Being a factory worker myself, it was pretty refreshing to see a movie about real people, in real dead-end jobs. I always find it incredibly annoying, and insulting when I see a movie, or sit-com where a guy has a 'dead-end job' that just happens to be an occupation such as a journalist, or wall street stockbroker, in an air-conditioned office. It was good to see a convincing work environment ( the actual Checker cab factory was used) in a film. Paul and Leon Schrader , unlike most filmmakers must have had real jobs, and therefore life experience once upon a time . I was a little dubious before I saw this, about Richard Pryor handling a dramatic role, but he fits in perfectly with a great performance ( and besides, every workplace has a comedian). He ad-libbed a lot of the dialogue, which created a lot of troubles on the set, but also a lot of classic scenes. This film was shot almost entirely using locations. The only set was a spraypainting room, and this was only built because the real one would have been too confined. The whole movie is basically a comment on how the working man always gets stiffed by both the company, and the union that is supposed to protect them. At one point, Smoky tells the others that "They turn you against each other, man against man, black against white". From working in a union environment, I can vouch for this. Union strength comes through division. This movie was very effective in showing how easily close freinds can be turned against each other, through intimidation, and even promotion. I really can't understand why this isn't regarded as a classic. I think that it hits too close to the bone for the critics ( who more often than not, are extremely left wing, and believe unions to be protectors of the working man). Although they will never admit it, film critics despise films that are confronting, and thought provoking. They prefer their films light, fluffy, mindless, and with a happy ending. This is the reason that such icons of shallow filmmaking as Hugh Grant, Meg Ryan, Mel Gibson, and Helen Hunt almost never incur the wrath of the critics. But enough about that, put simply, Blue Collar is a movie that no worker should miss.
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