SIX PACK

US, 1982, 107 minutes, Colour.
Kenny Rogers, Diane Lane, Erin Gray, Barry Corbin.
Directed by Daniel Petrie.

Six Pack is a leisurely folksy piece of Americana. It is a star vehicle for singer Kenny Rogers (who had appeared in a telemovie named after one of his records, Coward of the County). He has a pleasant, easygoing screen personality, even though it strains credibility to see him as a champion racing car driver on the way back.

The film focuses on Rogers as a hero and his encounter with six orphans who are expert thieves of motor parts and who eventually help him in his racing career as a Six Pack. This gives the opportunity for plenty of sentiment. The film is a blend of broad sentimentality with Southern hospitality and animosity, satires on Texas sheriffs, on racing car villains. There is a fair amount of racing car action. Direction is by Daniel Petrie, director of a number of telemovies and a wide range of films from Raisin in the Sun to Fort Apache the Bronx.

1. An entertaining piece of folksy Americana? Texas and the South?

2. The conventions of the road movie? The wandering hero, encounters, friends, clashes? The focus on cars, parts, mechanics, races? A satisfying road movie?

3. Colour photography, atmosphere, authenticity? Editing ? especially for the action sequences?

4. The film as a star vehicle for Kenny Rogers, his presence, singing, the theme song and its use throughout the film?

5. Introduction to the basic situation: Brewster Baker wandering Texas, his car and camper, the diner and the toilet and the car being stolen, his chase and its recklessness, the van in the river and his saving the children, the police and his discovery of the fraud? The Texas setting?

6. Brewster and his career, age, crash? Wandering Texas? Pride in his car? The incident in the toilet, the diner and the waitress, the encounter with the police? The kids and his putting them on the road? Their persistence? His building up his career again? The rivalry with Logan? The kids and their stealing other people's parts, reselling them? Their staying, the effect on Brewster and humanising him? The wins? His impersonating the Texas sheriff? The build-up to the final race, Logan and his brutality, the children being taken? His final success? Relationship with Leila ? and the happy folksy family ending? A smooth delineation of character, and a character who changed?

7. The picture of the Six Pack: conventional picture of American kids, orphans? Heather and the boys? Audience surprise that they stole the parts, in the river and being saved from drowning? The situation, their parents' death, the house, the sheriff and the racket? Their affection towards one another, their skills? Language? How well delineated each character? Their staying with Brewster,' hiding, forcing him to stay? Heather and their growing up and the walk through the town and Brewster's understanding of her? Brewster reforming the boys and their manners and swearing? Their being taken by the sheriff? The possibilities for a family? Their desire to have the house ? and his buying it?

8. The world of car drivers, clubs? Logan and his thugs? The races and their action?

9. Lila and her friendship with Brewster, pleasant? Happy ending?

10. Emotional crises for Brewster, for the kids, for racing?

11. The emphasis on family values?

12. The American dream, career, individuals, family?