The Open Road

When you go to a preview or a test screening the organizers will often give you a questionnaire to fill out. One question that you will always be asked is, “What drew you to this movie?” Then it will give you some choices such as, genre, plot, subject matter, stars, etc. If I were to fill out a questionnaire before seeing The Open Road, my answer would have been the stars.

Prior to seeing this film I saw no previews or advertising to promote this movie. What got me to this movie was a brief description, and its two stars, Justin Timberlake and Jeff Bridges. Jeff Bridges can always be counted on for good work, and I’ve liked a lot of what I’ve seen lately by Justin Timberlake. But overall, this movie disappointed me.

When I saw Justin Timberlake in Alpha Dog, I was really impressed by his intensity and the grasp on his character. And his work over the past year on Saturday Night Live has been remarkable. But in this film I felt like he was a little lost. From what I could tell from the dialogue, he was supposed to be a young ballplayer growing up in the shadow of his father who was never there for him. His father was now an old man who makes a living telling amusing stories to awestruck baseball fans and regaling tales of his past glories. I could never tell if Justin’s character pitied, feared, or resented his father. And it was never clear if he knew his father too well, or not at all.

Jeff Bridges was very good as a man who created a persona that could entertain, inspire and sell products. He was the perfect pitchman. But he was also a man who has become so wrapped up in his creation, that he has a hard time turning it off. And again, it was unclear whether Jeff’s character is just a self-centered, egotistical, father, or a man with a limited set of skills, who is trying to do the best that he can with the talents he has.

Going back to the questionnaire, I didn’t go see this movie because of the genre, and the subject matter has been done many times before; estranged father-son road trip. There wasn’t enough baseball in this movie to call it a sports film, so the success of the film relied on the relationships. This road trip had three participants, the father, the son, and the girl who is on the verge of getting away. The expectations are high and the communications are poor, this is just like any other family road trip. I expected better.

Rating: Rent It Jeff Bridges performance is worth seeing