Jay Baruchel's Stunt Driver Is a Tepid Leap into Biopic Territory

When Stunts Go Wrong, So Do Biopics

Let me tell you about the kind of movie that makes you wish you had never seen a documentary. I'm talking about The Stunt Driver, Jay Baruchel's latest venture with director Michael Dowse, who last collaborated on the beloved Goon. You'd think that pairing would guarantee laughs, right? Instead, we get a tepid, overly earnest biopic that seems to have forgotten how to be funny. The film is based on the real-life tale of Ken Carter, a Canadian stunt driver best known for the failed attempt to leap over the St. Lawrence River in a rocket-powered car. That's a story with inherent drama and absurdity — but The Stunt Driver treats it like it's a serious piece of national folklore.

“I gotta jump, people like me.” That's Carter's mantra, and it's one that makes the entire movie feel like a performance of desperation.

A Documentary with More Heart Than This

The real source material for this film is a 1981 documentary called The Devil At Your Heels, which captured Carter's obsession, his team, and the wreckage that followed. That doc had heart, humor, and just enough rawness to make its audience feel like they were part of the madness. This new version? It's a glossy, sanitized version of the same story — and it's a step backward.

Director Dowse makes a valiant attempt to blend the documentary footage with new scenes, using different aspect ratios and film stocks to give the movie an almost archival quality. It's technically impressive, but it's not enough to save the material from being dull. The film is slow, plodding, and forgettable — which is especially disappointing when you consider that it was supposedly inspired by a documentary that had more personality than this entire production.

Baruchel's Performance Is More Odd Than Funny

Baruchel plays Ken Carter like a man who's just learned how to read his own obituary. He's over-the-top, loud, and oddly earnest in a way that makes you question whether he's playing the part or simply channeling a real-life man with a chip on his shoulder. Carter isn't just an adrenaline junkie — he's a narcissist who sees himself as a hero, even when he's just making a spectacle of himself.

He's also incredibly loud, which is not necessarily a bad thing for a stunt driver, but it becomes grating when it's all that's on offer. The movie tries to make Carter more human by adding layers — like the radio interview where he's hypnotized — but these additions only muddy the waters further. His fears and insecurities feel like an afterthought rather than a compelling narrative thread.

The Plot Is as Boring as the Stunts

Baruchel's performance is so over-the-top that it borders on caricature, especially in the film's final act where Carter tries to explain his motivations. It's like watching someone who's just learned to drive a car and insists they can race it down the highway without even looking at the road.

The plot of The Stunt Driver follows the same arc as its documentary predecessor — Carter builds up a team, constructs a ramp, tries to jump the river, fails, and then goes on to have a life that's both mundane and tragic. But this version of events feels less like a character study and more like a history lesson with bad lighting.

What Could Have Been

If the film had focused on the absurdity of Carter's obsession — or even just embraced it for what it was — we might have had something worth watching. Instead, we get a straight-faced treatment of a man who was clearly out of his depth from the start. The movie tries to be both a tribute and a cautionary tale, but it ends up being neither.

And then there's the casting. Baruchel's co-stars include Ed Helms as Carter's engineer and Ben Foster as rival stuntman Evel Knievel, who gets a special place in the script as an anti-American villain. That last bit is particularly baffling — how do you make a Canadian hero out of a man who's essentially a cultural icon of American showmanship? It's like trying to make a sandwich without bread.

Why This Film Falls Short

The film's biggest problem isn't that it lacks energy — it's that it lacks heart. It's the kind of movie where you want to see Carter succeed, but not because you believe in him. Instead, you're watching because you're curious if he'll somehow manage to make a career out of his own failures.

The movie's tone shifts between earnestness and slapstick, but it never finds its groove. It's a mess of a film that tries too hard to be something it's not — a funny, fast-paced biopic with some real emotional weight.

'The Stunt Driver' is a classic case of a great idea getting lost in a sea of mediocrity.

Final Thoughts

If you're a fan of the documentary The Devil At Your Heels, don't expect much. This film doesn't improve on the source material — it just adds more fluff and fewer laughs. Baruchel's attempt at a dramatic role is undermined by his over-the-top performance, and the script never finds its voice.

There are moments of visual beauty in The Stunt Driver, but they can't save it from being a slow-moving, forgettable film. It's a missed opportunity — one that could have been a rollicking good time with a little more imagination and less self-seriousness.

If you're looking for a good laugh about Canadian stunt drivers, you're better off watching the original documentary or maybe just skipping the whole thing altogether. Trust me on this one.