Interstate 60: Episodes of the Road

This brilliantly original film somehow bypassed theatres due to the usual studio stupidity. An intelligent, offbeat road movie with fantasy elements is a hard thing to sell, so they don't bother and the film eventually limps its way onto DVD.

With a bit more money this could have been one of the best films ever. As it is, director Bob Gale makes the best of things and it's a reflection on how strong the story is that he can get away with it on a measly budget. There are great cameos from Michael J.Fox and Kurt Russell amongst others.

Like Donnie Darko, this is a weird little indie film you may never have heard of but buying the DVD will be one of the best choices you'll make.

I actually feel compelled to comment on this movie, and I haven't been compelled in a long time.

Simply put this film was excellent from the outset. I was hooked from go. No other movie this year can touch its quirkiness. It's a road movie that takes you to the greatest places that aren't there - you'll see what I mean. Some of the comments on society (in most cases American society) were spot on. And you cannot predict where it will go next, you just have to take the ride and accept. Each stop gets better.

Now its entertainment, so don't think it has message written all over it (although it kinda does), Gary Oldman does a wonderful turn as our wish granter, and it's the best film Marsden and Smart have done. The rest of the supporting cast are superb with too many to mention.

I haven't spent two better hours this year.

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.

I just bumped into "Interstate 60" on TV. It puzzled me, at first.

Due to the somewhat cheapish look of the film and the surreal subject matter, I initially thought that I was watching an episode of the newest "Twilight Zone" series. Then I realized there were simply too many famous actors cropping up for this to be a TV production. Gary Oldman, Chris Cooper, Ann-Margaret, Kurt Russell - dang, that's actually a great cast! I still couldn't tell what on Earth I was watching, though.

Well, thanks to the magic of IMDb, I know now that "Interstate 60" is an indie flick, courtesy of "Back to the Future" scribe Bob Gale. I'm not too surprised to find out that it has weird origins. And I'm also not too surprised that lots of people love it, and lots of people hate it, judging from the user comments I've scanned.

My opinion is somewhere between the extremes. I was intrigued enough by the movie to keep watching, even though it was pretty darn late when I started. The social satire, though obvious, sort of amused me, and I was curious to see where it was going.

The trouble with a movie like this, though, is that its greatest strengths are also its weaknesses. The aggressive "oddness" of the film is compelling, but it kept me at a distance from the characters. In other words, the people and the proceedings were a little too surreal for their own good. It's interesting stuff, yeah, but I'm not too sure that it's profound or deep or anything. The general storyline of a young artist trying to "find" himself is actually pretty basic, run-of-the-mill material; only the weird execution makes it memorable.

On the acting end, I really had no problem with James Marsden's performance, unlike a lot of other commentators on this site. I find him to be a pretty charismatic actor, and I was glad to see him in a starring role for a change (I'm used to him playing second fiddle in super-hero films). But I've got to give the acting laurels to Chris Cooper, who steals every scene he's in. I became genuinely fond of his character, but not really anybody else.

In the end, I enjoyed this. I was glad to see Gale mock aspects of contemporary society that I can really do without - rampant substance abuse, out-of-control litigation, etc. He wasn't exactly subtle in his approach here, but he was memorable. And that's worth something, right?

Also, the movie's got the Pink Power Ranger as a crazy seductress! Nice bonus there. I could certainly think of worse movies to watch at 2 AM.

I really enjoyed this movie, that I have never heard about before, even though I watch a lot of movies. It must have been extremely poorly distributed for me to miss it, especially since it actually has quite good ratings. It has humor, message, talent, attitude and after thought. It might be 16 years old, but it still MUCH better than some of the stuff that is made today. It puzzles me that I have never heard about it, considering the amount of big actors in it. But better late than never. Don't let this slip away, see it you too!