AllMovie

This low-budget slice of youthsploitation hits all the expected marks for drive-in fodder. There's some racing, a bit of t&a, a catfight and plenty of partying. However, Mag Wheels also harbors a few surprises that separate it from similar, California-set teen flicks like The Pom-Pom Girls or The Van. For one thing, the film is surprisingly dark in its take on teenage life: the story features a rigid, often cruel social caste system amongst its teen characters that can never be upended and often causes problems for the teens that try to rebel against it. Another interesting touch is that the adult characters are portrayed in a sinister light instead being shown as comic relief or sources of wisdom. Mag Wheels also has a surprisingly ambitious plot that gradually shifts from comedy to drama as it moves through its expected highlights. That said, Mag Wheels is no art film: the performances are all rather amateurish and there's a bizarrely happy ending that sits at odds with the tough tone of the scenes that preceded it. However, Mag Wheels is unexpectedly ambitious when viewed from the proper b-movie standpoint and is likely to intrigue anyone into this era of exploitation filmmaking.