Down and Derby

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Down and Derby

Directed by	Eric Hendershot
Produced by	Steele Hendershot Dickilyn Johnson
Written by	Eric Hendershot
Starring	Greg Germann Lauren Holly Pat Morita Marc Raymond Adam Hicks Danny Shepherd Ross Brockley
Music by	Chuck E. Meyers Andrew Gross
Cinematography	T.C. Christensen Gordon Lonsdale
Editing by	Tony Lombardo
Distributed by	Excel Entertainment Group
Release date(s)	April 15, 2005
Running time	90 min.
Country	USA
Language	English
All Movie Guide profile
IMDb profile

Down and Derby is a 2005 film about the competitive pinewood derby race. The race is for Cub Scouts, who build cars from kits with appropriate adult supervision, but the competitive adults (mostly fathers) often build the cars. This family-friendly movie was filmed in and around St. George, Utah and is distributed by Excel Entertainment Group.

1 Taglines
2 Story
3 Trivia
4 See also
5 External links

[edit] Taglines

Because the pinewood derby is more than just a race
Sometimes Parental Guidance is not suggested
Small cars that make grown-ups act like really big kids
The biggest race of your dad's life!

[edit] Story

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Phil Davis (Greg Germann) was able to "out run, out jump or out hit anyone in my class. Then this kid from California named Ace Montana moved to town. [...] Ever since then, Ace has been number one and I've been number two. Maybe I should have changed my name to 'Deuce'." Even in the cul-de-sac where the four childhood friends/rivals (Montana (Marc Raymond), Davis, Blaine Moosman (Robert Costanzo) and "Big Jimmy" Scaldoni (Perry Anzilotti)) live, the Davis mailbox is #2 to the Montana mailbox #1. After a recent basketball game where Phil's son's team lost to Ace's son's team, Phil realized that the second-place status has continued in to the next generation.

Kim Davis (Lauren Holly) is the den mother of the local Cub Scout pack. She gives a pinewood derby kit to each of the Cub Scouts. Ace Montana acts cool; "It will be good for the kids," he says. The other three dads act like it is a big showdown, complete with appropriate music. Even though the kids are supposed to make their own cars from the kits, with appropriate adult supervision, the four dads have taken over the project. (Phil Davis even reveals the professional plans that he had drawn up as soon as they found out they were having a boy.) They each order a "Pinewood Derby Bible", and at least Phil has also ordered the "How To" video (which is playing in the background in most scenes in his house.) Each of the dads know that the others are working on the pinewood derby cars, but they each think that they are also fooling the others.

The dads are each working "secretly" on the pinewood derby cars, totally excluding the boys.

The boys — A.J. Montana (Eric Jacobs), Brady Davis (Adams Hicks), Danny Scaldoni (Danny Shepherd) and Todd Moosman (Ross Brockley) — are totally excluded from the process of making the cars. Brady, Danny and Todd (we don't see much of A.J.) are at first dejected. But then Todd discovers that his dad has paid him to go away until the "fun part" comes. When he shares this with the other boys, Danny gets the idea to do likewise, and they all do. When their fathers run out of money in their wallets, they give the boys their ATM cards and the PIN.

Each of the fathers has become obsessed with building the fastest car, nearly to the exclusion of all else. Each of them has built a track in the house and are racing cars day and night. Their wives eventually become so annoyed by the obsession that they each leave, but at the same time.

Brady has totally forgotten about the cellular phone advertising campaign that he was supposed to develop for Yakimoto Technology and Communication, until Ono Yakimoto (Pat Morita), Kyosha Yakimoto Joey Miyashima and Larry Savage (Sandy Hackett) — Phil's boss — show up at his house. Phil makes up, on the spot, a campaign about each of the cellular phones being a car in a race with the Yakimoto one winning. He calls the campaign the DerbyMoto campaign (after a mixing of words his wife had made). After that, the four men become engrossed in racing all of the test cars that Phil has made.

After their wives have left, "Big Jimmy" is the first to break "secrecy" and goes to talk to Blaine. The two of them then go to talk to Phil. Jimmy and Blaine show Phil the title page of the "pinewood derby Bible" and Ace Montana is the author. Ace's car, that he built when he was eight years old in California still holds the record for the fastest pinewood derby car on record. These three then decide that instead of competing with each other, they will build one car that will beat Montana's.

Blaine (Left), Phil (Center, and Big Jimmy (Right) inspect Montana's record holding pinewood derby car.

In order to do so, they hatch a plan to steal Ace's record holder, reverse-engineer it, then put it back. The next morning when the Montanas leave their house, Phil and Blaine retrieve the car while Jimmy acts a lookout. It turns out that Montana's name is Stacey Lynn, a girl's name. "There is no way we are losing this race to a Stacey!", remarks Jimmy. After thoroughly examining the car, they find nothing special about it. While replacing it, the Montanas come home, trapping Phil and Blaine inside of their house. Blaine manages to get out a second story window but injures himself while getting down off of the roof. Phil has hidden under the bed in the master bedroom. While trying to escape, he is discovered and has to make a run for it. Ace calls Jimmy (who is a police officer), but Jimmy covers up the evidence.

The three men actually succeed in doing making a fast car and achieve a time of 3.10 seconds. But on Montana's track, we see that the car that Montana has built (the "Silver Sliver") is faster than the current record holder. The three men carefully pack up "The Car" and repair supplies needed. But Jimmy and Blaine have decided that only one of them can use the car that they built, and it should be Phil (and Brady) who beats Ace with it.

At the pinewood derby, their wives are waiting for their respective husbands. Kim Davis says that her father has helped their son to build a car, and he would like to race it. But there can be only one car entered per boy and Brady had assumed that it would be the one that his dad had worked on. Phil, after considerable internal struggle, decides to let his son use the car that his son built and called "The Fluke", that he made with some advice from his grandpa's neighbor. "Big Jimmy" takes "The Car" to race.

Before the races begin, the announcer introduces the man who began the pinewood derby race in California, Don Murphy (himself). After several races, it is down to five finalists, including "The Fluke", the "Silver Sliver" and "The Car". This final race is shown in extremely slow motion so that the drama can unfold. During the final race, "The Car" is leading the pack but loses a wheel. The "Silver Sliver" then takes the lead, but on the flat part of the track, "The Fluke" takes the lead and finishes ahead, setting a new pinewood derby record time.

Ace Montana is very shocked, but makes a gesture of congratulating the Davis' as the winners. But when he is immediately outside of the building, he throws a temper tantrum.

We do find out at the end that the neighbor who advised Brady Davis on building his car is the man on the video tape about building a pinewood derby car that Phil had ordered.

After the credits, Kyosha Yakimoto is watching the "How To" video tape when his son (K.J. Adachi) comes in the room and asks, in Japanese, "Hello Father. Is it time for the fun part yet?" Kyosha gives his son some money and his son leaves the room.

[edit] Trivia

The license plates indicate that the film is set somewhere in Arizona, but the filming actually took place in St. George and Santa Clara, Utah.
In the opening scene of the movie, it is mentioned that "Big Jimmy" "hasn't grown an inch since fifth grade." He has compensated by having the biggest mailbox, biggest lawnmower, biggest (tallest) wife, biggest dog and biggest truck.
The film is also called "Racing Ace" Outside the US and Canada.