Weird film about nothing

This was a great film, I knew I was going to enjoy it when the first scenes of stock cars and nasty Link-Wray-style surf burst vividly on to the screen. After that the slow and peculiar voice of the narrator starts to set the scene (such as it is) and I was immediately drawn in.

Although there is no plot as such there is something engaging about almost every bit, the camera follows the inept hustling of the main character as he tries to get enough money to fix his car and enter a race. It's not really about that though, it's more about the alien-ness of a society where everyone seems disconnected from everyone else - there often seems to be a threat below the surface and it makes small town America seem very distant indeed. I love the weird bits such as when Chance swaps his stolen microphones for a lucky fish or when two of them wake up with an unexplained nosebleed (or maybe that's not so weird)

I particularly liked the way that, as often as not, the sound is out of sync with the mouth of the speaker and the vocals have a peculiarly echoed effect that adds to the overall otherness of the environment that is pictured.

There is a lot of humour in this film and there are loads of good (and some bad) tunes in the soundtrack. Considering it was made on such a budget It also looks good, there is a brilliant bit with the camera shooting up and out of a car window as it drives along at night past all these neon signs, conjuring something of the spirit of Road Runner by Jonathan Richman though possibly with a more sinister twist.