Around the time that Steven Spielberg's WWII comedy started vanishing from the collective moviegoer memories, the entire 1941 team, also including producer John Milius co-writing with Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale, had a new movie out that bombed in theaters, unlike 1941 that, despite its maligned reputation, did turn a profit...

The irony is the Robert Zemickis directed USED CARS, co-written by Gale and produced by Milius and Spielberg, was getting the kind of "sleeper" attention within its predecessor's ebbing wake...

As the decade drove on, thanks to cable and the video boom, USED CARS became a beloved comedy classic while 1941 was mired in every "worst movie" list...

And CARS is a terrific little film taking place on a used car lot, of course... or rather two of them, each owned by twin brothers, both played by Jack Warden...

Luke Fuchs is the underdog with an underdog staff led by Kurt Russell in his first real chance to grow beyond the previous two decade's worth of Disney flicks (right before John Carpenter turned him from a bland TV Elvis into a hard-edge science-fiction Clint Eastwood ala ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK and THE THING)...

As salesman/would-be politician Rudy Russo, Russell embraces the attributes of a likeable anti-hero scumbag alongside neurotic schemer Gerritt Graham, giant black mechanic Frank McRea and a trained beagle named Toby...

They're all fighting the evil corporate-backed brother Leo (aided by lawyer Joe Flaherty and an intense Harry Northup): his "gallant" car lot economically trouncing the dilapidated "goofus" across the street...

Therein USED CARS proudly touts the unapologetic R-rating, which probably kept it from being initially successful...

A shame because the curse word overkill (in particular Jesus Christ, uttered more than a Billy Graham sermon) and a few nude shots aren't entirely necessary...

Although, as a dressed-down conventional comedy mixed with a supped-up drive-in exploitation, it's glaringly obvious Zemeckis/Gale were, before igniting the mainstream with BACK TO THE FUTURE, proving to Spielberg they could do their own raunchy thing their own raunchy way, more ANIMAL HOUSE than CLOSE ENCOUNTERS...

And in that, the first half is the most entertaining and humorous, providing glimpses into various creative/crafty stages of sheer unbridled dishonesty, wielded by these tattered lowbrow salesman...

From, right off the bat, changing a speedometer to the most involving sequences making "illegal commercials" (with the help of early hackers Michael McKean and David L. Lander of Lenny & Squiggy fame): breaking into a live football game and even President Jimmy Carter's televised address...

And while the gluttonous glee's eventually curbed by a sweet-natured yet ultimately equally-crooked woman-next-door Deborah Harmon as Russell's subtle love-interest, so much downright fun's had early on that the second half drags comparably once these lovable liars are literally taken to court...

At which point USED CARS, like 1941, goes all-out with enough action-packed/vehicle-smashing distractions to sell this gloriously addictive wreck into something that feels brand spanking new.

Watch movie at least once a year, truly underrated. If you have never watched, take the time to do so..

Rudolph 'Rudy' Russo (Kurt Russell) sells used cars in a almost failed shop owned by Luke Fuchs (Jack Warden). In this shop they sell wrecked cars, with the stripping painting and other horrible things but Russo has a dream: make a good publicity of the shop, sell all the damaged cars to make money and run for a Senate's chair. Luke's brother Roy (also played by Warden) also has a used car shop right in front of his and he also has a plan: To buy his brother shop and moved out to it since the City Hall has planned a project that's gonna made him close his spot.

In "Used Cars" the rivalry between car salesman's and their weapons to attract more clients is a very funny thing. Russo is a talented guy who uses of deceiving and smart moves to sell a used car but he's not selling so much lately. After Luke's death things got worse and he knows that Luke's brother wants to take over his business He hides Luke's corpse, saying to all even to Luke's estranged daughter (Deborah Harmon) that he's traveled to Florida and starts to run with the things on the shop making awkward and funny commercials. Along with Jeff (Gerritt Graham, one of the most funny actors I've seen. Great performance he has here) another salesman and a mechanical (Frank McRae) they produce with a couple of friends some of the weirdest commercials ever, interrupting a football game or President Jimmy Carter's speech, leaving the audience in a total state of shock.

In real life we would probably hate these characters because all they do is lie to obtain a sale. But writers Bob Gale and Robert Zemeckis (who directed the movie too) saw a great opportunity to make a very intelligent and funny movie about salesman who don't care about anything except themselves. One moment that you can die laughing is when Jeff is trying to sell a big car to an big family. He tells to the family to make a test-drive and meanwhile he puts his dog Toby under the car and puts something on the wheels. Then the car passes by and he starts to cry, says that they killed his dog and convinced the family to buy the car. This scene is very funny because the dog wasn't killed and he acted so ridiculously funny, it's such a smart dog.

There's a war between Russo and Roy about who's gonna win the possession of the shop; the publicity lies and many other things. This is one the first films directed by Robert Zemeckis ("Back to the Future", "Cast Away", "Contact") and it's so strange not seeing any visual effects here. By the end of the movie I couldn't believe that this is one of his works. And it's a great film, very underrated and surprisingly funny. 10/10