Review of Interstate 60 (2002) by Jesse O — 26 Jan 2016

This is a movie that I enjoyed more than the rating would imply. It's actually a fairly underrated little movie that has gone, largely, forgotten. Yet, at the same time, there's something about the film that makes it so that I don't think the film is better than just the 3 stars that it gets.

Just don't know why. The film, very much, is structured like a series of skits on Neal's road trip as he searches for an answer. But I didn't actually have much of a problem with that skit-like structure.

I think it actually is to the benefit of the film and what O.W Grant is trying to get Neal to accomplish, trying to think about the box and trying to put an end to preconceived notions of how things should be.

Perhaps it's just the fact that the movie just doesn't have a lot of depth, it's fairly straightforward and simple to follow. Neal's looking for an answer to what he wants his life to be and not what his father wants it to be.

So the film, again, it's about Neal's search for answers and all the people he meets on the way to getting them. Like I said, the film is like a series of skits, but, as opposed to when I use this comparison in shitty raunchy comedies, at least in this movies, the skits are really entertaining.

Plus, again, it all serves to help Neal find out who he really is as a person. The best of all these skits would have to be the one where the entire town is comprised of lawyers who constantly sue each other for frivolous reasons.

It sounds silly, and it is, but it's well-written and it leads to some funny moments. The acting is more than solid, it would almost have to be when you have people like Gary Oldman and Christopher Lloyd in your cast.

James Marsden is always likable and that's no different here. He gives off a vibe, at least in this movie, of an everyman, despite coming from a family that's very well off. It's easy to relate to this character.

The film has a really strong supporting cast, I already mentioned Gary, who is literally a troll in this movie, and Christopher, but you also have Chris Cooper doing a great job as a man who disapproves of lying to the point that he threatens to blow himself, and everybody else, up if they don't admit to the truth.

This leads to the some of the funniest moments in the film when Bob, Chris' character, is called as a character witness for Neal's trial for running over a cat that he didn't actually run over.

There are some romantic aspects to the film, but I don't think that James Marsden and Amy Smart had much chemistry. Like there was no spark between them. Which is a problem when Neal's entire journey is searching for this girl that he keeps seeing on billboards leading him to her.

Though, to be fair, they didn't have much screen time together. But the time they did have, they just didn't show anything. Amy Smart is good as well, but, again, there's not much spark or life to her romance with James' character.

The film is well-written with a lot of good dialogue and interesting ideas, but I don't think the film plays with these concepts as effectively as they could've. Admittedly, however, this was meant to be more of a crowd-pleaser than anything else, so at least it accomplished its purpose.

It's flawed, but it's still a real enjoyable movie and I'd definitely recommend it if you have Amazon Prime. It'll, at least, keep you entertained for 2 hours.