My Descent Into Madness: Days of Thunder (1990)

(Author's note: I ran into some technical issues while trying to watch this movie.  Rather than cause yet another delay between reviews, I decided to just write this review from memory, since I have seen this film on multiple occasions prior to beginning my Tony Scott quest.)


Days of Thunder focuses on the relationship between Cole Trickle (Will Ferrell) and his coach Robert Duvall (Robert Duvall).  Trickle is a hotshot new stock car driver, and Duvall is the salty old retired mechanic brought back into the sport to build a new car and train Trickle how to use it.  Helping Trickle grow into a real driver are fellow driver and occasional arch rival Cal Naughton Jr. (John C. Reilly) and Duvall's lead mechanic Buck Bretherton (also John C. Reilly).  At one point Trickle and Naughton get in a nasty accident, which prematurely retires Naughton and causes Trickle to become scared of driving. 

"...and The Beast shall drink of the child's
blood until His thirst has been quenched."

  Luckily Trickle's doctor is Nicole Kidman back when Nicole Kidman was amazingly hot and didn't look like a botoxed skeleton warrior from Hell's 6th parallel, and she uses a very "hands-on" approach to medicine, if you get my meaning (to be clear, she has vigorous sex with him many times, is my meaning). So that gives him confidence, which he is going to need, because his temporary replacement driver Russ Wheeler (Sasha Baron Elwes) has stolen Trickle's thunder (which he only has days of, because if he had several weeks' worth I don't think this would really be an issue).  Trickle must beat Wheeler in a race to reclaim that thunder.  Which he does.  So, the end, I guess.

Oh, and at one point, you can almost see Nicole Kidman's boobs.

Trivia:

• Robin Wright-Penn, Sarah Jessica Parker, Molly Ringwald, Meg Ryan, Kelly McGillis, Brooke Shields, Michelle Pfeiffer, Sharon Stone, Kim Basinger, Jodie Foster, Madonna and Ally Sheedy all turned down the doctor role.  Which is a good thing, because this is the movie that led to Kidman and Ferrell getting married, despite Ferrell being so short and Kidman so tall.