BIKER FOX (review)

Review by Morayo Sayles

If you have ever wondered what it would be like to walk out willingly and happily into a teaming horde of raccoons, you should perhaps visit with Biker Fox.

You go knock on his door and say hi, I will be sitting in the car cringing in horror okay?

That is my reaction to Biker Fox also known as Frank P. DeLarzelere. Frank at the time of filming was a 50-year-old man, living a peaceful, nature-loving life. He runs a business selling parts to antique cars to people all over the country and makes a good living at it. Frank loves his home, and his animal neighbors.

But just beneath the veneer of his very “hippie” persona and I mean, just beneath, lives and breathes his angry alter-ego Biker Fox, a rabid biker who rails at the injustices in the world.

From the poisoning of the human psyche and physique with hamburgers, hot dogs and fries to the mass creation of artificial animals like dogs – a very heinous crime committed by the Chinese, Biker Fox takes umbrage at all that fails to meet his standards of peaceful communing with nature.

There is no line where Frank ends and Fox begins, this man is an amalgam of strongly held beliefs, tolerance and intolerance, rage, happiness and gushing love. Despite his apparent manic swings from one mood to another, the man that is Frank/Fox is one that I would love to have in my corner.

Throughout the film, man and beast test him on many occasions, but for those who know him well, he is accepted and tolerated.

In the 74 minutes of filming, Hordes of raccoons (really! – he feeds them) visit Fox, as well as coyotes, possums, bluebirds, turkeys, a wild horse, cardinals and crows. Each animal seems completely unafraid of Fox. The humans who encounter Fox are faced with gentile politeness or rudeness that could enact the most apoplectic reaction of fury.

There is no seeming rhyme or reason to Frank/Fox’s presentation.

The synopsis of the film alludes to the clashes between the Tulsa Police and Biker Fox, and you see many exchanges not just between Frank and the police authorities, but also with other municipal authorities, with drivers on the road, customers on the phone and the people in his employ. Frank/Fox is like an irresistible force that pulls you in and takes you on a ride that is unexpected and memorable all at once.

If there is one thing that you learn about him, either as Frank or as Fox, it is that he feels deeply and passionately about all that he does. Frank/Fox expends no wasted effort. He is as purposeful in work as he is in relaxation. I learned from Frank/Fox to be just as purposeful in my life. His level of “crazy-free” was inspiring – that I could live my life with no compunction would be so liberating. Frank is fun – his brilliant biker gear and booty shaking gyrations endear you to him.

However, Frank is also scary, as he roars in anger several times and rides around to the beat of Indian drums and chanting.

The film ends with Biker Fox giving a soliloquy of love and well wishes, a sentiment shared with sincerity and passion.

If we had more Biker Fox’s on the road, we would all be a little bit crazier, but the world would be a lot more honest, too.