Jay Baruchel's Stunt Driver Biopic Misses the Mark
Jay Baruchel stars as stunt driver Ken Carter in a period comedy about his ill-fated attempt to jump the St. Lawrence River in a rocket car. The film, directed by Michael Dowse, is based on the 1981 documentary 'The Devil At Your Heels' but fails to improve on it. While the technical recreation is impressive, the movie never finds its own reason to exist.
The film chronicles Ken Carter's five-year obsession with a rocket-powered leap across the St. Lawrence River, a stunt that ultimately never came to pass. Carter's story was previously documented in the 1981 feature "The Devil At Your Heels," which serves as the film's credited source material. Director Michael Dowse and Baruchel previously collaborated on the hockey comedy "Goon," marking this as their second team-up. The production's period recreation has drawn praise from critics, though the narrative itself has been deemed derivative of its documentary predecessor.
This review reflects a broader trend in Hollywood of adapting documentaries into narrative features, a practice that often struggles to justify its existence when the original source material remains accessible and compelling. Audiences familiar with "The Devil At Your Heels" may find little new value here, while newcomers could be drawn to the impressive technical craft. The film's reception may influence how studios approach similar documentary-to-fiction adaptations, potentially encouraging more creative reinterpretation rather than straightforward remakes.