CinéfestOZ Film Festival 2019: GO!

Back in 2014, Robert Connolly’s syrupy Paper Planes took the top prize at CinéfestOZ, an honour which scored its producers major bragging rights and a mighty $100,000 cheque, practically kick-starting a substantial word-of-mouth campaign that saw the Sam Worthington-starring family flick notching another win at the local box office. This ample success has now attempted to be replicated with the same screenwriter, Steve Worland, coming back to pen another underdog sports story of an ambitious minor succeeding within the realm of a peculiar, but largely familiar, pastime.

Go!, a title which virtually beckons its audience to race to the theatre, has made its world premiere at CinéfestOZ this year, helmed by Owen Trevor in his feature film debut. Trevor‘s years of commanding Top Gear episodes has fittingly prepared him for capturing the high-octane nature of competitive go-kart racing. The premise might sound minor (like its pint-sized occupants), but this updated Karate Kid riff should offer some much-needed respite from the onslaught of animated merchandise-movers that occupy cinema screens once the school holiday period rears its ugly head again.

From Karate to Karts

Where Paper Planes saw Ed Oxenbould seeking atonement with his bereaved father through folding paper into disposable aircrafts, Go! has another newcomer (William Lodder) pursuing serenity with his own widowed parent – his mother this time, played by the versatile Frances O’Connor. Family-orientated sport dramas like this are inherently predictable – its young demographic is quite undemanding in regards of narrative originality – but rarely has the underdog formula been so thoroughly imitated without any deviation than it has here; this owes so much to the original Karate Kid that John G. Avildsen’s estate should be seeking an executive producer credit.

That’s not to say that there isn’t plenty of lip service paid to its 80’s predecessors, especially when an aviator-wielding Richard Roxburgh – this film’s Mr. Miyagi – gruffly makes his young protege wax his fleet of go-karts with his feet. It turns out Cobra Kai ain’t the only Karate Kid revival in town anymore – or, if we’re going to rewrite this with motor-car terminology: this is a new model with old parts.

A Ride Down Familiar Roads

Saddled with a dead dad backstory, Jack (Lodder) has moved to the coastal town of Busselton (where, appropriately so, CinefestOZ takes place) with his shopkeeper mother. A new neighbourhood can’t shake the memories of his deceased rev-head father, with Jack only finding fleeting moments of respite when he’s behind the wheel – whether it be a go-kart or his mother’s station wagon. A c*cky appearance at a birthday party lands him both friends and foe, with each primarily stemming from the powerful Zeta family.

It turns out that the Zeta’s are the clan behind the sleek but unsettling motoring empire Arise Racing, positions them in control of the Western Australian town – both on and off the race-track. Under his conservative “women belong in the kitchen” mentality, father Mike Veta (Damian de Montemas), fails to see the potential in his aspiring engineer of a daughter Mandy (Anastasia Bampos), whilst pumping up his loyal son, Dean (Cooper van Grootel), who rocks the demeanour of the typical rich kid rival, whose sinister slickness extends from his pre-race mantras to his Trump-esque hairstyle.

When Jack strikes a deal with the hermitic race-track owner Patrick (Roxburgh, having one hell of a busy year) – whose own tragic history is so routine that you think he’s invented it to mystify his spry pupil – to trade driving lessons for janitorial services, Mandy secretly switches sides in order to thrust the rusty underdogs into the national go karting championships. The rest rapidly unfurls as expected, rubber is burned, lessons are learned and lasting memories are made – for the characters that is, not the audience.

It’s a damn shame that the script is so reliant on formula – instead of Formula One – because Owen Trevor flexes his visual ingenuity into making sure each race – and the panic attacks they trigger within Jack – are communicated with a polished vigour that wholly sells the reckless allure of this modest mode of motorsports. Driven by an eclectic playlist of nostalgic tunes, contemporary rock and Mickey Young’s synth-heavy interludes (accomodating for both the adults and kids in the audience), the upbeat tone and relentless pace is kept cheerful and vibrant in all the right places.

Split-screens, POV shots and datamoshing are just some of the notable tricks up his sleeve – assisted by the smooth camerawork of Peter Eastgate – whose aesthetic innovations make up for the stock-standard plot beats. As witnessed in Ron Howard’s underrated Rush, it’s difficult to sell the pure feeling of speed in film – without accelerating your camera in a fashion that’d make even 90’s-era Danny Boyle puke from motion sickness. Here, the rapid mechanics of these compact machines are interpreted with a palpable impact; the thrill, the pressure and the delight of these races all come alive on-screen, so much so that it’ll be hard for children to not want to go for a spin themselves once the credits roll.

Go! Conclusion

In regards to movie formulas, many like to say that if it ain’t broke, why fix it. It’s not that people prefer change – if you’ve seen one Marvel Cinematic Universe film, you’ve seen them all – but moreso, we want the illusion of change. Underdog sports stories have been a staple of international cinema dating back to the 1970’s, thanks to the breakout success of Rocky, and now over 40 years later, the Creed franchise has retold the same story with absolute success.

Owen Trevor’s imaginative rendering of competitive go-kart racing provides great entertainment for the whole family – Go! is old fashioned for sure, but undeniably fun.

What are some of your favourite underdog sport films? Let us know in the comments.

Go! is due to be released in Australian cinemas on January 16th 2020.