This is an entertaining film based on the true story of Tom “Mongoose” Williams and Don “Snake” Prudomme. These friends and rivals go through a lot of life together and they both maintain the same goal, to win every time they race.
The viewer gets to follow these men from 1958 to a big win for one of them in 1978, and then we learn what happened to both of them in the subsequent years that followed 1978. They both experience great triumph and great disappointment as one of them goes through a separation from his wife and eventually faces losing his son to a dreaded disease, while the other attempts to establish himself financially and deal with his wife’s desire to be a parent.
Richard Blake as Tom McEwen and Jesse Williams as Don Prudhomme turn in terrific performances. Although the movie features real dramatic moments and humor too, as well as taking the viewer back to various time frames in the last fifty five years, there is a lot of strong language in the movie not to mention frequent scenes featuring the smoking of cigarettes and cigars. We regret we are unable to award our Dove Seal to this movie. It is too bad as the themes of perseverance during difficult times are to be commended.