My Grading System

A+ = Masterpiece (I hold back on this one.) / A = Great. / A- = Really Good. / B+ = Good. / B = Decent (Serviceable). / B- = Flawed but okay (For those times there's something redeeming about the work). / C+ = Not very good (Skip it). C = Bad. / C- = Awful. / F = Complete Disaster (I hold back on this one too).

Note on Spoilers: I will try to avoid ruining a story by going into too much detail. But if I wish to include some revealing points to my analysis I will try to remember to add a separate spoiler paragraph.

Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Two-Lane Blacktop (1971)

Monte Hellman's existential road movie is more about mood than plot.  Staring singer James Taylor as the Driver and Beach Boys drummer Dennis Wilson as the Mechanic, these most basic of characters, drive across the country determinged to race their supped up '55 Chevy however they can. Along the way they meet Warren Oats as a scene stealing compulsive liar who loves picking up strangers in his '70 GTO  and then Laurie Bird as a wandering young hitch hiker who bounces from men without concern.  I can understand why such an unconventional love letter and critique of the American automobile has become such a cult classic.  Unfortunately this film feels slow at times and because our main characters are so flat, without any charisma or personality at all, it feels lacking.  If it weren't for Oat's performance and Bird's beautiful complexity I think it would be an impossible film to enjoy.  Grade: B.  
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