jonsjunk-2
This is one of those cases where I honestly wonder if I and all the positive reviewers saw the same movie. This is no hidden gem, more like the rightfully buried turd that it is. It's a coming of age road story that can't decide whether to be edgy in order to appeal to its college-aged targets, or a juvenile fairy tale to bank on the childhood nostalgia of same. It fails in both regards. On top of that, any sort of "life lessons" and moralizing it offers are so cliche'd, trite and shambling that it borders on insulting the viewer. This is a DVD that will end up under the Christmas tree of college-aged kids whose parents are extremely out of touch. Look for it a thrift store or Walmart clearance bin near you.
vranger
In "Interstate 60", a young man unknowingly undertakes a quest to find himself. Thinking that he is delivering a package under the most bizarre of circumstances, on a journey during which he may literally find the girl of his dreams, he faces a series of challenges that will define his character and his future.Along the way we may, or may not encounter God, a variation on a leprechaun, a mysterious set of billboards, a town with nothing but lawyers, and a dying ad man with an abhorrence of lies ... among other interesting characters and situations."Interstate 60" is not fast paced, but it is a delightful and interesting exploration of the measure of its hero, a budding artist whose father would prefer follow his footsteps into practicing law. However, even this common sort of plot conflict is not overblown with high drama.The plot, characters, and circumstances are thoughtful at the same time as they are entertaining. This movie will not be to every one's taste, but it is certainly worth a look.
elshikh4
I bet, after watching this, you had some great feelings, however after a while it might fade away from your memory. MAN, it was about making one of the most thoughtful films and entertaining movies in the same time.. But sure, something got in the way !Originally, it is such a modern odyssey into the contemporary America, with all the lessons of this boy's trip (to learn about life and himself to make the hardest decision, and choose what he really wants to be), plus all the crazy sarcasm out of his very society as well (it's the interstate after all), showing a philosophical reading of life in general, through what could be a comic fantasy road movie. Though, and I hate this "though", the final result wasn't up to all of that.Firstly, it's the casting. (James Marsden) isn't suitable at all to play the lead role. He did nothing throughout the movie but putting the most provocative smile on his face, like it's an ad about a toothbrush !Secondly, it's the editing. Oh what a destroyer! The pace needed to be more sane. Many parts of the movie demanded more time to be understood, yet being slightly meditative was forbidden. The editor dealt with the movie as a comedy or adventure movie, to be totally unjust to the real philosophical nature of it. So, the episodes on the road became too rapid, too laconic, and too intensive. Maybe its writer / director (Bob Gale) believed that the swift cuts would deliver it less odd, or maybe he was forcing us to watch it more than once, or maybe he's like me not satisfied with this editing in the first place !!Thirdly, the directing. Sometime it's a bad omen when a story is directed by its own writer, where mostly something would be unseen for them. (Bob Gale) here nearly damaged his good idea when he made it in that fast pace, with a wooden lead, missing the very point. It looked like a Disney adventure for kids, or at its best as a feel good movie from the 1980s. But while it isn't none of both, it lost the deep sense of it, being not simple inasmuch as damn trivial. (Gale) just hackneyed the uniqueness of the story to make it easier, but to tell the truth, he manipulated it to the extent of being belittled !Look at the way (Gale) as a writer fabricates an action scene near the end, as if movies nowadays can't be made unless with an explosive car ! Part of the story or not, it seemed eventually a desperate attempt to appear more cool and commercial. It's great to speak profoundly, and look plain and attractive in the same time. But this movie sounded confused between both, and too afraid of being philosophical. So (Gale) abbreviated that side badly, like he was making a comedy or action. In fact, it could have been one great musical; at least, there, you might have the time to think of it better.I loved some of the lessons along the way. For instance, the museum of fake art; where the people are so blind, or so self-assured, to see the truth that this is the real deal, so sometimes the real thing is in front of us but we just don't, or don't want to, see it. I loved some of the characters too. Aside from (Christopher Lloyd) as (Ray) who wasn't magically portrayed as he should have been cinematically, there was (Chris Cooper)'s character (Bob Cody) who once was a lair, then now he's like a truth enforcer (the kind this life needs !) as the perfect anti-evil authority. He was the greatest sidekick, or rather rescuer, anyone dreams of. Add to that, some of the bitter irony, where (Gale) shows us exaggerated negative images of actual negative ones in the American society : the non-stoppable eater as the monster consumer, the doped up country as a dark futuristic America where drugs are legal, and the attorneys' city which's creative caricature that deserves a movie apart ! It didn't give itself the chance to be effective, being a movie that got no time for its wonderful subject, or its too many wild images, refusing to be anything but too ordinary flick, while deep down inside it wholly isn't.It's the most teaser-like Odyssey you can ever see.
