HANDS ON A HARD BODY

''It's not just a contest. It's human drama,'' attests the shockingly sage Benny Perkins, one of 23 earnest, hardworking entrants vying for a $15,000 Nissan truck in S.R. Bindler's funny, well-paced chronicle of a peculiar annual competition in Texas. Allowed to sit only during breaks, contestants must keep one hand on the prized vehicle at all times, and the last person standing wins. (The record is 102 hours.) Bindler recorded his subjects with humor and sincerity, and you just can't help but empathize as the colorful cast laughs and cries, cheering one another through this bizarre test of endurance. REEL GOODIES (0:48) Perkins advises, ''If you can't hunt with the big dawgs, you git up on the porch with the pups.'' THE LAST DETAIL Nearly half of Hard Body's $500,000-plus box office has come from Austin's Dobie Theatre, where it has played for more than a year.

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• Movie Review Hands on a Hard Body (1999) | Lisa Schwarzbaum