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Article: Rat Fink's tale starts out infectious, becomes irritating
- Article from:
- Winnipeg Free Press
- Article date:
- November 3, 2006
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright F.P. Canadian Newspapers Limited Partnership Nov 3, 2006. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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By Alison Gillmor
CANADIAN director Ron Mann's look at under-appreciated auto artiste Ed "Big Daddy" Roth is freewheeling, informative and visually lively. It also suffers from the same preachin'-to-the-choir tone that threatened Grass, Mann's 1999 history of marijuana, and completely sank Go Further, his 2003 documentary about Woody Harrelson's Simple Organic Living Tour.
Mann introduces us to Ed Roth, voiced by John Goodman in some cleverly animated recreations of his life. Ed grew up in postwar Southern California, where GIs who'd learned their craft in motor pools over in Europe were starting to rebuild old cars.
Roth got in on the craze for customizing hot rods. "He had a way of ...