Movies - Down and Derby

Home > Listing Index > Movies > Down and Derby

	Movies - Down and Derby

Down and Derby is a 2005 film about the often, over-competitive Pinewood derby race. The race is for Cub Scouts, who build a car from a kit with appropriate adult supervision, but the competitive adults (mostly fathers) often build the cars. This family-friendly movie was filmed in and around St. George, Utah and is distributed by Excel Entertainment Group.

Taglines

Because the Pinewood Derby is more than just a race
Sometimes Parental Guidance is not suggested
Small cars that make grown-ups act like really big kids
The biggest race of your dad's life!

Story

Phil Davis (Greg Germann) was able to "out run, out jump or out hit anyone in my class. Then this kid from California named Ace Montana moved to town. Ever since then, Ace has been number one and I've been number two. Maybe I should have changed my name to 'Deuce'." Even in the cul-de-sac where the four childhood friends/rivals (Montana (Marc Raymond), Davis, Blaine Moosman (Robert Costanzo) and "Big Jimmy" Scaldoni (Perry Anzilotti)) live, the Davis mailbox is #2 to the Montana mailbox #1. After a recent basketball game where Phil's son's team lost to Ace's son's team, Phil realized that the second-place status has continued in to the next generation.

Kim Davis (Lauren Holly) is the den mother of the local Cub Scout pack. She gives a Pinewood Derby kit to each of the Cub Scouts. Ace Montana acts cool; "It will be good for the kids," he says. The other three dads act like it is a big showdown, complete with appropriate music. Even though the kids are supposed to make their own cars from the kits, with appropriate adult supervision, the four dads have taken over the project. (Phil Davis even reveals the professional plans that he had drawn up as soon as they found out they were having a boy.) They each order a "Pinewood Derby Bible", and at least Phil has also ordered the "How To" video (which is playing in the background in most scenes in his house.) Each of the dads know that the others are working on the Pinewood Derby cars, but the each think that they are also fooling the others.

The dads are each working "secretly on the Pinewood Derby cars, totally excluding the boys.

The boys — A.J. Montana (Eric Jacobs), Brady Davis (Adams Hicks), Danny Scaldoni (Danny Shepherd) and Claude Moosman (Ross Brockley) — are totally excluded from the process of making the cars. Brady, Danny and Claude (we don't see much of A.J.) are at first dejected. But then Claude discovers that his dad has paid him to go away until the "fun part" comes. When he shares this with the other boys, Danny gets the idea to do likewise, and they all do. When their fathers run out of money in their wallets, they give the boys their ATM cards and the PIN.

Each of the fathers has become obsessed with building the fastest car, nearly to the exclusion of all else. Each of them has built a track in the house and are racing cars day and night. Their wives eventually become so annoyed by the obsession that they each leave, but at the same time.

Brady has totally forgotten about the cellular phone advertising campaign that he was supposed to develop for Yakimoto Technology and Communication, until Ono Yakimoto (Pat Morita), Kyosha Yakimoto (Joey Miyashima) and Larry Savage (Sandy Hackett) — Phil's boss — show up at his house. Phil makes up, on the spot, a campaign about each of the cellular phones being a car in a race with the Yakimoto one winning. He calls the campaign the DerbyMoto campaign (after a mixing of words his wife had made). After that, the four men become engrossed in racing all of the test cars that Phil has made.

After their wives have left, "Big Jimmy" is the first to break "secrecy" and goes to talk to Blaine. The two of them then go to talk to Brady. Jimmy and Blaine show Brady the title page of the "Pinewood Derby Bible" and Ace Montana is the author. Ace's car, that he built when he was eight years old in California still holds the record for the fastest Pinewood Derby car on record. These three then decide that instead of competing with each other, they will build one car that will beat Montana's.

In order to do so, they hatch a plan to steal Ace's record holder, reverse-engineer it, then put it back. The next morning when the Montanas leave their house, Phil and Blaine retrieve the car while Jimmy acts a lookout. After thoroughly examining the car, they find nothing special about it. While replacing it, the Montanas come home, trapping Phil and Blaine inside of their house. Blaine manages to get out a second story window but injurs himself while getting down off of the roof. Phil has hidden under the bed in the master bedroom. While trying to escape, he is discovered and has to make a run for it. Ace calls Jimmy (who is a police officer), but Jimmy covers up the evidence.

[ Visit the complete Wikipedia entry for Down and Derby ]

This page is based on the copyrighted Wikipedia article Down and Derby; it is used under the GNU Free Documentation License. You may redistribute it, verbatim or modified, providing that you comply with the terms of the GFDL.

Searches on eBay