Ever since Ransom E. Olds founded Oldsmobile in 1901, Americans have been wild about cars. With roads stretching every which way throughout the United States, cars gradually became the country’s preferred mode of transportation — especially after the development of the freeway system (which, as you might’ve learned from “Who Framed Roger Rabbit,” halted the growth of mass transit). The automotive industry in the U.S., born and centered in Detroit, has also long been a symbol of roll-up-your-sleeve American ingenuity. We dream big, work hard, and produce reliable automobiles. And Fords.
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The country’s romance with cars is amply reflected in film and television. Back in the 20th century, Hollywood knocked out big-ticket auto racing films like John Frankenheimer’s “Grand Prix,” Lee H. Katzin’s “Le Mans,” and no less than three Elvis Presley movies (“Viva Las Vegas,” “Spinout,” and “Speedway”) centered on motorsports. Filmmakers also introduced the car chase as an obligatory set piece in action movies, which was quickly adopted by television producers for slam-bang series like “The Dukes of Hazzard,” “The A-Team,” and “Riptide.”
And then there is pure gearhead entertainment, i.e. films and series about characters who spend a good deal of their waking hours under the hood of a car. As an American pastime, this probably ranks second to baseball. This is why the “Fast & Furious” franchise has grossed over $2 billion at the domestic box office (and, not for nothing, $7 billion globally). Rebuilding cars, souping them up, and then racing them on city streets (or dropping them from aircrafts or, y’know, sending them to space) is all the rage in pop culture. So, it should come as no surprise that Prime Video is looking to get in on the cars-and-family fun with its new series “Motorheads,” which appears to be catching on with subscribers.
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Ryan Phillippe takes a couple of teenagers under his wing, and the hood of his car, in Motorheads
According to FlixPatrol, John A. Norris’ “Motorheads” is sitting in the number three spot on Prime Video’s top streaming charts stateside at the time of writing (just behind the car-themed duo of “Earnhardt” and “Clarkson’s Farm”). Norris’ series is a “Beverly Hills 90210” riff about two Brooklyn kids (Michael Cimino and Melissa Calazzo) who are uprooted from the big city and plopped in the middle of rural Pennsylvania. Their mother (Nathalie Kelley) has moved them in with her car mechanic brother-in-law (Ryan Phillippe), which isn’t the worst thing in the world given that the kids are already ecstatic about the nifty world of automobiles.
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There are currently only seven reviews for “Motorheads” posted on Rotten Tomatoes, but they’re mostly positive. According to The Hollywood Reporter’s Angie Han, the 10-episode first season is “sturdy, reliable entertainment” that hits most of the sweet spots you expect from a coming-of-age show like this. The kids are likable, Phillippe is an appealing mentor, and it’s technically proficient thanks to the direction from capable vets like Neil Burger and Tara Nicole Weyr. So, if you’re a car person or someone who digs this genre, you might just want to buckle up and hit the road with “Motorheads.”
