Street Machine Australia — June 2017

FANGING FLICK

STORY SIMON MAJOR

COOL FLICK FACT:

Shirley Muldowney was on

board as a creative consultant

for this film and pushed for Jamie

Lee Curtis to play her. She made

it common knowledge that she

did not hold Bonnie Bedelia

in high regard!

T

HE biographical film Heart Like A Wheel

documents the life and struggles of Shirley

Muldowney – portrayed seamlessly across a

three-decade span by Bonnie Bedelia – as she

fights all and sundry to become the self-coined ‘First Lady

of Drag Racing’.

Her story begins in the late 50s, when she supports her

mechanic boyfriend Jack Muldowney (Rossi) in street-

racing his custom Mercury against the local delinquents.

The couple soon marry, opening their own gas station and

continuing to race for fun. Her father Tex (Axton) has long

nurtured her love of speed, and Muldowney’s obsession

with drag racing is ignited when she takes the Mercury’s

wheel and defeats an outspoken hot rodder with an ego-

bruising win. With Jack on the tools and Shirley smashing

gears, the Muldowneys street-race for money and make a

name for themselves at their local strips.

After Shirley meets ‘Big Daddy’ Don Garlits (McKinney,

a dead ringer in both looks and mannerisms), her desire

to race professionally is born. Despite an initial reluctance

from Jack, he agrees to builds her a dragster.

By 1966 she is determined to become licensed and

qualify at her first professional meet. The National Hot

Rod Association boss (Cavanaugh) is only too pleased

to tell her she can’t race because she is a woman, and

that she’ll need the signatures of three NHRA drivers to

be considered for her licence.

She is befriended by Conrad ‘Connie’ Kalitta (Bridges),

who rustles up the necessary signatures for her to run; not

only does Shirley become the first lady to professionally

drag race and qualify, but she immediately sets a new

track record for her class, sticking it to the NHRA officials.

But tensions soon mount in the Muldowneys’ marriage,

as Shirley’s ‘hobby’ becomes all-consuming, with Jack

yearning for a simpler life and undoubtedly a little jealous

of her success. Their rift deepens when Connie tempts

Shirley into joining his major-league racing team, and after

Jack destroys her dragster, Shirley becomes involved with

Kalitta on both a professional and personal level.

The pair create quite a name for themselves throughout

the 1970s by taking their ‘Connie and Cha-Cha’ show

on the road, initially with the Bounty Hunter and Bounty

Huntress funny cars, before stepping up to Top Fuel.

Beau Bridges portrays the sexist, womanising and

arrogant Connie to perfection, and it’s those traits that

will inevitably take their toll on the overly trusting yet

savvy Shirley.

But her tenacity and strength come to the fore

throughout the struggles of her racing life, with her multi-

award-winning career capped off with NHRA Top Fuel

championship gongs in 1977, 1980 and 1982, making

her not only the first woman but the first person ever to

win two, and then three, Top Fuel titles.

VERDICT: 3/5

WITH an outstanding performance by Bonnie Bedelia

as Shirley Muldowney, Heart Like A Wheel is a fitting

tribute to the life of this truly remarkable woman. There’s

plenty of old-school car porn and the historic drag

racing action will keep everyone entertained. Director

Jonathan Kaplan stages the scene of Muldowney’s

1973 fiery funny car blow-up superbly. I desperately

wanted to give this flick 4/5, but the fight scenes were

lame at best, and guru-mechanic Jack saying he has

to “go work on the carburettor” when there’s eight

injection stacks staring at you is just unacceptable! s

HEART LIKE A WHEEL 1983

BEFORE YOU CAN BECOME A WINNER, YOU HAVE TO PUT YOUR HEART ON THE LINE

(^) BREAKDOWN
VEHICLES: 1946 Cadillac
Series 62, 1951 Mercury Sport
Coupe, 1962 Chevrolet Corvette
C1, 1932 V8 Ford roadster, 1963
Dodge D200, 1981 Dodge Ram,
Fiat 500 Topolino drag car,
1955 Chevrolet, 1973 Plymouth
Satellite, 1972 Buttera Chassis
Ford Mustang, 1965 Cadillac
hearse, 1973 Dodge Dart
STARS: Bonnie Bedelia, Beau
Bridges, Leo Rossi, Hoyt Axton,
Anthony Edwards, Michael
Cavanaugh, Bill McKinney
DIRECTOR: Jonathan Kaplan
ACTION: Nicely filmed illegal
street drags; racing action from
the novice professional ranks;
and the precision, high speed
and risk of Top Fuel racing
PLOT: The real-life story of
drag racer Shirley ‘Cha-Cha’
Muldowney, as she graduates
from street racing to the drag
strip, fighting the old boys’ club
in an attempt to become the first
professional female drag racer
AVAILABLE: YouTube
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