Plot Details: This opinion reveals minor details about the movie's plot.

Starring and directed by Ron Howard with Roger Corman as Executive Producer, Grand Theft Auto is a hilarious movie. It starts with zip and ends with zoom. I am reviewing the 25th Anniversary Special Edition of this DVD.


Movie Synopsis

Sam Freeman (Ron Howard) and Paula Powers (Nancy Morgan) want to get married. Sounds easy, right? Not when Paula’s wealthy father threatens the couple. So they decide to elope. They “borrow” Paula’s father’s Rolls Royce Silver Cloud. That’s when the adventure begins in a race to Las Vegas and the altar.

Paula’s irate father hires a private investigator (Rance Howard) to retrieve his daughter. The PI in turn hires more men to track them. Meanwhile, Collins Hedgeworth mistakenly believes that Paula is his fiancee and pursues her. Desperate, he phones a local off-the-wall radio disk jockey and announces his fiancee has been abducted and offers a $25,000 reward for Paula’s return. The news is announced on the radio, and soon the DJ is in hot pursuit of the eloping couple. Collins’ mother (Marion Ross) realizes her son is missing and offers another $25,000 for his return. Now every get-rich-quick character between Beverly Hills and Las Vegas is in hot pursuit of the run-away lovers. It’s an insane race ... all in the name of love.


My Experiences

This movie starts with a scream from the parents when Sam and Paula announce their marriage intentions. The movie rapidly escalates as more and more people chase the runaway couple. Soon it’s a free-for-all. The movie is filled with laugh-out-loud moments.

There is tension, too. Sam and Paula love each other, but even love frays at the edges, with so many people determined to run them off the road for misguided love or money. The movie’s ending is fantastic. I won’t give it away. And if you enjoy auto mayhem, this movie has its share of races and crashes.

The backstory behind this movie is great, too. When Roger Corman made his movie sequel to Eat My Dust, which starred Ron Howard, he could not afford Ron Howard’s salary. So their deal included another movie that Ron would direct. Ron wanted a career as a director, and this was his path to achieve his dream. Ron Howard and his father wrote the script for Grand Theft Auto. Ron completed filming in a 4-week schedule.

This movies contains familiar faces, too, including the Howard family. Ron’s father plays private investigator Ned Slinker. Ron’s brother, Clint Howard, is auto mechanic Ace. Even Ron’s wife, Cheryl, has an appearance as a reporter. People will recognize Marion Ross from the television show “Happy Days”, in which she and Ron Howard starred. Gary Marshall (also from “Happy Days”) makes an appearance as the Underworld Boss.


About the DVD

The DVD is packed with extras. There is audio commentary with Ron Howard and Roger Corman. It is filled with behind-the-scenes information about making the movie. The two men also do a video interview, and there is another interview with Roger Corman and Leonard Maltin.

Original theater trailers of Grand Theft Auto and Eat My Dust are on the DVD, as well as cast filmographies. There is a scene index and interactive menus.

A black-and-white booklet comes with the DVD. It lists extensive cast and movie credits. There are brief bios of Ron Howard, Nancy Morgan, Marion Ross, Rance Howard, Pete Isacksen. At the end are photos from the movie and images of movie posters.


Purchasing

I bought this DVD for about $15.00.


Summary

Grand Theft Auto is an entertaining movie. If you are in the mood to unwind with pure entertainment, then try this 84-minute film. It offers everything from true love to the destruction of over 45 automobiles as more and more reward-seekers chase the eloping couple. Watch the movie to discover if Sam and Paula make it to Las Vegas and the altar, despite all the obstacles thrown in their path.

I hope you found this review helpful.

Enjoy the day,
Dawn
http://dlstewart.com

Copyright 2006 Dawn L. Stewart

This is an entry in the Lean-n-mean Five.

Recommended: Yes

Viewing Format: DVD