Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A 70's Classic finally on DVD!!!!!, March 22, 2004
After all these years the Peter Yates classic staring Bill Cosby, Raquel Welch, Harvey Keitel finally arrives on DVD. Take Cosby's humor, Raquel's sex appeal, Keitel's smouldering late 70's cool and one sweet ride of an ambulance, and you've got Mother, Jugs and Speed. Peter Yates' classic take on the ambulance industry in metropolitan Los Angeles gives us a little bit of everything in a quick, well paced film. Cosby's charm shines in one of his best roles i think as the cynical, no nonsense ambulance driver Mother Tucker. Just by looking at Mother's custom Rig, and patch covered jacket you get the impression that Cosby's character was not always an ambulance driver, but perhaps was once something quite differnt. Follow the F+B ambulance company and their staff of irregulars (Including Larry Hagman of Dallas Fame, and football player Dick Butkus) as they do their best to save the lives of their patients and hammer away at one another with a barrage of jokes, and one liners. They don't make comedys like this anymore where the car was just as big of a star as the trio named in the title. While normally found in the comedy section, the film does have an equal number of "dark" moments that let the viewer know that Yates wasn't just doing this for laffs and help to balance out the humor. The DVD transfer is crystal clear, and the slamming 70's soundtrack will be nostalgic for some, and new, and inventive to others. Another reviewer mentioned hearing Peter Frampton's "Show me The Way" playing in an early scene, and I always think of this film when i hear that song. Treat yourself to a 70's classic, and enjoy the ride, and pray that if you ever need the guys in white that he shows up wearing yellow sneakers with red socks, and goes by the name of Mother Tucker.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
I Saw It In The Theater, August 4, 2005
I saw this movie while working for a private ambulance company in Los Angeles. Four of us got off work one morning and went to see the movie. Right from the beginning, we were laughing so hard that we could barely keep our seats. It was way too real! There is a ton of "inside" humor in this movie that makes it all the better to watch. Years later, I was working as a fire-service Paramedic and I would loan out my VHS tape copy of it to trainees and tell them it was a 'training film' they could watch at home. I always loved seeing their jaws drop when I told them later that everything in the movie was based on truth. As far as I am concerned it had great writing, great direction and great acting. One of my fire service coworkers actually drove the Cadillac ambulance for his company after the movie makers returned it. He said they left the paint job the same even though they weren't the 'company colors'. The part played by Raquel Welch really was true to life as when I worked on the private ambulance company, they hired their first female attendant to work the ambulance regularly. When I got on the FD, my entry class had the first three women on the department. Younger people have no idea how set the 'man's world' attitude was in those days. A great movie that never received its due for its realism (yes, even the humor is real, how do you think you keep semi-sane in that line of work?) that everyone won't 'understand' but those of us in that line of work love.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
A funny look at the dark side of ambulance work., January 6, 1999
By A Customer
There are so few movies that are geared towards ambulance work. Mother,Jugs and Speed is in many cases one of the only movies on this topic out there. It is a very light hearted look at the possibilities (and past realities) of emergency medical services. I enjoyed it not only for the subject matter, but also for the cast. Bill Cosby truly portrays the "burned out" EMT who still cares for his patients while Harvey Keitel is a great straight man. Raquel Welch adds to the film not only with her screen presence, but also in bringing to light the plight of women breaking into this field. Larry Hagman's character is, in many ways, a disgrace to the profession, and yet he still provides you with a few laughs. I think this movie can be enjoyed by all, but most likely by those who are involved in emergency services of some kind. I consider it one of my favorites and I hope you do too!
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