Intense, gripping, stylish and poignant

The biggest problem with this movie is it’s a little better than you think it might be, which somehow makes it worse. As in, it takes itself a bit too seriously, which makes most of the movie feel kind of dull.

One of those movie experiences that is so good it makes you realize you've been grading everything else on a curve.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

An inexperienced lady trucker (Kim "True Grit" Darby) and an experienced lady trucker (Annie Potts) try to stay one step ahead of the repossessor and whoever else may be after them. They drive a Mack Superliner. Suppose it had a synchromesh transmission, but still nice to watch women drive big rigs. They pull a van and not a flatbed, though. Good for hauling citrus fruit. I thought the end of the movie, though representative of the fellowship of truckers, was kind of far-fetched. One of the last appearances of Arthur Godfrey and about the only movie appearance of Billy Carter. The movie shows the thrill and camaraderie of trucking. A couple good songs in the movie, too.

I couldn't resist picking up this obscure action adventure movie from the video store after seeing that title: Flatbed Annie & Sweetiepie: Lady Truckers. This made-for-TV movie reminds me a lot of Corvette Summer, a movie where good guys and bad guys chase a car all over town (that one also features Annie Potts).Here, a woman's husband's truck is hijacked, and now, a collections agent is after her, trying to intimidate her into telling him where the truck is, since she owes plenty of back taxes on it. The woman intends to keep the truck however, and is told that she might be able to make money to put a payment on the truck if she can make a delivery. That'd be easy if only she knew how to drive a big rig. So, she employs the help of sharped tongued trucker veteran, Flatbed Annie, who eventually becomes her partner-in-crime (actually, they're not committing a crime, I just didn't know how else to phrase that). But, Flatbed Annie eventually helps out Sweetiepie in what proves to be a pretty dangerous expedition.It isn't a bad adventure film, though it does tend to wear thin at moments and draw on a bit much at the end. However, if you love Annie Potts or Harry Dean Stanton, or ever flip around the dial for those old Burt Reynold car smashing comedies and things like that, then you might like this one. It's best for lazy weekend viewing.