"Let It Ride" by Joe Pytka: a review

The movie ‘Let it ride’ dates from 1989 and is based on the novel ‘Good vibes’ by Jan Cronley. The scriptwriters have been true to the inspirational material they used, however they chose a different ending for the movie. The title of the movie gives away the main location where the movie was shot, which was a race track. This specific race track, the Hialeah Park Race Track in Southern California, was closed in 2001. Even though the racing track has been closed, there are ongoing rumors about the track reopening. There is, however, no solid material to back-up these rumors. Next to the scenes shot at the race track there were also scenes of this movie shot in Miami.

The general staff of a movie includes actors, scriptwriters, artists, musicians, beauticians, people who work with sound systems, lighting, wardrobe and many more. Yet, due to the fact that this movie involves working with animals there was a specialism added that does not appear on every cast and credit note. Next to the general staff an animal trainer and an animal trainer assistant specializing in working with horses joined the cast to make sure shooting the movie was not only fun but also safe for both animal and human.

The story is about a man called Jay Trotter who is a cursing and drinking habitual gambler. He works as a cabdriver and gets a tape from a co-worker and friend called Looney (David Johansen) with a conversation on it about a fixed horse at the horse tracks that is supposed to win. His friend gets all kinds of information by secretly taping the conversations that are taking place in his cab. Even though Jay Trotter (Richard Dreyfuss) has promised his wife Pam (Teri Garr) to quite betting he can’t resist the temptation and goes down to the track to make a bet. He overhears a conversation that is most likely about the horse that was ‘fixed’ and he quickly places a bet. By doing so he wins seven-hundred-and-ten US dollars. Instead of using the tape to blackmail the gentleman with the fixed horse he decides to hand them the tape. They are very grateful and as a reward they grant him a tip for the next horse race. Jay keeps winning money with every single bet bet places and recovers his self-esteem. Every bet he places earns him more money, and eventually he is ‘letting it ride’: which means as much as ‘financing his bets with the money he won from an earlier bet’. By staying at the race course he misses a meeting with his wife who is outrageous when she finds out that he is gambling once again. It is at that point that Jay finds out that there is nothing more important to him than his wife. He however stands for the choice to walk away or to try one last gamble that could pay of all his loans at once. Will he hit the jackpot or will he loose everything?

There are some interesting facts about this movie when observed up close. For example, Jay Trotter has access to the barn area of the racing track during the film, even though this is strictly forbidden on most U.S. based race tracks. Also, you can find an error about NFL games in the movie. NFL games aren’t played on Saturdays, but it does appear on the television screens in the jockey club even though the movie takes place on a Saturday. NFL games occasionally are played on Saturdays in December, but as the movie has references to take place in September this is not a possible explanation.

Originally the film was distributed in theaters worldwide by United International Pictures (United Kingdom, Italy, Australia) and Paramount Pictures.  

The movie Let it Ride is a heart-pounding, drama-filled, action-packed comedy staged at a horse racing track. Dreyfuss gave an energetic comedic performance that will be talked about for decades. All of his characteristics make him look like he was made for being at the track and gambling constantly. He seemed to fit right into the racing “scene”. Teri Garr plays Dreyfuss’s wife in the film, and the male audience most likely smiled every time she appeared on screen. Teri seems to be clueless about Trotter’s actions in the movie, and can come off as dumb at many parts. Another good-looking female, Jennifer Tilly, plays the part of the ditzy girl who is attracted to Jay Trotter, and this affection seems to get stronger and stronger as his winnings get bigger and bigger. Looney (David Johansen) can be described as an oafish, screen-hogging lunatic, but in a good way that adds comedy to the film while keeping it interesting.

In the film Let it Ride, there are many moral lessons to be learned, some fairly clearly stated, and some hidden. The way Jay gambles sends the message “If it feels good, do it”, but this is to be followed cautiously. This message is gotten from the confident look on Trotter’s face when he places his bets, contrary to the normal nervousness when playing with large amounts of money. The movie also sends the message that people aren’t deemed “lucky” or “unlucky” for their entire life, but instead everybody has some lucky stretches and some unlucky ones, with this movie being the high point of the main character’s life. And although cheesy, a main theme is that it isn’t the result of your actions that counts, but the way and style that you do them, proved by Jay’s betting style and pure enjoyment at the track, even before winning a penny.

Overall, the film was a classic and entertaining one. The way the racetrack setting was portrayed, light and happy, was a delightful contrast to the normal dark and evil viewings of the track in other productions. This movie will give watchers a happy feel that will be sure to brighten up any dark day that they may be having. It can be classified as an inspirational movie also, as it gives hope that anything can happen and to love what you do and have fun doing it. This smart, touching film also had an excellent soundtrack, and made viewing much easier and dramatic. It connects with real life gamblers, and is incredibly realistic. This movie should have been bigger than it ended up being in the box office, so it definitely deserves a look from any movie watcher, especially lovers of gambling movies and comedies. A hilarious performance by Richard Dreyfuss will keep you laughing the entire time. 

If you were ever in a mood for a perfect comedy that is light and needs to make you feel good then watching “Let it Ride” movie would be a great choice. This winning comedy movie is based on a novel written by Jay Cronley called “Good Vibes”. Jay Cronley is a popular novelist who also wrote “Quick Change” and “Funny Farm”, both of which were made into movies. Cronley became a member of the Oklahoma Writers Hall of Fame in 2002. “Let It Ride” was released in the year 1989 with a five million dollar budget and it was produced by Richard Stenta.