever
Cannonball Run III (Canada: English title) (working title)

Runtime:

94 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

West Germany:6 (f) | Iceland:L | Norway:11 | USA:PG | Australia:PG

Filming Locations:

Lachute, Québec, Canada

Company:

Entcorp Communications

Trivia:

Spiro Edsel says that Richard Nixon is his idol. Edsel himself appears to have been named after Nixon's vice presidents: Spiro Agnew and Gerald Ford. (Edsel was a very unsuccessful Ford product.)

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Lea watches the pickup change lanes to pass her, the image in the rearview isn't reversed.

Quotes:

Vic DeRubis: Alec?
Alec Stewart: Did you talk to Big Wally?
Vic DeRubis: Yeah, yeah. I told him you got away on me. He was very... unhappy.
Alec Stewart: Trust me. It's the BRIGHTEST move you ever made.
Vic DeRubis: Yeah, well, meanwhile, my reputation as an enforcer has been permanently... soiled.
Alec Stewart: But when we win, you just say you caught up with me and I gave you the 50 grand, then we SPLIT the other 50 grand and everyones happy.
Vic DeRubis: Right. Hey! (Grabs Alec) WAIT A MINUTE! The deal is: I get 35, YOU get 15.
Alec Stewart: Isn't that what I said?
Vic DeRubis: You just said we'd split it.
Alec Stewart: But I didn't say we'd split it EVENLY. YOU get 15, and I get 35.
[...]

Movie Connections:

Spoofs Duel (1971) (TV)

I have to admit that I don't know the "Cannonball Run" movies.

I read that "Speed Zone!" is a semi-addition to the "Cannonball Run" movies; I don't know those at all, so I just have to take the movie at face value. It's basically another flick in the wacky race genre - others include "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World" and "The Gumball Rally" - a litany of silliness for silliness's sake. I didn't derive any hidden meaning or anything (even "IAMMMMW" was all about greed). Totally pointless, I guess. Sort of an excuse to have a bunch of stars. There were some funny scenes, but not enough to merit any real recognition. The cast members have all done better than this. Starring John Candy, Donna Dixon, Peter Boyle, Shari Belafonte, Tom Smothers, Dick Smothers and Brooke Shields.