Speed Racer, directed by the Wachowski brothers (The Matrix trilogy) was supposed to be one of summer 2008’s big movies, on par with Iron Man, and The Dark Knight. Instead, it’s a critical failure and one of the biggest box office flops of all time. What happened?
Limited Target Audience
The box office disaster is not difficult to explain. Speed Racer has a very limited target audience. It is essentially a kid’s movie, but it is too unique and innovative to appeal to children. The film’s breathtaking atmosphere is defined by the blend of a CGI environment with live actors. The world of Speed Racer is inhabited by real people, but is not “our” world. It is a cartoon world, and the Wachowskis take every opportunity to emphasize that. Every set and every shot is a kaleidoscope of images, beautifully composed frames that jump with childish joy, made of the exuberance of uninhibited visual art. There is no attempt at realism, and that is not something that a kid can easily adapt to. A child is used to either a fully realized cartoon world or to live action; this strange combination will simply leave most kids confused.
There is a rare freedom in the style of Speed Racer. Fantasy sequences sketched in crayon-like cartoon form appear in and out of the film, while mock videogame/anime sequences take place without any real need for explanation. Floating talking heads serve as transitory wipes for much of the movie. Here is a film that is too truly sporadic and childish for a child to appreciate. Meanwhile, the story is too consciously childish too appeal to the cynical male-teenager crowd that so defines the summer box-office.
An Intentionally Simplistic Approach
Much has been made of Speed Racer’s incredibly simplistic story. The Racer family, led by Pops and Mom Racer (John Goodman and Susan Sarandon), run an independent motor company that finances the races of Speed Racer (Emile Hirsch). Following a spectacular performance from Speed, evil corporate leader Royalton (Roger Allam) offers Speed the chance to receive backing from his company; when Speed refuses, the villain reveals that he has been fixing every Grand Prix for decades, and that without his support, Speed will never even finish a race. So commences Speed’s quest to make racing about the guy behind the wheel again.
This story is not much more simple than the story of many of our beloved movies. The Wachowskis' fatal error is not in the simplicity of the story itself, but in embracing that simplicity in the approach. Unlike most of today’s movies, Speed Racer doesn’t pretend to be complex or hard-boiled. It glorifies its innocence and makes it the point. Its characters are one-dimensional cardboard cut-outs that confirm their simplicity with every action and line of dialogue and are absolutely loveable for it. Speed Racer is cheesy to an extent that in most movies would be detrimental; but by glorifying instead of trying to hide the silliness and clichés, Speed Racer compels us to laugh with it rather than at it.
Conventional wisdom would have it that such a childish film should last no longer than 90 minutes. Accordingly, many critics have mentioned that Speed Racer’s 135 minutes is too long. This makes sense on paper, but if you watch this movie, and allow yourself to be immersed in its world, there’s not a boring second to be found. It’s easy to follow, fast-paced, visually stimulating fun with some of the most interesting set-design ever, and some truly unforgettable races. Speed Racer is escapist fun at its best.
