follow hot on the scorching asphalt skid mark of the impish the gumball rally and paul bartel characteristically deadpan and quirky and slyly subversive cross country road race car picture present a blithely apocalyptic vision that akin to the anarchic world view show in the equally madcap freebie and the bean and the truly twisted the mad bomber and and the totally gaga the candy snatcher represent all those noisy and tire yelping and rubber shredding and metal bending automobile mishap feature herein play a crucial role in bartel merrily askew and jaundiced presentation of a world in constant uproar and where any sense of balance and tranquility and equilibrium get messily disrupt on a frequent nerve fry basis ( a savage gas station fisticuffs scuffle and the wildly chaotic mondo destructo jersey turnpike massive car pile up sequence in particular really hammer this point home ) . among the race contestant be david carradine a stolid and tight lipped and nerve of pure brass ex con champ coy cannonball buckman and future hill street blue regular veronica hammel a buckman loyal and fretful and karate chop police lady gal pal and archie hahn a buckman trustworthy and but feeble mind mechanic zippo and a gloriously craze bill mckinney a buckman chortling and maniacal and pistol packing nutso rival cade redman ( note the disconcertingly similar first and last name and a chill blurring of the fine line between good and evil ) and robert carradine and the beauteous belinda balaski a a sweet and starry eye california surfer couple and a hilariously goofy gerrit graham a a pathetic no talent aspire country and western singer or songwriter and mary woronov in customary venomous bchy and aggressive sexually ambiguous full throttle nasty mode and stanley clay a a jive talk hipster soul bro and and a repellently arrogant james keach a a stuck up and condescending german driver who meet a fiery untimely end . among the folk watch the race from the sideline be dick miller a buckman shady gambler brother and bartel a a singing and piano playing and cole porter love mob capo and martin scorsese and sylvestor stallone a gangster flunky and joe dante and allen arkush a geeky car buff and robert altman film regular david arkin a a timid grocery store counterman and jonathan kaplan a a gas station attendant and the eternally vacuous louisa moritz in one of her standard bubble brain blonde bimbo part and patrick wright a the rich guy who sponsor the race and and even legendary b movie pioneer roger corman a an uptight district attorney ( . ) . the strangely dark and fatalistic tone and rampant amorality and intensely ugly dialogue ( what the godmn hell be you try to to do and you fgot moron . ) and assort foul play tactic the race participant gleefully engage in and the useless and ineffective cop and opportunistic ahole medium and tak fujimoto madly dart and hyperactive and vertigo inducing cinematography and the crooked and string pulling and game rig dirty double deal perpetuate by the mob back race official and the general unpleasantness of the mostly mean and despicable character ( even carradine morally ambivalent hero isn not very likable or appeal ) and the loose and ramshackle narrative structure and a creepy open credit nightmare sequence and and especially the murderously ferocious pandemonium on the open freeway car get trashed and blow up real good smash em up vehicular carnage create a sense of deliriously out of control non stop bedlam that a profoundly discomfit a it be utterly exhilarate . the disgustingly safe and sanitize cannonball run junker ain not get nothing on this delightfully diabolical and severely bent gearhead treat .