This is a charm piece that depends on the chemistry and skill of Mark Hamill and Annie Potts. Corvette Summer never quite found an audience in 1978, but today it is a cult-classic among car enthusiasts, as well as Star Wars fans who are curious about what Mark Hamill was doing between Luke Skywalker gigs. Hamill plays a high school senior who falls in love with a car he's restored. The car is stolen, and he hears it's in Las Vegas. He hitchhikes to Vegas, and along the way meets Annie Potts. Her character is determined to make a career--whatever it may be--in Vegas. Hamill is funny as someone who's a know-it-all about cars, but naive about everything else. Potts is very funny as a girl who hides her brains and feelings behind an ever-changing mask and a series of one-liners.

The film features a parade of colorful characters, including a memorable performance by the late Eugene Roche as a downtrodden school teacher. However the actors take a back seat (pun intended) to the film's non-human stars, namely the candy-apple 1973 Stingray and the city of Las Vegas itself, which serves as the film's glittery backdrop. Recommended.

Kenny Dantley Jr. (Mark Hamill) is on a school trip to the junkyard when he rescues a trashed Corvette. He brings it back to his L.A. school. The students fix it up and trick it out with the help of shop teacher Ed McGrath (Eugene Roche). The class takes it out for a ride when it gets stolen. Everybody including the cops write it off and then a traveling salesman tells him about seeing it in Las Vegas. He hitches a ride from Vanessa (Annie Potts) who is going to Vegas to go pro as a hooker.

This is a fun little film with plenty of 70s kitsch, car-obsession, and an early Annie Potts. She's the fun that keeps the movie interesting and more than a flat B-movie. It's Hamill's first film after his unexpected stardom from Star Wars and probably filmed before that. He's a cute leading man but he's a bit overshadowed by the outrageous Potts. She's cute, funny, and a compelling character. At least, I care about her much more than the car.

"Corvette Summer" does not start at all promisingly. After a jumbled introduction, it certainly looks like we are in for another super-boring road movie.

Our first meeting with the extremely emaciated, nasal-mouthed Miss Potts does not augur too well either. But once we reach Las Vegas, Hamill and his devotion to his car starts to grow on us.

Location filming with Hamill doing a lot of his own hard running and hard riding helps to keep up our interest. And when Hamill drops out and his double takes over to give us that magnificent piece of stunt work as he attempts to ride the villains down on his bike, we are hooked.

Even Miss Potts grows on us.

And it all comes to an arm-clutching chase climax.