Prince of Texas

If Emile Hirsch and Paul Rudd get stuck in the woods, does it make for a good movie?

This is the question Prince Avalanche asks of us, and the answer is a resounding yes. The film is a low-budget bromance that focuses on the relationship of two road workers revamping Texas roads after a forest fire wipes them out.

Spending weeks at a time isolated from society, our two protagonists get to know each other very well, and talk about everything and anything together – but mostly women. Alvin, (Paul Rudd) is dating Lance's (Emile Hirsch) older sister Madison, while Lance is constantly looking forward to the day when he can leave the forest and head back into the city where all the girls are.

The pair of actors are wonderful together, and it's their comical and engaging interactions that provide the framework for this movie. Director David Gordon Greene (The Sitter, Pineapple Express) is no stranger to comedy, and there are some brilliantly funny moments in Prince Avalanche, but the humor never takes full focus. There are long, meditative shots of nature mixed in with some great dramatic events that make this film a more reflective piece than a funny one.

Unfortunately, there is a bit of empty space, and some scenes drag on longer than they should. There is also this sub-plot involving an older alcoholic character that never really goes anywhere. Despite it's flaws, the highs and lows in Alvin and Lance's relationship make for a charming and inspirational story. Prince Avalanche is whole-heartedly an entertaining film that finds that rare sweet spot between the heart and funny bone.

A story about two men working on motorway maintenance. That's it. From the opening to closing scene we are presented with a series of interchanges of these two guys working the asphalt. One might rush to assume that it probably is a dull experience but in truth it was far from it.

There was something about the realism and humanity of the interaction that would maintain the audience's attention and engagement. Slowly, we became part of the ordinary lives of these two men and our interest in their dealings with one another only increased and thus making this a largely unnoticed gem.

"Prince Avalanche" is a great cinema experience for just about everyone. It begins as the ultimate road movie (literally, a pair of mismatched Texans spend their summer painting roads) but quickly takes a detour into a world of visual poetry, provocative characterizations and deep introspection. And all the while it manages to maintain a sense of brainless comedy that the storyline & DVD cover might lead us to expect.

In spite of its grand visual setting in the majesty & desolation of fire-ravaged Texas, this is a very minimalistic production with just 2 main characters, 2 supporting characters and 10 or 20 miles of desolate Texas roads in the aftermath of the 1987 wildfires (it was actually filmed at the site of the 2012 Batstrop County fire). Being set in the 80s adds to the comedy & charm of this quirky flick. Be prepared to see Paul Rudd sporting a very "Magmum P.I." moustache and white tube socks with those 3 funky colored stripes at the top.

There aren't a lot of big gags but instead the humor comes from the low-key bizarre dialogues between our 2 leads, "Alvin" (Paul Rudd) who is the self appointed leader because he's the self-proclaimed smarter of the two, and "Lance" (Emile Hirsch) who isn't the brightest doorknob. The laughs hinge on the weirdness of their discussions much like the hilariously strange banter between John Travolta & Samuel L. Jackson in "Pulp Fiction".

In all, "Prince Avalanche" is an excellent show of what the French philosophers might call "La Comedy Humaine" with its poignant look at human nature. And at the same time the movie isn't so heady that it's above an occasional brainless laugh, like having the two fight & chase each other through the forest with axes.

I wanted to mention 2 trivial tidbits in case you're interested in stuff like this: (1) The filmmakers note that no animals were harmed, so the occasional scenes of roadkill, fishing and what looked like a small skinned monkey for dinner were apparently props (this is good to know as a lot of indie films slip under the AHA radar and use real animals to save money on special effects), and (2) the excellent performance by supporting actress Joyce Payne (the woman in the ruins) was actually an unscripted addition to the film when they met Joyce, an actual ex-resident, while filming. As you will see, her character becomes pivotal to the story & meaning of the film, reminding us that great moments in cinema do often happen by accident.

"Prince Avalanche" is rated R which surprised me since there is no nudity, not much profanity and no violence. There are 1 or 2 dialogues about sexual situations which might get a bit racy for the kiddies, but other than that, this is a tame film. I highly recommend it to fans of Jim Jarmusch ("Down By Law", "Coffee & Cigarettes") and Wim Wenders ("Million Dollar Hotel", "Lisbon Story", "Alice in the Cities").

Prince avalanche gains much of its personality from the fire damaged forests that it takes place in. Despite the characters fairly trivial and base dramas that occur in their lives the film likes to remind us of the natural beauty that can be found in the remnants of what was once a community but is now being rebuilt by these two bumbling characters.

There's not a great deal of plot compelling Avalanche forward at times and often scenes will consist primarily of Paul Rudd and Emile Hirsch spraying new road surface lines followed by extensive hammerings in of poles. Although the film may appear slow I quite enjoyed the meditative state in which the film exists as the occasional bursts of personality were punctuated more by the peace that preceded it. The film is also often quite funny in my opinion but it's a very low key humble humor that won't have you in stitches but feels natural within the scene.

I also really enjoyed the truck driver character and subplot (I guess you'd call it) involving a woman who lost her house. I guess why these elements work so well is that you're constantly searching any one frame or scene for something that will advance the plot and although these elements appeared before my patience ever wore too thin, they're still quite few and far between. There also a scene which involves Hirsch and Rudd getting drunk and doing whatever one does drunk this deep into the woodlands which I found very funny and a definite highlight.

The film doesn't achieve any great heights and probably doesn't land as much humour or inject enough drama to justify its length I still enjoyed my time in the theatre and would recommend watching it if you're in a chill enough mood.

The original film, "Á annan veg," was a nice surprise when I discovered and watched it during a red-eye flight with IcelandAir. I had never heard of it before, so even in Iceland, it's quite obscure, so I found it a little weird that it was being remade in Hollywood.

This remake is in most parts a carbon-copy of the original with the Icelandic dialog translated into English, but that's not really a bad thing. It's interesting to see the story in a different, but eerily the exact same, place.

There are really only three characters in the whole movie: the adult man, the young man and the truck driver. I prefer Paul Rudd to most actors any day of the week, so he wins, and Emile Hirsch was fine as the young man; however, I kinda liked the truck driver better in the original version, because there, he had this strange "I surely am a sex offender" vibe, which is lacking here. It just gave him a little more personality.

All in all, a good watch. Simple story, but interesting and slightly better than the original because of the Rudd-factor.