So, you take Bob Gale, writer and producer of the Back to the Future movies, and turn him loose writing and directing a film that stars James Marsden (Cyclops in the X-Men movies; Superman Returns) and Gary Oldman with cameos by folks like Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Kurt Russell, Chris Cooper, Ann-Margret, and a couple of gals from Felicity (Amy Jo Johnson and Amy Smart). You're golden, right?Right.
Especially when the movie is a road flick about a young man named Neal (Marsden) who really needs some direction in his life and how a North American wish-fulfillment legend/trickster hero (Oldman) screws around with him enough to give him some. With the aid of a truly magic 8-ball and a hot set of wheels that he doesn't even want, Neal takes off in search of Interstate 60, a highway that doesn't appear on any map and goes to places that no one's ever heard of before. In one town, highly addictive drugs are not only legal, they're distributed by the police so that after partying all night the junkies provide menial labor for the clean, crime-free town. In another place, every citizen is a lawyer and all of the gas stations and grocery stores are operated by passers-through who've been held prisoner by endless strings of frivolous lawsuits. Chris Cooper plays a hitchhiker who insists on employing (complete with contract) the drivers who pick him up.
It's a zany movie with tons of great ideas, but the real beauty of it is that they all work together to teach Neal something by the end. It's light-hearted, not preachy, but it has a point. Though that's just icing on the cake of another movie in which you get to see Gary Oldman completely and brilliantly disappear into yet another role.
2 comments:
Loved loved LOVED this flick!
I had never heard of it when somebody directed me to it, and ended up fairly captivated the entire time. I can recommend this one to people enough!
Glowing review. I'll be sure to check this out.
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