Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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38 of 42 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Get Your Kicks, on Route 60..., October 11, 2003
Take a pinch of MR. DESTINY and THE FAMILY MAN, add a dash of TWILIGHT ZONE and BACK TO THE FUTURE, throw in a healthy portion of THE WIZARD OF OZ, shake the mix vigorously, and you'll have the recipe for Bob Gale's wonderfully inventive fantasy, INTERSTATE 60, one of the best 'indies' of 2002. A comic American tall tale of half Leprechaun/half Indian O.W. Grant (Gary Oldman, who is totally terrific!) who grants individuals one 'wish', but has a wickedly funny way of fulfilling them literally, and the young man (James Marsden) he takes a liking to, INTERSTATE 60 satirizes truth in advertising, our fixations about sex and justice, 'legalizing' drugs, and the American 'Dream', without ever becoming 'preachy' or boring. The film is as adventurous and unpredictable as the title highway of the film. Marsden is Neal Oliver, a likable 22-year old who dreams of becoming a serious painter, reads comic books, peels his grapefruit, and has visions of a gloriously beautiful fantasy woman (Amy Smart). His girlfriend and father, however, have made different plans for him, involving law school, and a 'prestige' job. While trying to decide his future, Oliver takes an assignment from the mysterious 'Ray' (Christopher Lloyd, making a welcome return to the big screen) to deliver a package to 'Danver, Colorado', via the mysterious Interstate 60. Joined by the likable, if enigmatic Grant, the young man begins a journey that will determine his destiny. With cameos by Michael J. Fox, Kurt Russell, Chris Cooper, and Ann-Margret, INTERSTATE 60 is filled with so many quirky characters and oddball situations that you may want to view it a second time, just to catch things you may have missed, the first time around. This film is a gem, vastly underrated. If you take a chance on it, you may find yourself searching for the 'Red Spades and Black Hearts' in your own life! Definitely a KEEPER!
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18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Very original & entertaining, October 15, 2003
I had never heard of this film before I rented it and the description of it made me think it was going to be a rather generic low budget comedy, but I was pleasantly surprised. The director, Bob Gale, was the screenwriter for Back to the Future and the star of that series, Michael J. Fox, has a cameo in this far more independent and original film. When I say "original" I should qualify that by pointing out that some of the elements are common. A young man named Neal (James Marsden) wants to be an artist, but his father is pressuring him to go to law school. He is granted a wish by a magical man who is part leprachaun (Gary Oldman, who I would not have recognized if he hadn't been identified). Yet Interstate 60 takes this fairly standard light fantasy theme and weaves it into a very creative and unpredictable tale of eccentric characters and bizarre circumstances. Neal's choice of a wish is rather general: he wants answers. So he is given an 8 Ball that is uncannily accurate (though it occasionally disappoints with answers like "can't really say"). Neal is given a package to deliver to someone in a city called Danver (not Denver). He must take Route 60, which is not on any map. He is also hoping to meet his dream girl, who keeps appearing on billboards that appear blank to everyone else, and avoid a mysterious killer of whom he has been warned. Along the way he meets many unusual people, including a woman who is collecting sexual conquests, a man with an obsession for telling the truth that borders on insanity and a whole town full of people hooked on a drug called Euphoria (this episode can be seen as a cautionary parody of what might happen if drugs are legalized). He also visits a town run by lawyers where everyone is suing everyone else and a "fake" museum where the fakes are real. These descriptions, however, don't do justice to the film. The "episodes" (under the film's title at the beginning is the caption "Episodes of the Road") could have come across as heavy-handed morality tales, but here they are played out in a meandering, playful way where the outcome is never obvious. Neal's objective of reaching Danver and delivering the package is of secondary importance. Even the "answers" he finally receives at the end, which are quite obvious, are not half as important as the road he has to literally take to find them.
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13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
One of those Direct-To-Video movies that shouldn't have been, October 27, 2003
I came across this gem of a film in the preview guide for the video store I work at, and got immediately intrigued. The movie premise, A mysterious mystical man sends a disaffected youth on the strangest road trip of his life, was basic enough. But the cast (Gary Oldman, Christopher Lloyd and Chris Cooper joined the true star James Marsden...surprise Cameos abound, though!) was stellar, and the writer's previous credit of Back to the Future is about as good as it gets, so I took a flyer on it.I was not disappointed. Despite the trap of a simple and overplayed concept, this film deftly sidesteps the pitfalls many an independent feature falls into. Part of this is due to the 'guest' cast. Though Marsden is competent, it's the appearances by Lloyd, Oldman, Cooper, and some great surprise cameos that entertain and surprise you at each stop on this journey. But equally responsible is a script with depth and intelligence, posing a few hypothetical 'What ifs' rather than just strange stuff for laughs. The script might be fairly predictable, but it's just wild enough to keep you on guard, and that's part of it's charm. Although the morals are obvious (and in the case of drugs, hammered in with 'Snake' like precision), the script keeps from being preachy. The filmmaking technique and cinematography aren't anything special, but they also aren't loaded with the gaffes or mistakes you can catch in many independent features. Though this movie isn't independent by any means, it feels like it, which can only be a good thing. The screen shows you exactly what you need to know, nothing more, nothing less. Overall, this is a charming movie in the same way that 'Playing by Heart' was; nothing challenging, but great performances by actors with a script with genuine heart. Great for dates and pick me ups, and an absolute gem to find at your local video store.
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