‘The Open Road’ is a Bumpy One
Where are Bob Hope and Bing Crosby when you really need them for a “road” picture?
I can practically hear the new opening number for “The Open Road:”
We’re off on the road to some ennui.
We’re angst and frustration bound.
Where we’re goin’, why we’re goin’ how are we to know?
I’ll lay you 8 to 5 we’ll have star power to glow.
Sorry, that’s the best you get when my brain is addled by fever and sinus infection medicine powerful enough to take down a bull elephant.
Back to “The Open Road.” A struggling minor league ballplayer learns that his mother might die if she doesn’t have emergency surgery. The trouble is, she won’t go under the knife without seeing her estranged husband, again.
That husband is the ballplayer’s Hall of Fame slugger father who hasn’t spoken to the family in five years. The son must find him and bring him back before it is too late.
You might have never heard of this movie, but hold on to your hats as I rattle off the cast.
Justin Timberlake brings sexy back to minor league baseball as the son named Carlton. Jeff Bridges plays his famous Hall of Fame dad, Kyle. Mary Steenburgen plays the mother. Ted Danson plays Carlton’s coach. Lyle Lovett plays a Memphis bartender. Retired real baseball All-Star Bret Saberhagen even makes an appearance. Who isn’t in this movie?! I’m sure Bing and Bob would be if they weren’t dead.
If you are a big fan of movies about broken families who are loaded with unresolved troubles and argue a lot (think “Junebug” or “Rachel Getting Married“) this is for you. I know there are lots of you fans out there.
Me, I have a short tether for that kind of film. Even the best of them don’t necessarily do much for me. Please take my opinion with a grain of salt.
I certainly can’t knock the caliber of the cast, but the writing or film editing seemed lacking. Kyle–the dad–never really strikes me as being all that bad. He’s obliging and never really establishes himself as a “loser” or hard case. Subsequently, Carlton’s constant agitation with him comes off as peevish. Carlton’s girlfriend is also along for the ride, and mostly I wondered why she and Kyle put up with Carlton.
The seemingly endless montages of the threesome traveling through the Midwest is excessive. As little to no dialog transpires during these scenes, I really don’t see the need to watch their S.U.V. cruise around just for the sake of it.
To make these types of movies work without much conflict, there needs to be some hefty transmission of sage wisdom passed from one character to the others. Unfortunately, nothing here really struck me as being all that prophetic. That’s not to say there isn’t any–it just wasn’t life changing.
Then again, this isn’t my usual type of movie. If I were to grade it a C, I’m sure there are others who’d gladly pump it up to a B.


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