Made in U.S.A.

This film is pretty dismissible because of its inane plotting and its dazed direction. Leads Adrian Pasdar and Chris Penn are pleasing to the eye, but there's not just not much to do with their characters, who lack any motivation for their puzzling criminal behavior. The movie's two draws are its striking locations and Lori Singer. Probably intended to be illustrative of the conservationist theme barely recognizable in the final cut, MADE IN USA treks through a number of shots of human civilization in decay, including a town poisoned by dioxide in Illinios and an old mining city in Pennsylvania. Taken in this respect, the film could possibly be enjoyed as a moody travelogue. Lori Singer brings life to her misfit vixen, an even greater enigma than her two brutish companions. MADE IN USA, complete with its insipid title, is like many a forgotten movie - strangely intriguing, but a complete mess in retrospect.

With a young Chris Penn starring in this road trip film I was optimistic I was in for a good ride, but all the movie delivered was more like a boring Greyhound bus trip I once took, where all the roads looked the same, and the strange people along for the trip wore blank faces with zero personality. The chemistry between the three lead actors just never materialized and as I kept waiting for something, or anything even remotely interesting to happen on their road trip the film ended abruptly as if my bus had hit another flat tire and the bus driver told everybody to evacuate the bus and wait for the next bus to arrive without a timeline.

This was not a memorable film, and fortunately Chris Penn's career evolved an d he went on to make some great pictures before his life was ended prematurely. God rest his artistic soul. This movie may not have killed his career prematurely but it certainly did nothing to enhance his film portfolio either.

A meager 5 out of 10 rating.

Made in USA i suppose is not for everybody. its simply about these two guys going cross country to of course California. listlessly, they drive through town after town until they bump into Lori Singer. she's a little crazy and i guess one of the better scenes of the the film is when she takes them to her house and they see the town she lives in and her mother...its not really a well deserved shock, but the film later becomes very interesting when their explorations leads to noble foolery.

Made in USA, takes you on a strange ride; although, it has its bumps and scratches, you will probably end up enjoying where you are dropped off.

Very forgettable road movie, that wants to provide an ecological message, but the only message I received was how boring this film is. The words meandering, aimless, and pointless, immediately come to mind when describing "Made in USA". The late Chris Penn in an early role is why I picked this one up, but his performance cannot save what is essentially one long lesson in irresponsibility. Two out of work friends from Pennsylvania's coal cracking region, stealing cars on their way to California, is not enough to maintain interest. Like Centralia Pennsylvania, and Times Beach Illinois, which are prominently featured, the entire film is a slow death experience. Not recommended. - MERK

This is not just a road movie about two wild young men who are destined to go to California, who steal cars and everything else on their way to get there. It's not just a movie about Lori Singer being a hot looking, crazy chick. If you think it is, then you missed the real point of the movie. While those things are in the movie, they are the stories of a few, of many people, who have survived after seeing the decaying of their homes, brought on by industry and commerce.

The scenery shots are amazing to me as they show a real side of America that you will never see in any travel brochure. Almost every scenery shot was beautiful and flawed at the same time. The two towns that were evacuated are real. Times Beach MO. no longer exists, but the land that once was that town has since been cleaned up by the EPA, and is now a state park. The coal mine fire is still burning under Centralia PA. to this day.

I can't say that I fell in love with any of the characters in the movie. That might be it's main flaw, but I thought the part with the Lori Singer and the coyote was beautiful. It was in fact a coyote, not a wolf. It was, after all, in New Mexico.

Overall, I am glad I saved this movie on the Tivo. I almost didn't though, because I was expecting it to be a dumb party flick like "The Wild Side". I was very happy to find out that I was wrong.