Rebel Highway
((Showtime, Fri. July 22, 10 p.m.))
Cast: David Arquette, Salma Hayek, John Hawkes, Jason Wiles, William Sadler, Mark Lowenthal, Johnny Reno, Karen Landry, Lance LeGault, Helen Shaver, O'Neal Compton, Gina Mari, Boti Bliss, Christian Klemash, Aaron Vaughn, Tammy Brady Conrad, Kevin McCarthy.
Telepic is first in a series of 10 to be aired weekly, emulating low-budget programmers of '50s and '60s. Directors of upcoming episodes include William Friedkin, Joe Dante, Ralph Bakshi, John Milius, Mary Lambert and Jonathan Kaplan; co-exec producer Lou Arkoff is son of American Intl. Pictures co-founder Sam A. and former AIP head of production.
Dude Delaney (David Arquette) lives on the poor side of town, dates Chicana Donna (Salma Hayek) and aspires to be a guitarist in the mold of Link Wray. "Is he popular?" Donna asks. "No," Dude replies. "That's why he's cool."
Dude gets into trouble with gang leader Teddy (Jason Wiles) -- over girls, natch -- matters soon turning ugly and violent. Into all of this steps Sarge (William Sadler), a tough local cop with his own nefarious agenda.
Rodriguez has a terrific visual sense and one of the fastest editing knives in the business, punctuating the intentionally generic original story with several striking set pieces, including a dazzler in a roller-skating rink. Script has more than its share of good lines, and soundtrack is rife with obscure old (and old-sounding) rock 'n' roll records.
Perfs, most of which involve glowering, are uniformly strong, with O'Neal Compton notable as a cafe owner, real-life musician Johnny Reno as a band leader , Lance LeGault and Helen Shaver as Donna's parents, and John Hawkes as an especially annoying friend of Dude's. Casting, by Julie Alter, is right on throughout.
Subplot involving run of "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" at local Bijou leads to funny payoff for those watching carefully, though Philip Kaufman has already done much the same thing in his remake. Rodriguez hits you over the head with his version of the gag, offering an alternate version under the end titles. Main storyline involving racial tensions, leading to deadly climax, is handled more seriously.
Editor, Robert Rodriguez; writers, Rodriguez, Tommy Nix; camera, Roberto Schaefer; production design, Brian Karsch, Kathleen McKernin; sound, Jeffrey Johnson; music, Johnny Reno, Paul Boll.95 MIN.
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