‘The Stunt Driver’ Review: Jay Baruchel Adds Fuel to a Biopic Running on Empty
For a movie about someone nicknamed “The Mad Canadian,” stuntman Ken Carter deserved a bio-drama just as mad. Instead, he got the cruise-control Michael Dowse’s The Stunt Driver operates in. Though his heart and spirit are in the right place, with star Jay Baruchel unrecognizable in the lead role, serving as another Goon reunion (the hockey comedy, get your head out of the gutter, sicko), it needed more gas in the tank to make this honorable tale of Carter soar.
Image copyright (©) Courtesy of Independent Film Company
MPA Rating: R (for language.)
Runtime: 1 Hour and 39 Minutes
Language: English
Production Companies: Film Cardinal, Protagonist Pictures, Painted Tree & Off-Chance
Distributor: Independent Film Company
Director: Michael Dowse
Screenwriter: Michael Dowse, Jennifer Wilson
Cast: Jay Baruchel, Ben Foster, Ed Helms, Laurence Leboeuf, Dan Bakkedahl
U.S Release Date: September 25, 2026
In 1976, world champion cross-eyed stunt driver Ken Carter (Baruchel) aims to end his 30-year career to a personal height. His eyes are set on topping his American rival, Evel Knievel (a scene-stealing Ben Foster), with the record for the longest mile-jump stunt over the St. Lawrence River in a rocket-powered car. He convinces and enlists the best rocket car designer in the north, Dick Keller (Ed Helms), to build a vehicle suitable enough for him. Keller also gets carte blanche to cancel the jump if he thinks anything is off. They require funding from producer and sports businessman Bill Wilkins (Dan Bakkedahl), who begins to manage the project. But the the thing is, he’s honestly afraid and is hypnotized to help conquer his inherit fears. As construction ensues, more handsy investors become involved and so does Carter’s stress levels. Everyone including his wife (Laurence Leboeuf) assumes he’s procrastinating for he prolongs the jump until Canadian Goldilocks makes sure every aspect of it is just right, enough for Keller’s approval.
Jay Baruchel gives The Stunt Driver its real fuel.
Jay Baruchel and Ben Foster in The Stunt Driver | Photo by Philippe Bossé
Baruchel and Dowse’s deep preparation to shape Carter on- and off-camera is felt throughout the film. Inspired by the Robert Fortier 1981 documentary for the CBC The Devil at Your Heels (which I would love to watch now), Dowse’s alternative perspective has Fortier (Joe Cobden) actively involved in the production, and the film immerses with a solid framework, switching between 4:3 aspect ratio and the traditional widescreen format. Footage of the real Carter from the doc is interlaced between the opening and ending, alongside Baruchel capturing his essence and spirit.
Baruchel’s performance is The Stunt Driver’s real fuel. He dons Carter’s signature deep voice and carries himself with confident machismo and an aura of ego. In vulnerable moments, Baruchel’s voice slips, capturing Carter’s mortality and fear. The film’s supporting cast is decent, with Ben Foster stealing the show as Knievel. The two bicker like children on a playground, making for the funniest scenes and an energy the rest of the film desperately needed. Then also was really endeared by Ed Helms who shares a sweet, sincere chemistry with Baruchel as Keller and Carter’s relationship goes beyond a paycheck.
The Stunt Driver bears solid art direction as production designer Jean-Andrée Carrière impresses with the treacherous ramp recreation that tethers you to Carter’s fear of jumping it. Seeing it in all its glory is terrifying, and Véronique Marchessault’s costume designs help make the stuntman pop.
Dowse takes the adrenaline out of a story built for it.
Jay Baruchel and Ben Foster in The Stunt Driver | Photo by Philippe Bossé
That said, there’s not much underneath the hood of The Stunt Driver. Admirable as it is, Dowse’s direction and screenplay take the safest, most cliched approach to Carter’s story. It’s not as fluffed up as your generic bio drama, but the sanitization is omnipresent throughout. Stylistically and narratively, it starts off engaging, getting me pumped to see Carter’s efforts to assemble the perfect team and build the ramp. Unfortunately, Dowse continuously loses the adrenaline, playing each beat straightforwardly and subsequently, monotonously. The Stunt Driver clocks at a reasonable and admirable 99 minutes, but its stern trajectory makes it a trudging chore.
Not to pit two Canadian director bois against each other, but it’s too early in a post-BlackBerry and Tony world to have bio dramas this stale and automatic when they’ve been proven it can be much more. As I began dissociating like Carter when hypnotized, I couldn’t stop thinking about that Drake’s Beef SNL skit where he goes, “If Josh Gad was here, he would’ve made me laugh,” but with, “If Matt Johnson was here, he would give Carter’s engine some gas.”
Admirable as its production and intent are, especially given Baruchel’s performance, The Stunt Driver can’t rise to the occasion in delivering an entertaining movie as death-defying as the Mad Canadian himself. It’s not an outright crash, but it doesn’t make a far enough jump to be considered worthwhile.
