Heart Like a Wheel (1983)

• Year: 1983
• Released: 01 Apr 1983
• Country: United States
• Adwords: Nominated for 1 Oscar. 4 nominations total
• IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0085656/
• Rotten Tomatoes: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/heart_like_a_wheel
• Metacritics:
• Available in: 480p,
• Language: English
• MPA Rating: PG
• Genre: Biography, Drama, Romance
• Runtime: 113 min
• Writer: Ken Friedman, Joan McCall, David E. Peckinpah
• Director: Jonathan Kaplan
• Cast: Bonnie Bedelia, Beau Bridges, Diane Delano
• Keywords: sports, biography, drag racer,

	6.7/10
	74/100
	100% – Critics
	82% – Audience

Heart Like a Wheel Storyline

Shirley Muldowney née Roque came by her love of driving fast cars naturally, after her father placed her behind the steering wheel as he was driving when she was a child, and as she and her then boyfriend Jack Muldowney (who would become her husband) participated in local street races when she was a teenager. As her mechanic and initial race car builder, Jack somewhat supported his wife’s quest to drive in National Hot Rod races, although he saw her drag racing more as a hobby (her full time job being as wife and mother) while she saw it as her potential career. In the mid 1960’s, Shirley, the type of woman who would not take no for an answer, fought through the stereotype that anyone involved in any type of motor sport had to be man, to get licensed in the National Hot Rod Association, with the help of fellow driver Connie Kalitta, who had more than a professional interest in her. Because of her female chutzpah, Connie gave her the moniker “Cha-Cha” (which she disliked), which would be widely used by the public and the media. As Shirley progressed in the sport, her relationships with both Jack and Connie would be tested, both personally and professionally.—Huggo

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Heart Like a Wheel Movie Reviews

Excellent racetrack drama with a terrific performance by Bonnie Bedelia

Bonnie Bedelia delivers a fiery, roughly textured, outstanding performance in a rare substantial lead role as Shirley “Cha-Cha” Muldowney, the gutsy, sassy (“The only thing I do fast is drive”), willful, supremely determined and self-sufficient real-life pioneering feminist professional race car driver who had to overcome lots of doubt, discrimination and sexual prejudice during her arduous climb to bona fide race car champion status, winning the much-coveted NHRA Top Fuel World Championship an unprecedented three times in a row.

Directed with customary acuity and facility by Jonathan Kaplan, this sterling sports biopic stands out not so much for what it does but for what it doesn’t do. For starters, the film never glorifies its very appealing, but still quite human and fallible heroine, offering instead an evenly balanced, fully rounded, warts-and-all portrait of Muldowney, whose remarkable success on the racetrack is countered by her often shaky and unfulfilling personal life. Shirley’s victories come at the cost of her marriage to decent, but insecure automobile mechanic Jack (skillfully etched by Leo Rossi, who manages to create genuine sympathy for a potentially unlikeable character) and thrust her into a tumultuous romantic relationship with arrogant, sexist, philandering rival driver Connie Kalitta (an excellent Beau Bridges). Still, Ken Friedman’s astute, daring and forthright script gives Shirley her just due for bravely breaking down restrictive sexual barriers, refusing to buckle under often intimidating odds, and triumphantly besting men in a largely male-dominated sport. Secondly, the film doesn’t go overboard with either the racetrack action or evocation of previous decades (Shirley began her professional drag racing career back in the mid 60’s and kept on racing into the early 80’s), rightly emphasizing a most rewarding and uplifting tale of how sheer iron will and tenacity play a huge role in how successful one is in life.

While Bedelia surely dominates the film with her exceptional characterization, the rest of the cast definitely hold their own: Anthony Edwards as Shirley’s proud, caring son, Hoyt Axton as Shirley’s supportive country-and-western singer father, Bill McKinney as a cocky drag racing superstar, Dick Miller as an understanding family friend, Paul Bartel as a pompous French TV show chef, Michael Cavanaugh as a jerky NHRA boss, and Jonathan Haze as a smooth racetrack announcer are all uniformly fine. Tak Fujimoto’s crisp, elegant, proficient cinematography and Laurence Rosenthal’s jaunty score add authentic flavor to the movie’s meticulous recreation of past eras and equally minutely detailed depiction of the vibrant, smoky, harshly competitive racetrack milieu. The racing scenes are vivid, thrilling and atmospheric; the wipe-out sequences are shockingly abrupt and harrowing. However, it’s the tremendous accomplishments of the extraordinary Shirley Muldowney (she served as creative consultant on this movie) and Bonnie Bedelia’s superlative portrayal which make this film a true winner all the way.

One to watch

This film is a great representation of the true story of Shirley Cha Cha Muldowney. Drag racing enthusiasts will love it for the cars and it’s true story and general film lovers will like it for it’s story about the first female racer to break into this male dominated sport. Not only did she do that but she dominated it in the late seventies and early eighties. I first saw this film at the age of 11 at a custom car show in Leeds, England and it was a real eye opener to the sport.

Wins you right over

The last thing that interests me is auto racing, so when this popped up on the TV channel I was watching, I figured I’d turn it off as soon as I was sure the opening credits promised nothing intriguing. I was drawn into the movie immediately, though, and it held me all the way through. I still don’t care about auto racing, but… shh… the movie is really about people.