Lost Junction

I just spent 2 hours lost in Lost Junction... and I thoroughly enjoyed it! Excellent film. Best part was the very real chemistry between the two main characters. It's not so much an edge of your seat type of thriller, but more of a quirky southern mystery with charm, romance, and subtle humor. I'm not claiming that this is a life-altering movie or even a 10, but at times it's so bursting with honesty and emotion that you can definitely get lost in the moment. (Sure you have to suspend disbelief, but isn't that why we watch movies). Different is good. I had not heard of this film before finding it at the video store, which amazes/annoys me because it's a lot better than the majority of junk out nowadays. Take a chance and visit Lost Junction.

This is a pleasant little film with an amiable cast. It's always fun to see Billy Burke in a starring role. You may think you know where this is going from the first view of the corpse in the trunk, but you'd probably be wrong. There's a touching side trip to Charleston, where Jimmy (Burke) faces down some old demons, even if the film never knows quite what to do with the Jake Busey character after this, and Neve Campbell is properly enigmatic as "the girl"--she's femme enough without being overly fatale. My favorite scene is when Dil, er, Billy, er, Jimmy sings along with a tape of Fred Neil on "Other Side of This Life." If you've never seen "Dil Scallion," it's a much better film than "Lost Junction," but this one is okay, an agreeable time-waster, if a bit more beige than noir. But that's fine too.

To me, this film shows how great acting talent can save an otherwise hum-drum plot and story. Not that the story, itself, was bad. It was just not anything enthralling. What I liked most was seeing Neve act as a Southern Belle. Billy Burke played well off of Neve's strong presence. And Jake Busey... well, he just stole that letter quarter of this movie. I'd watch this movie again, just because I think the trio did really well. Though, I have to admit: Even if Neve wasn't a very good actress, all she'd have to do is smile and I wouldn't even notice if she was terrible. However, I've asked many people -friends and strangers, alike- and we all seem to agree that she is VERY talented. So, for once, my bias is on the money.

She even helped assure that I wasn't totally disgusted with 'When Will I Be Loved'. That's a major feat!

Knowing nothing more about this movie than the blurb on the back, the wife and I decided to check it out. Many times when we've done this we've wound up with something that leaves us wondering what the folks who coughed up a couple of million to make a picture were drinking (or smoking). Not this time. Lost Junction is a little gem - thoroughly weird and truly entertaining - and a better movie by far than many of the big name/big budget movies we've seen lately. Infused throughout with an off-center take on reality, the film uses this skewed point of view to provide both poignant and humorous moments woven throughout a uniquely goofy storyline. When Jimmy hauls the bag out of the lake and the sheriff comments on its contents, we both started laughing so hard we were nearly in tears. His line will go down in our all-time movie favorites right alongside Marie Dressler's double take at Jean Harlow at the end of Dinner at Eight. But that's just us. If you're cruising the video store and having a hard time finding anything that looks interesting, by all means pick up this sleeper and enjoy!

Really, just what can you say about a movie that has a gal who's driving around with her husband's dead body in the trunk, a drifter who pushed his best friend off a cliff crippling him for life (the best friend is one of the characters too), a no-goodnik trying to make off with a batch of money he's got no right to, and a batch of yokel law enforcers? Well, I gave it a mediocre rating because I can't say it's really good...it sort of wanders all around the place in no hurry to get to where it's going. On the other hand, I can't say it's bad because there was never a place where I wanted to stop watching it.

So really, I think you should see it. Neve Campbell is good as Missy as is Billy Burke as Jimmy.

The bottom line is that I can't rate it high nor can I rate it low, but I can't say it's mediocre either. I really think you should see it.

And if anybody gives this review a helpful rating, I shall be shocked!