“Car Stealers” is a deliriously enjoyable work of heightened pop art that is overtly indebted to the pedal-to-the-medal genre classics of the 1980’s, while also being completely and utterly of our current moment. It is a work of exhilarating comedic imagination that proves that some things — cool sunglasses, burning rubber and New Wave-y synth tunes, just to name a few — really are timeless.
The short film, directed by Christopher Guerrero, stars Max Baumgarten and Nina Tarr: two faces who will be familiar to those who frequent the Los Angeles underground comedy scene. The duo’s appeal, however, extends beyond our city’s regional boundaries. The charismatic stars of “Car Stealers” met Guerrero whilst working at BuzzFeed, where they regularly produced content that serves as a kind of primer for the high-octane coolness that their new work offers.
Simply put: if you dug what these three were cooking up on BuzzFeed, then “Car Stealers” is going to play you, viewer, like a gold-dipped Disco tune. It offers the same hyper-clever sensibility that Baumgarten, Tarr and Guerrero honed in both their BuzzFeed videos, as well as their work in L.A.’s alt-comedy community. “Car Stealers,” though, looks to be executed on a grander scale, and imbued with a neon-tinted 80’s vision that’s retro in all the right ways.
This year alone has seen an upswing in filmmakers and artists putting their own fresh spin on classic works. Jordan Peele imbued the creeping dread of something like “Rosemary’s Baby” with prescient racial politics in his horror/comedy mega-hit “Get Out,” while Edgar Wright’s recent “Baby Driver” is a hip, youthful car-chase musical whose cultural DNA contains traces of Walter Hill’s “The Driver” and “Singin’ in the Rain”. These are films that pay affectionate homage to the analog gems of yesteryear, while re-contextualizing them for today’s discerning audiences. “Car Stealers” is another groovy visual mixtape in the same vein as these movies — one that’s cooked up by a team of media-literate pros who are beyond stoked to share the magic they’ve cooked up with the world.
It is crucial that we support inventive, truly independent work such as “Car Stealers”, especially during this time where we are being inundated with bludgeoning blockbusters on an almost-weekly basis. Though Guerrero’s film is indebted to popular cinematic gems and T.V. artifacts from decades previous, its spirit is entirely original… and that alone makes it worth seeing. Apart from the talents of its central players, “Car Stealers” will be aided by the sharp writing of Eric T. Roth, the committed producing talents of Rhys Raiskin and the keen, striking eye of cinematographer Alex Parker.
So buckle up, strap yourself in and take the ride with the “Car Stealers”… ethical vehicular bandits who are so sexy, funny and downright charming that you won’t mind when they boost your 1987 Chevy Lumina.
Oh, and in case you were looking to check out the team’s website (or donate to their Kickstarter, which closes at Midnight P.S.T. tonight), here’s the links to both:
Until next time.
N.L.
