Let's pretend that you never heard of this movie, which for some of you might not be much of a stretch. What images does a title like Eat My Dust conjure up?

Does it feel like a nice little sleepy chick flick? Do you think that this would be an emotionally heart wrenching baseball flick? Perhaps you think that it could be a dystopian sci-fi flick or a documentary on pointillism. No, it must be a sequel to The Adventures of Milo & Otis. 

Well, if you were to think any of those things, you'd have to be legally brain-dead. A film with a title like Eat My Dust can be about one thing, and one thing only – fast cars. Sure enough, Eat My Dust is indeed about fast cars, only it's also sprinkled with a dash of Opie Cunningham, a "butterfaced" girl with nice legs, and a pinch of sugarcoated counter-culture. So props to all involved with selecting the film's title and providing exactly what the name implies.  

Oh look, I'm meandering about. I'm in the third paragraph and I'm only done talking about the title. How long will it take me to finish this review? How long will it take you to read it? Hello, readers! Are you still with me? Do you feel cheated on the directionless approach this review has taken? Do I care? Do I have a point? That's a damn fine question, son. Damn fine! Truth is I'm just kind of soaking in the freedom that Eat My Dust evokes. Because, while I would like to do a quick plot synopsis, I'm not so sure there really is much to talk about.  

You see, we have Ron Howard. He's an Oscar-winner, see. He's a superstar in a fast car. Or actually, he's really not. He's a punk ass kid named Hoover (probably 'cause he sucks *snicker*) who steals a car right out of a race just to impress the dog-faced Darlene (Christopher Norris). Serious. He doesn't steal the car because he's straight-up gangsta or anything. He just takes it because he's straight-up. Oh yeah, another thing about Hoover – his dad's the town sheriff. I mean whywouldhedodat? That's silly. He committed Grand Theft Auto in front of hundreds of people and his dad's the goddamn sheriff. Odds of getting busted for Hoover, one in a you're-fucking-stupid-kid.

Anyway, so they take off in this pimped-out hoopty and start tearing up the blacktop, throwin' up gang signs and everything. So now they're criminals on the run, see. Just like Bonnie and Clyde if Clyde was undersexed and Bonnie had to close her eyes and wish he was Warren Beatty just to give out a hand job. All Hoover wants to do is get laid, but he really kills nearly every chance by talking to his dad on the car's intercom and calling him "pappy" like that redheaded Southern kid you used to pick on in elementary school who you'd punch in the back of the head and yell, "you made me cross the Mason-Dixon line now, fuckface!" (Note: You were kind of a prickish bully in elementary school; I hope you raise your toothless sperm-pollution better than that) So they go racing along and then the cops chase them and they go faster because they are in a sports car. And they continue running around causing massive damage to the redneck countryside the likes of which wouldn't be seen again until Hurricane Katrina. And they don't stop, they keep racing and running from the po-po.  

Hoover tells his father that he won't stop because he doesn't want to face the penalty. But does he do the world right? Does he do right like Thelma & Louise did and save us all from a sequel? No, he just drives around and makes other law officials EAT HIS DUST! and then drives Darlene home and then gives the car back to the rightful owner before presumably going home to take a nap, get stoned and play Nintendo (when it comes out nine-years later) with little care to all the damage he brought forth the world.  

And you know something? I was transfixed watching this. It isn't a good movie, and it sure as hell isn't a bad one. Eat My Dust is so missionary position that it's hard to describe. But you know, sometimes the missionary position feels right. Sometimes it's the movie you need to just get down to it, have a happy time, roll over and drop back off at the video store you met her at the next morning and promise to call but you never will. You won't remember it a week from now, and you probably won't even remember its name until someone mentions it years from now and you smile and say, "Oh yeah, I saw that movie. Damn right I did."  

The comedy isn't really funny, and its cultural relevance had have been weak even then. Think of how effective and resonant a film like Easy Rider is. Well, if Easy Rider was the cocaine of counter-culture flicks, Eat My Dust is the bag of Pop Rocks you gave some poor bastard who you know will say, "oh shit man, I'm tripping already" at the sound of the first crackle.  

But hey, there are some cool car chases. And car chases are fun to watch, which is why you still watch Smokey and the Bandit. 

Bonus haiku inspired by Eat My Dust and totally not stolen, 'cause I wrote it: 

Get out of my dreams,

Get into my car, baby!

Get into my car. 

The DVD Presentation
This DVD is presented here in the 1.33:1 ratio, which I'm going to assume is how Eat My Dust was shot. There seems to be a lot of headroom and nothing appears to be missing. The quality is somewhat saved because the transfer is fairly clean, especially since the entire film is out in the open air. The Mono audio track is nothing spectacular, but it works. Dialogue and music seems quiet, but I didn't notice any hissing. Subtitles are included in English, French and Spanish.  

And the Extras Are?
Introduction with Roger Corman – (0:55)
Brief, as most of these types of introductions are, Roger spends a few minutes talking about how proud he is of Eat My Dust and how it made him a lot of money. He talks about Ron Howard for a bit and how the film got its title. If you're gonna watch the film, watch this intro.  

How to Crash on a Dime: The Making of Eat My Dust! – (9:33)
As far as short featurettes go, this one is pretty rad. A great deal of the cast and crew are reassembled to talk about the film and making the film. It's nostalgic and brief, but those who enjoy the feature are going to like this retrospective. It's a shame that Ron Howard didn't participate since this was a breakthrough role for him.  

Original Trailer – (1:03)
The full-frame trailer pretty much sells the film for what it is, Ron Howard runnin' from tha law.  

The Bottom Line
There isn't really a lot to seriously discuss about Eat My Dust. It's a mostly pointless comedy with some cool car chases the likes of which are rarely seen in today's world. I enjoyed the film for what it is, and it's light enough if you're in the mood for such a flick. I can't really recommend purchasing the DVD since the transfer isn't in the film's theatrical OAR, but if you are so inclined to drop some money for this disc, I certainly wouldn't chastise you for it. The transfer itself is good, and the extras, while minimal, are fan friendly.