Touches You

Pretty Good

Great Film overall

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

This must be one of those "5 or 6 films" Stockard Channing is too embarrassed to mention having worked on in interviews. Which is partly a shame - because, with some serious tinkering ("How about tinkering us up a new engine?" complains David Carradine early on), SAFARI 3000 could've been a genuinely enjoyable ride. Harry Hurwitz' comedy-adventure takes more than a little inspiration from SMOKEY AND THE BANDIT and Paul Bartel's DEATH RACE 2000 and CANNONBALL - as well as a bit from Blake Edwards' THE GREAT RACE, Disney's THE LOVE BUG, and even Friedkin's SORCERER. You get the picture. The primary difference here is that Hurwitz transposes the action - a treacherous, long-distance auto race, involving varied, eccentric participants - to sub-Saharan Africa.The main issue with SAFARI 3000 is the script. Four writers (three for story, and one for screenplay)... that's rarely a good sign. The dialogue, in particular, is unusually stilted at times, and the story undoubtedly required a few more rewrites. Running barely an hour and a half, it appears significant portions of the film were also truncated, further harming the picture... or serving as a stroke of mercy, depending on one's outlook. Finally, for something so ambitious, the movie could have used some additional car stunts and the like.However, SAFARI 3000 does have its charms, and doesn't quite deserve the obscurity it has always suffered. Admittedly, I do say that as a Channing obsessive. The film was gloriously shot on-location, and there are several encounters with wildlife that are alternately intense and wonderful. The widescreen cinematography (by Adam Greenburg, and badly hurt by pan & scan - when isn't it ever?) is nicely evocative of the surroundings (including some beautiful scenery), and Ernest Gold's jovial score isn't bad.Furthermore, there's an amusingly hammy, Darth Vader-looking Christopher Lee, as villain Count Borgia, who pretentiously claims to be a descendant of that most infamous of families, and is accompanied by a ridiculously masochistic sidekick (Hamilton Camp). And, of course, there's the palpable chemistry between Carradine and Channing, who presumably do better when ignoring the script and begin ad-libbing and interacting instinctively with one another. Carradine featured in both DEATH RACE 2000 and CANNONBALL, so this is familiar territory for him. And Channing once again proves herself to be as accomplished a comedic actress as a dramatic one. The woman can do it all. Scenario-wise, some of the comedy works on a farcical level, while other parts are simply farcical.If you're a fan of Stockard Channing, David Carradine, Christopher Lee, safari rallies, and/or slapstick-type comedy, it really wouldn't hurt to check out SAFARI 3000. It would even be perfectly suitable for children were it not for one brief sex scene (unfortunately not involving Stockard!)

Made in the wake of THE CANNONBALL RUN (1981), this racing-car comedy actually features David Carradine in the lead, who had starred in the similar (but more violent) DEATH RACE 2000 (1975) and the unrelated CANNONBALL (1976). The heroine, then, is Stockard Channing and the villain Christopher Lee – appearing here in a silly Darth Vader get-up, albeit claiming to be a descendant of the Borgias and irritatingly prone to opera singing, not to mention being flanked by an unfunny and long-suffering "navigator"! The African setting allows both ample travelogue footage and, ostensibly, added peril for the contenders; that said, the race itself is curiously lacking in excitement and, besides, while we are told there are as many as 93 participants, we only ever see a handful of stereotype members (Brits, French, Japanese, Australians and one female team) apart from the central rival duo…who, needless to say, end up neck-and-neck near the finishing line but, unsurprisingly, Carradine and Channing emerge victorious in spite of Lee's every attempt to thwart their progression. Incidentally, this could have taken a leaf from the "Wacky Races" cartoons of the late 1960s, itself inspired by THE GREAT RACE (1965) – that is to say, it should have been broader, but perhaps the film-makers did not want to go the route of THE CANNONBALL RUN…which rather let the result fall between two stools, hence s virtual obscurity since its year of release! While it is watchable enough for what it is, especially as the picture runs for a mere 86 minutes, there is hardly anything memorable going on for the entire duration – which makes the involvement of renowned producers Jules V. Levy and Arthur Gardner (their last effort) and Oscar-winning composer Ernest Gold all the more baffling!

Another unforgettable cinematic trend that was particularly popular during the late 70's/early 80's were the illegal Grand Prix race and carsploitation movies. There were a whole lot of exhilarating titles varying between extremely violent and hilariously gleeful, but they all had a few trademarks in common. Impressive stunt work and flamboyant vehicles, of course, but also all-star casts that practically always featured David Carradine. Ever since the tremendous success of "Death Race 2000", Carradine starred in numerous more car movies including this latecomer "Safari 3000". This is basically a very mundane and derivative race movie, but with one unique selling proposition namely its African setting. The race in question takes three days and covers over 2.500km of routes full of obstacles, wildlife and sabotaging danger. Eddie Mills is a former movie stunt man who likes to drive the race, but he doesn't have a car. JJ Dalton is a quirky Playboy journalist who'd like to report live from inside a race car, but she doesn't have a driver. They team up, fall in love in between all their bickering and combine forces against their biggest rival; the obnoxious but cheating Italian multimillionaire Count Borgia. The screenplay of "Safari 3000" is a non- stop series of clichés and stereotypes, but luckily enough it's all very charming and amusing. The lesser important competitors in the race can easily be recognized by their exaggeratedly amplified nationality facets. The French only talk about wine and cheese, the Brits about London and the Australians talk in … well … incomprehensible accents. The most impressive sequences in "Safari 3000" all feature, and I suppose most of it is stock footage. There are extended images of galloping zebras, gazelles, giraffes as well as lions, elephants and buffaloes. The chemistry between David Carradine and Stockard Channing (most known for her role in "Grease") is excellent and Christopher Lee obviously had a good time playing the textbook villain Count Borgia. There are a few notable moments of action and stunt work, like a Peugeot diving into a lake in slow-motion, but overall this is a rather tame movie that primarily revolves on scenery. If you want dazzling action and loads of crashes, I suggest you check out "Cannonball!" instead. *Note: Given the (completely meaningless) number in the title, it's not coincidentally that I selected to watch "Safari 3000". This is review number three thousand that I have written for IMDb. Thanks for reading.

About the only item worth noting on this lackluster film was the chemistry between Stockard Channing and David Carradine. It seemed as if the two actors were reading off each others reactions rather than a script. Perhaps that was part of the problem with this movie.At times this film reminded me of the Disney film "The Love Bug." Of course "Safari 3000" is no where near as good a movie as "The Love Bug," and that isn't saying very much. Absolutely skip over this movie and be glad you haven't given up two hours of your life.