Gold Hearts of Hot Rod County

Farm girl Callie (Stensby) works the fields with her dad (Travis Joe Dixon), but now in the throes of adolescence, finds herself yearning for something beyond the day-to-day responsibilities of the farm. An encounter with local bad boy Zack (Fearnley), themselves teeming with angst, urges and youthful arrogance, stirs something in Callie she can’t explain, but feels compelled to pursue. Thus, begins the age-old story. Girl knows boy. Girl likes boy. Boy maybe likes girl? (it’s unclear).  Boy leads girl on only to embarrass her completely, leading girl to challenge boy in a dirt-track drag-race, but with a slight twist.

While it has a few minor bumps, it must first be said that Gold Hearts of Hot Rod County is, as the kids might say, pure vibes. Unapologetically nostalgic and entertaining, anyone with a fond recollection of the coming-of-age classics that the 80s and 90s offered in abundance will immediately appreciate many of the greatest hits writer/director David Kobzantsev calls forward with utter reverence.

Kobzantsev wants to pack the feel of a summer blockbuster into just twenty minutes, and Gold Hearts of Hot Rod County looks to hit the ground running in that regard, its opening montage complete with thundering intro song injects the film with such urgent energy and excitement that you can’t help but be swept along for the thrill ride, cranking things up again at the films’ synthy dance number (probably the highlight) before it’s heart pounding drag-race finale drops the mic.

In terms of its spectacle, entertainment value, presentation and the overall warm, fuzzy feeling it evokes, Gold Hearts of Hot Rod County ticks all the boxes. The small issues, however, come from its brevity. A lot does happen in its twenty-minute runtime, and while it does do well to establish background, characters and relationship to a decent degree, some of these and other elements are never fully formed by the time the credits roll.

The endearingly cheesy script has a lot of heart to it for sure, truly capturing the idea of rebellious youth flying into the storm of strange new emotions where heart often trumps head, but its dialogue is quite simple, it never dares to delve too deep into its cast of characters, and some key questions then go unresolved. For example, Zack’s introduction, a moment highlighting obvious anger issues over something clearly significant, never receives a full explanation, perhaps something that was left on the cutting room floor. And then the ambiguity of his true feelings towards Callie means we don’t quite know whether to root for their coming together, or his comeuppance. But what makes us care either way is the two leads, Stensby and Fearnley, who harness the brilliant chemistry between them to bring great authenticity to their roles and make us want to follow them right to the end of the road, wherever it goes.

A film that with a timeless quality full of sheer fun and pure nostalgic enjoyment, Gold Hearts of Hot Rod County is a more than fitting homage to perhaps the greatest era of movies ever.