If Rockstar Games is widely known, it isn’t for producing films so much as it is for creating controversy. Last year they became the subject of a lot of finger-pointing by politicians for leaving a sexual mini-game in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. It wasn’t their first controversy; in fact the entire Grand Theft Auto franchise has always been under scrutiny by people who make themselves out to be purveyors of decency. But Rockstar makes great games and they are currently pushing the non-violent Rockstar Presents Table Tennis on the Xbox 360. Gone are non-playable gang members swearing at me, replaced with vulgar British people swearing at me over Xbox Live as I check them in some Ping Pong with my backhand backswing.

Didn’t see that one coming did you “KOK-NE Boi32?”

Oh, and they produce films. I’m not sure what they use as a selection process for what they would like to produce, but I am sure that Sunday Driver seemed like a good idea because it is about the California Majestics Car Club, and low rider cars were a part of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.

The sad fact however, is the video game had more depth - and it shouldn’t have, because this is a documentary.

Sunday Driver starts off perfectly fine. We learn the history of the Majestics and how they came to be. We hear members speak passionately about their rides and the many customizations they made to them. Whether they like their hydraulics or they love their Dayton wheels or they chrome every goddamned thing out, they love their cars. It is this portion of Sunday Driver where it excels most. Just letting people talk passionately about their vehicles. My personal favorite is Doc, who specializes in painting cars. He’s an old-school guy and likes old-school rides; being among the oldest of the participants in this documentary he is the best at discussing the historical importance of the low rider.

But before the half-way marker the “crime” aspect starts coming into play. Many of the participants talk about how they want to move away from the connection that low riding has with crime. At times, you might believe that. It’s hard to retain sympathy though, because those featured who have criminal pasts talk with a lot of glee about it. Its one thing to acknowledge your past, but it is another to recount the memories of specific events and laugh about them, bragging about your time in jail and overall acting ignorant as you express a love for gangbanging. This is further thrown into odd territory when it is revealed that Gangster, the president of the Majestics, is now serving a 20-year sentence – since Sunday Driver was shot – for his involvement with a Mexican drug ring.

Nice one, G. Kinda kills all the good you did setting up parades doesn’t it?

Sunday Driver looks slick and features a great soundtrack, but I can’t see how anyone except for the most diehard car buff would want to see it. It further limits itself by focusing only on the Majestics. There are many other car clubs out there, and many other ethnicities that are big into low riding. By limiting the look at only one of these clubs, I feel Sunday Driver limits the scope of the lifestyle. This is a topic that could have benefited greatly from more participants.

Disc Presentation
The video is completely acceptable. The transfer of new footage is really sound and looks fine. This being a documentary though, it also uses archival footage, which retains the condition it was found in. Naturally, this isn’t something to condemn, but to praise. The audio is a different story. With such a great soundtrack with rap hits, why isn’t this pushing the surrounds? When I hear “California Love” by 2 Pac and Dr. Dre, I want that to blow the speakers. It doesn’t. Big loss on the audio mix. Thankfully though, Palm has done well to include multiple subtitles, including English.

And the Extras Are?
The extras are divided up into 16 deleted scenes, or just extra footage that was never intended to be used.

Switches – Learn how the hydraulics work on a low-rider.

Gangster doing time – Gangster tells us the story about the first time that he went to prison.

Gangster’s ‘59 Impala – Footage showing Gangster winning 2nd place at a car show, and him talking about how it was because of “politics” that he didn’t win first.

Sharing Things – Gangster calling Turtle a fag – repeatedly. He explains that if you watch two other people have sex and don’t get horny, then you are a fag. Twin is therefore a fag, because this he did.

Impound – Gangster and Turtle share stories about how they used to steal cars and how Twin used to keep the dogs occupied at the impound yard.

G & T – Our favorite criminals discuss the relative ease of stealing an entire engine out of a car. “Ain’t nuthin to pull a Chevy engine!”

The Santana – Gangster walks you through the changes he intends to make on his ‘64 Impala.

OG Twin – Gangster is awfully proud about his new low rider, and he wants to show it off.

Doc’s Pipe Story – Doc tells us about the good old days when people soldered piano wire to their pipes which would make the cars so loud that they could shatter windows.

Doc – Doc tells us about the time before hydraulics; when low riders were really “low.”

The Santana in Japan – One of the more amusing supplements. After G’s arrest, his low-rider collection was sold off internationally. The Santana ended up in Japan. In this we get to meet its current owners and see how Okinawa residents love their low-riders.

Gangster’s Paradise in Japan – Similar to the last one, the new Ganster’s Paradise owner loves it so much that he built a motorcycle in the same chrome and color scheme and won first place at a bike show with it.

Twin 2006 Still Rollin’ – Twin receives an award for longevity in the club, and talks about the direction without Gangster.

Twin Not a Hopper – Twin admits he doesn’t like hydraulics very much. He prefers the authentic low ride.

Big Earl and Little Eric – Big Earl confesses to not being a criminal. He and his non-criminal 11-year-old son demonstrate the ease of hopping your car.

Majestics 2006 – You wanna roll with the Majestics? Your car better be clean before you even apply for membership, per Twin.

Slideshow – A short 46-second video feature showing still photos of the Majestics and their rides.

Previews – Two non-anamorphic widescreen previews of Palm Pictures releases. Bomb The System and The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things. Both look exceptionally better than Sunday Driver, and Heart looks great. I can’t wait to check it out.

Finally you get a Sunday Driver bumper sticker, which you can stick on your low-rider I guess.

The Bottom Line
I like to think of myself as a man unclouded by racial stereotyping. Coming up in a diverse neighborhood and coming from an extremely slummy Junior High, I’ve made friends and enemies of all types. So I never thought of low-riding as a strictly “gangsta” thing to do, and I never assumed that 90 percent of the low-riders are gangsters. I still don’t think that. But after watching Sunday Driver, I do think that 90 percent of them are stupid. Almost none of the people interviewed can form a sentence without an expletive, and more importantly, can’t really bring any justification as to why they like low riding. This makes me wonder what the point of this documentary is, because it sure hasn’t convinced me that there is anything beneficial about the subculture. In fact, I’m less convinced about its worth than before.

Sunday Driver never makes it out of the garage.