Six Pack (film)

Six Pack is a 1982 American comedy-drama film directed by Daniel Petrie and starring Kenny Rogers, Diane Lane, Erin Gray, Anthony Michael Hall and Barry Corbin.

Not to be confused with Sixpack (film).
Six Pack
Theatrical release poster
Directed byDaniel Petrie
Produced byMichael Trikilis
Written byMike Marvin
Alex Matter
Starring
Music byCharles Cochran
Roger Cook
Charles Fox
CinematographyMario Tosi
Edited byRita Roland
Distributed by20th Century Fox
Release date
July 16, 1982
Running time
108 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$11.5–13.5 million[1]
Box office$20,225,989

Plot

When race car driver, Brewster Baker, stops at a gas station, parts are stolen from his race car. Then while in a diner in a small Texas town, he sees some people stealing parts from another car, and chases the thieves. When the thieves' van goes into a river, Brewster rescues them and discovers that they are orphaned children. The kids were stealing auto parts for "Big John" the corrupt county sheriff, who jails Brewster for breaking and entering, larceny, resisting arrest and speeding.

After the kids help break Brewster out of jail, Brewster reluctantly takes the children with him. Eventually, they form a friendship and bond. The end of the movie features real race footage from the 1982 NASCAR Coca-Cola 500, held at Atlanta Motor Speedway and won that year by Darrell Waltrip.

Cast

Music

The theme song to the film is "Love Will Turn You Around", a song performed and co-written by Rogers that was a #1 country and adult contemporary hit. It peaked at #13 on the pop chart. Miles Goodman served as an orchestrator for the film's score.[3]

Box office

The film had a limited release on July 16, 1982 and went wide on July 23, 1982. It grossed over $20 million during its theatrical run.[4]

Reception

Janet Maslin of The New York Times in her review, called Six Pack "good-natured but none-too-interesting" as a typical fable where "orphans find a father, a lonely man finds a good woman, an unsuccessful racer makes good on the comeback trail, and everybody lives unreasonably happily ever after."[5]

Filming locations

Parts of the movie were filmed in Jefferson, Georgia at Jefco Speedway also known as Georgia International Speedway and Peach State Speedway now known as Gresham Motorsports Park. Some local Jefferson teens were used as extras in the film. Notable NASCAR racing legends raced at the track such as Bobby Isaac, ‘(Tiger Tom)' Tom Pistone, Jody Ridley, LeeRoy Yarbrough, Wendell Scott, Mark Martin, Freddy Fryar, Darrell Waltrip, Alan Kulwicki, Larry Pearson and Rusty Wallace. ‘Alabama Gang’ racing legends Neil Bonnett, Bobby Allison, Donnie Allison and Davey Allison.

The film crew worked from the Holiday Inn Powers Ferry in Atlanta, Georgia. At least one scene was filmed in a guest room there. Another scene was filmed at a pub located in a strip mall up the hill from the Holiday Inn.

The jail and sheriff car sabotage scenes were filmed in downtown Buford, Georgia.

The scene with the van going in the river was filmed in Suwanee, Georgia at Settles Bridge at the Chattahoochee River

The movie also features the bas-relief Confederate memorial sculpture at Stone Mountain in one scene.

The car chase scene was shot on Popular Springs Road in Powder Springs, Ga.

The wedding scene was shot at Mceachearn United Methodist Church in Powder Springs, Ga.

Television show

In 1983, there was a spin-off television show of the same name which featured Don Johnson as Brewster Baker and Markie Post as Sally Leadbetter. This show also featured Joaquin Phoenix (billed as Leaf Phoenix) in his second role.[6]

Home media

The film was released on VHS on May 19, 1993. It has been released twice on DVD, the first time on April 4, 2006, followed by a second release on July 3, 2012.[7]

As of 2020, the feature has not been released in the digital format.

Six Pack is mentioned prominently in "Breakfast in Dubbo", the ninth chapter of New Zealand-Australian comedian Tony Martin's collection of autobiographical essays, Lolly Scramble: A Memoir of Little Consequence (2005). In "Breakfast in Dubbo," Martin recounts a lengthy bus trip in New South Wales that took place in 1986, during which the passengers were given the opportunity to vote for a movie to watch on video. Passengers were invited to vote for either Excalibur, Beverly Hills Cop, This is Spinal Tap, or Six Pack. Despite Martin's attempts to drum up support for This is Spinal Tap, the majority of passengers voted to watch Six Pack, to Martin's dismay. Martin recorded a spoken-word version of "Breakfast in Dubbo" which appears as track 27 on the CD Get This: Illegal Download (2006).

Six Pack is mentioned in the TV show Squidbillies Season 2 Episode 11 "Terminus Trouble". In the episode, Early Cuyler, his son Rusty, and the Sheriff make a trip to Atlanta, Georgia and visit a location used in the film.

In 2019, Jonathan Davenport ran a Brewster Baker-inspired paint scheme in dirt late model's biggest race, the World 100 at Eldora Speedway, and won the race. The following year, NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series driver Ty Majeski painted his truck after Brewster's car for the Southern 500 throwback weekend at Darlington Raceway.[8]

The movie was featured on the full Kenny Rogers tribute episode of the Disasters In The Making podcast in April 2020.[9]

References
  1. https://catalog.afi.com/Film/56873-SIX-PACK?cxt=filmography
  2. "Benji Wilhoite". findagrave.com. 2011. Retrieved 21 March 2020.
  3. "SIX PACK". Library of Congress. Retrieved 19 May 2015.
  4. "Six Pack (1982) - Box Office Mojo". BoxOfficeMojo.com. Retrieved 2009-12-19.
  5. Maslin, Janet (1982-08-20). "Movie Review Six Pack (1982) KENNY ROGERS'S 'SIX PACK". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2012-07-11. Retrieved 2009-12-19.
  6. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0938335/
  7. Six Pack (DVD)
  8. Tomlinson, Joy (September 3, 2020). "NASCAR 101: Here Are the 2020 Darlington Throwback Schemes". Frontstretch. Retrieved September 3, 2020.
  9. "#DITM 04/02/20 Crack A 6-Pack for a Bad Case of Film Racing". KLRN Radio. April 2, 2020. Retrieved September 3, 2020.
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