Drowning on Dry Land

Sometimes (depending on where you live) you see a movie you've never heard of on the video shelves and it turns out to be a peach. "The House of Yes" is an example.

And on the other hand, there's "Downing on Dry Land", a movie that went straight to video and deserved to.

Barbara Hershey hails a N.Y. cab, driven by Naveen Andrews, and having the approx. $5000 it would actually take to do so, requests that he drive her out to the Southwestern desert. On the way down they make decidedly underwhelming conversation. Both seem to be possessed by neurosises which are never really explained. For Andrews, they apparently serve to keep him in a thoroughly sour mood all the time he not only has the fare of a cab driver's dreams, but the company of an attractive and accessible woman as well. Anyone out there feel sorry for him? Neither one properly thanks their "guardian angel", a South western mechanic who apparently can repair a body-damaged Chevy in less than an hour and for free.

Ever notice, by the way, that people on road trip movies always avoid taking interstates - which, let's face it, are boring - and wind up at ramshakle motels - I guess because Super 8's and Best Westerns are pretty boring also.

The only interesting feature of this video was the physical appearance of Hershey, which at 51 was nothing short of astonishing.