Rules of the Road
May 30th 2009 21:08
There are many examples of 'Road' movies, but what are the essential ingredients that make up the genre. I think to begin with you need to distinguish the difference between a road movie and a chase movie. To me, Speed is not a road movie. Little Miss Sunshine, now that's a road movie.
Other examples of what I see as true Road films are Sideways, Roadkill, The Straight Story, Vanishing Point, Wild at Heart... I could go on. Basically, they're slices of Americana that run at cruising speed, where the emphasis is on self discovery.
So what makes the perfect Road Movie? Many of the best involve people who are running away from something. Some are driven by a desire to reach a goal. My favourites are the ones that feature both types.
Little Miss Sunshine has RIchard, the misguided motivational speaker, who retreats from the real problems in his family behind an evangalistic psuedo-philosophy, Dwayne the bleaker than bleak teen with an impossible dream of becoming a test pilot and of course Olive, the plain young optimist who has a goal of winning the Little Miss Sunshine contest.
A criminal tendancy is another key ingredient in any good road movie. Ever since Bonnie and Clyde there's been a spate of movies that involve romantic and troubled criminal couples fated to a doomed exstence.
A classic vehicle is possibly the most important element - and casting the right one is essential:
The Thunderbird (Wild At Heart)
The Volkswagen Camper(Little Miss Sushine)
The Trans-Am(Smokey and the Bandit)
The Dodge Monaco (Blues Brothers).
The car is a character in itself and usually goes on a journey of its own. The Camper in Sunsine is injured along the way, when its gearing system fails, resulting in hilarity as the occupants must perform a rolling start and then jump back into the van before it leaves them behind. Through this, the characters are united and grow closer because of it.
Then there's the weird and wonderful characters along the way. Every road flick worth its salt has to have at least one bug-eyed petrol pump attendant with a twisted sense of humor, or a fascist local Deputy. My all time favourite weirdo is 00 Spool, from Wild at Heart:
"My dog barks some. Mentally you picture my dog, but I have not told you the type of dog which I have. Perhaps you even picture Toto, from "The Wizard of Oz." But I warn you, my dog is always with me."
"WOOF!"
Other examples of what I see as true Road films are Sideways, Roadkill, The Straight Story, Vanishing Point, Wild at Heart... I could go on. Basically, they're slices of Americana that run at cruising speed, where the emphasis is on self discovery.
So what makes the perfect Road Movie? Many of the best involve people who are running away from something. Some are driven by a desire to reach a goal. My favourites are the ones that feature both types.
Little Miss Sunshine has RIchard, the misguided motivational speaker, who retreats from the real problems in his family behind an evangalistic psuedo-philosophy, Dwayne the bleaker than bleak teen with an impossible dream of becoming a test pilot and of course Olive, the plain young optimist who has a goal of winning the Little Miss Sunshine contest.
A criminal tendancy is another key ingredient in any good road movie. Ever since Bonnie and Clyde there's been a spate of movies that involve romantic and troubled criminal couples fated to a doomed exstence.
A classic vehicle is possibly the most important element - and casting the right one is essential:
The Thunderbird (Wild At Heart)
The Volkswagen Camper(Little Miss Sushine)
The Trans-Am(Smokey and the Bandit)
The Dodge Monaco (Blues Brothers).
The car is a character in itself and usually goes on a journey of its own. The Camper in Sunsine is injured along the way, when its gearing system fails, resulting in hilarity as the occupants must perform a rolling start and then jump back into the van before it leaves them behind. Through this, the characters are united and grow closer because of it.
Then there's the weird and wonderful characters along the way. Every road flick worth its salt has to have at least one bug-eyed petrol pump attendant with a twisted sense of humor, or a fascist local Deputy. My all time favourite weirdo is 00 Spool, from Wild at Heart:
"My dog barks some. Mentally you picture my dog, but I have not told you the type of dog which I have. Perhaps you even picture Toto, from "The Wizard of Oz." But I warn you, my dog is always with me."
"WOOF!"
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