Interstate 60: Episodes of the Road

'Interstate 60' is a light movie and despite being made in the early 2000's, it looks like the product of the eighties. Including the kitsch and the cheesiness involved. Generally, I thought it started kind of slow but gradually improved as the movie went on.

The things I liked:

• The story. It's original and rich. Not everything is great, but overall, I really appreciate the effort.

• Has genuinely funny moments.

• Never boring. You know how it ends, but you still want to see what's next.

• The lawyer town is a stroke of genius. Very smart and very funny episode.

The not so much:

• There was no real bond between me, the viewer, and the main character. Mainly because some of his actions made him look rather unlikable (nothing too serious but I wouldn't applaud such behavior). Also, there was no real depth to him.

• Visually too simple. It really could have used some atmospheric visuals/score to augment the surrealism.

• O. W. Grant's problem was really unnecessary.

My conclusion, is that if you have a mood for a light movie and don't mind a bit of surrealism, this one is a good choice. Eventually it bears a good message as well - which is follow your heart - even if it is not as pronounced as one would expect.

I am surprised I have never heard about this film. I became aware of it when I saw one of the YouTube shorts. It seemed interesting and I decided to give it a chance. I am glad I did. The movie was interesting, funny, and dynamic enough for me to never pause it and just see it all the way through, which is something that rarely happens. I liked the characters and actors' performances. There is a bit of a morale in the movie, so I think I may rewatch it with my son. This was an easy watch, light, humorous, and entertaining. Christopher Lloyd's and Gary Oldman's characters were my favorite. Recommended!

James Marsden. Gary Oldman, Ann Margret. And the old team of Michael Fox and Christopher Lloyd. Think back to the future. And this film has many references to B. T. T. F. the legendary galaxy of stars. Oldman is O. W. Grant, who grants wishes. Mysterious. And Ray (LLoyd) keeps popping up too. With options. Possibilities. Marsden is Neal, an artist at heart. But his dad wants him to become a lawyer. Ray gives Neal an assignment. On a road that doesn't exist. So off he goes, and meets all kind of strange, wacky magical folks. On strange missions of their own. Kurt Russell is a cop. Lots of talk of choices. What's inevitable. What isn't. Just roll with it. Written and directed by Bob Gale. ... who just happened to write the screenplay for back to the future. Full circle. Good stuff. Fun fairy tale.

"Interstate 60" is about a highway that doesn't seem to exist, yet somewhere in between two highways in Louisiana it does, indeed, exist. The main character of the film has a hard time trying to find it at first, for his destiny lies somewhere upon the seemingly non-existent highway.

People looking for "Interstate 60: Episodes of the Road" may have just as hard a time looking for the movie itself, as it was not theatrically released, has not been released on DVD, but continues to circulate around small theaters and film festivals since 2002, in search of more eager viewers who will no doubt be both surprised and inspired by the film's truthfulness and sense of morals.

Yet "Interstate 60" plays like anything but a Surgeon General's warning. It isn't as openly strict or hard-nosed. It has a sort of subtle warning inside it that lets the viewer decide what it is about. It's a film that stays with you after it's over, and that's a rare thing these days.

It all starts with a rich kid named Neal Oliver (James Marsden, "X-Men"). Neal's 22nd birthday has just arrived, and with it a shiny-red BMW sports car, with the license plate specially modeled after his father's own personal motto. In fact, the entire convertible seems to be modeled after Neal's father's own tastes. "I woulda killed to have something like this when I was your age," his dad mutters. We have a feeling he really would have, too.

Neal makes a wish for his birthday, to find a meaning to his life. It is overheard by an odd man named O.W. Grant (full name: One Wish Grant), who decides to grant Neal his wish - by sending a painter's bucket flying from above, only to come to a stop on Neal's skull.

Out of it for a while, Neal wakes up again and finds his perception noticeably different. He notices things he never noticed before; his senses are more acute. A strange doctor named Ray (Christopher Lloyd) explains a thing or two about perception and blindness to Neal, before Neal finds out there is no doctor on the staff at the hospital named Ray (though that seems a bit odd, don't you think?).

Neal meets Ray again in a skyscraper, where Ray gives Neal a job to transport a small briefcase to Denvar (yes, DenVAR), a small town located along I-60. Neal reluctantly agrees to go on this journey in hopes of finding a girl he can't rid his mind of, and so he finally locates this nonexistent highway. Along his journey he once again meets O.W. Grant (Gary Oldman), as well as Laura (Amy Jo Johnson), a woman seeking as much sex as possible; a cop (Kurt Russell) in a small drug-infested town; an ex-advertising agent played by Chris Cooper; and finally he finds the girl of his dreams (literally), Lynn (Amy Smart). Along his journey, Neal comes to terms with himself and who he really is, and though this is predictable the way the film gets the message across is more than ingenious.

The writer and director of the film is Bob Gale, the man most people will always remember as the creator and sole writer of the three "Back to the Future" films. Gale tried his hand at directing a few times, including the 1995 "interfilm" called "Mr. Payback," which I have not seen but have heard is a supposedly horrid excuse for a film. "Interstate 60" is not - it is a cleverly-written little film that avoided being released into the mainstream, and for a reason: It didn't want to become Hollywoodized. It hasn't. And it shows.

"Interstate 60" is unmistakably a low-budget film, but it is all the better for it. It has some important messages that really should be seen by everyone. In a time when films like "Gigli" are invading the film market, this is a breath of fresh air, a step towards a better side of film-making, a side with morals for today's youth and future generations.

There are some great messages in this film, it's a shame that the majority of moviegoers and families seeking quality films will never even see this film, much less hear about it.

The only way I got to see this film, was to order it online from amazon.com and ship it over from the US. I can't even remember how I came across hearing of the film, I think I was just browsing the net one day and saw the name 'Bob Gale' attached.

I'm a huge fan of the BTTF series, and pretty much appreciate all works done by cast and crew of the series in other titles. Robert Zemeckis, Bob Gale, Christopher Lloyd, and the great MJF to name a few! So how come I'd never heard of this film 'Interstate 60', as it contains 3 of the 4 aforementioned magical ingredients (albeit the 2 actors in secondary roles).

Intrigued, I set about attempting to obtain the movie, which proved more painstaking than trying to remove barbed wire from your rear end.

Nowhere in the UK has it or had even heard of it, there was no cinema release, no straight-to-video, nothing. Not even big Brit name Gary Oldman (who appears for his fair share in the film), or legend Kurt Russell seemed to have secured its distribution.

Anyway, to the film, I think it has to be seen to be appreciated, I rate the plot quite well, with its quirky and surreal sense of humour. The direction and camera work are fantastic (albeit a little rough around the edges) for a low-end budget film, and is something Bob Gale should be proud of for his first outing as a director. The narrative element from BTTF, using the main character as eyes and ears for the audience is again used to good effect, and is once again an engrossing way to tell the story in 'Interstate 60'.

Perhaps big distributors felt that the film was too odd, or strange to merit a push for release, which is a shame, as it's a hidden gem and well worth shipping over international waters anywhere. Strangely enough, it seems as though its one of the only films amazon will ship over to another country (so maybe they know its true value).

If your at all interesting or intrigued as I first was, then you should definitely attempt to get hold of the film while its still about.