The Open Road

Good cast but why does Ted Danson have any billing for his bit part. Timberlake and Bridges were great 👍

This movie didn't do much for me. It's the story of another dysfunctional family, without much happening to make the family very interesting. I guess the theme is that no matter how rotten your Dad is, he's still your Dad, and can be loved and forgiven. I suppose that's true enough, as long as there are some good memories to outweigh the bad. But the Dad in this movie doesn't seem to have left too many good memories behind.

I like Jeff Bridges on screen. He's made some very good movies ("Fearless" for instance), and some that didn't impress me much ("The Contender", "Sea Biscuit", "The Fisher King"), but no matter the quality of the film, he always seems to rise above the material. In this movie, he plays such a rotten piece of work - a self-centred, boozy, sleazy, loud-mouthed jock living in the past - that I started to see the less redeeming features of Bridges himself. Maybe that just proves what a good job he did.

Justin Timberlake is OK, but he doesn't inject much life into his character. What the lovely Lucy (the totally gorgeous Kate Mara) sees in this sour, sulky, colourless character is beyond me. With her knowing grin, a flash of the eyes, a shake of the head, she makes it obvious that she understands this lot only too clearly. I felt like shouting "Run, Lucy, run! Don't get mixed up with these screw-ups! You can do better! Much better!" I could have added, but didn't, "Pick me!"

Basically, I found the film bland and un-involving. I gave it 5/10, and every one of the 5 points derives from the presence of Mara, who brings not just loveliness to the screen, but there's a fire in her eyes and a sense of personality that few others are capable of projecting.

I thought Timberlake and Bridges were a good match as dysfunctional father and son. Good story line and nice set of subtle twists and turns. Timberlake was impressive as an actor, quite believable really . Kate Mara , soft spoken yet sweet girl next door kind of looks ... A believable , down home story that I thought was well executed. I especially liked that there were no Chase Scenes, Gunshots, , Violence, not much foul language. Good Music too by the way ... Lots of Bluezy ,Jazzy, Piano and Organ Background music, well suited for this flick. Id like to see more films with this kind of score.I especially liked the piano piece in the Lyle Lovette section of the movie! Im not sure if The Open Road will be a blockbuster, especially with whats out there these days , But i guarantee it will please young and Old alike in that it is a somewhat heartwarming, real laid back, enjoyable movie for all to see. I can imagine after a nice run in theaters, it will do very well on DVD and on the HBO and SHOWTIME kinds of movie networks !

I have two concerns though... first, It was a very limited opening in very few theaters in very few Cities ,and second ,not enough advertising,There wasn't even a Poster up in the 20 theater cinaplex I saw it in !

Not even the people who worked in the theater knew ANYTHING about this film ... Lets give "The Open Road" a fighting chance !

Great actors (Jeff Bridges always delivers, but even Justin Timberlake and his "girlfriend" in the movie are great too). As the title suggest, you are aware that this going to be a road movie. With characters that have flaws and a story that is very close to the directors heart (see a review of crew member for more information on that), this has everything a road movie needs.

While a few story tweaks may seem a bit far stretched (for something that seems to be so close to life), the whole thing still feels very real. The relationships in the movie are explored nicely without much glamour and there are a few treats along the way. There is not one real bad guy (which you might see as a bad thing or a good thing, depending on how you're going to feel about it), which made me like this even more and might have to do with the influence Jeff B. had on the script.

About to undergo a delicate heart operation, Katherine (Steenburgen) asks her son Carlton (Timberlake) to get her estranged husband Kyle (Bridges) to come to her side in her hour of need. Long story short Carlton, Kyle and Lucy (Mara) drive to the hospital. And, here we have the theme: it's the journey that's important.

This is not a comedy as was billed. This is light drama with no good lines and absolutely no comedic moments at all. Light drama is what we have here. But, I have never sat through a movie whereby there was tension from beginning to end. Yes, the situation all find themselves in does create tension. There is tension between Father and son who haven't seen each other in years; and between Carlton and Lucy and she isn't sure about Carlton anymore. And, Carlton, well, he isn't sure about anything.

I fault the script not the acting. Kate Mara says more with her eyes than what the script gives her. Timberlake is new at this and on unsteady legs, but his character is supposed to act the way he does. Lyle Lovett plays a bartender and not bad, not bad at all. Ted Danson (real life husband of Steenburgen) has a cameo in the beginning. As for Jeff Bridges, he plays what he is given and does a good job of it. I still maintain he is one of our better actors. Hear that Mr. Eastwood? Morgan isn't the only one.

One thing I didn't understand. If you are going to take a long trip why would you ever consider renting a gas guzzling Hummer. Yes, it was an H3, the smaller one, but still………….. Yes, I know it was only a movie.

There are some dime-store philosophies given out at various moments, but nothing noteworthy to report. The journey thing trumps all and as you know journeys bond people. So there you have it: an okay Made-for-TV movie.

Wait a minute. There was a light almost comedic moment. We got to see the internationally famous Peabody Ducks stroll into the Peabody Hotel in Memphis as they have been doing for years. They look all grown up now.

Violence: No. Sex: No. Nudity: No Language: Some, not much