The story of Preston Tucker, failed car manufacturer, as told in Francis Coppola's biopic, has a feel of a fable such as David Mamet's 'The Water Engine', an archetypal story of the little man with a dream, crushed by the system. It's therefore surprising to learn that, in essence, the story is true, and Jeff Bridges' portrayal of Tucker as a character of almost wild enthusiasm is also close to the mark. But even if it's it true, it still doesn't convince. Bridges plays Tucker as a man of nothing but enthusiasm, and it's hard to believe that anyone could have taken such a person seriously; or indeed, that such a person could ever have run a large business successfully, however great his judgement and ambition. He's also just too bouncy for us to really feel his pain as life turns against him, and there's an annoying depiction of his perfect family to boot in the classic Hollywoood manner. Above all else the film is a reassertion of the values of the American dream, and while it's amusing to see how Tucker assembled his first car in the manner of a competitor on 'Scrapheap Challenge', the point is that in 99 out of 100 cases, a dreamer wouldn't make it nearly as far as Tucker; in the real world, dreaming alone is rarely enough. Without this context, the film loses it's point and bite: but it's nice to see 50 reconstructions of Tucker's futuristic creation, circling the block at the end at the film.
Review of Tucker: The Man and His Dream
