'Scenic Route' review: Tedious road to nowhere
Entertainment // Movies
G. Allen Johnson
(L-R) Josh Duhamel and Dan Fogler in the unique character-driven thriller "SCENIC ROUTE" a Vertical Entertainment release.
Photo courtesy of Vertical Entertainment.Vertical Entertainment.
Scenic Route
Drama. Starring Josh Duhamel, Dan Fogler. Directed by Kevin and Michael Goetz. (R. 86 minutes).
This might not be fair to such a puny little indie flick, but I wonder what Elmore Leonard could have done with the script of "Scenic Route," about two best friends who have drifted apart who, on a trip to reconnect, become stranded in Death Valley.
Leonard, who died this week at 87, knew a thing or two about lost men at odds with each other in the desert - think "3:10 to Yuma" (both film versions - the Glenn Ford/Van Heflin and the Russell Crowe/Christian Bale - are excellent) and "The Tall T" (turned into a 1957 Western with Randolph Scott). There was a sadness and poetry to the chess matches of will that played out in the dust.
In "Scenic Route," by first-time directors Kevin and Michael Goetz, we have former soap star Josh Duhamel ("All My Children"), now 40, and Dan Fogler, a Zach Galifianakis type. Duhamel's Mitchell dreamed of playing guitar but never gave it a chance, and now has a boring job and a stereotypical life (wife, kids). Fogler's Carter had dreams of being a writer and is a total failure, still single and seemingly one step away from being homeless.
When Carter's dilapidated pickup truck breaks down, they get into a series of headache-inducing screaming matches, even beating each other to near death at one point. Kyle Killen's script is generally uninspired and fairly predictable, but there's a really nice scene about a half hour in as Mitchell summarizes the reality of marriage, and a cool twist of an ending.
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Sometimes indie pictures like this, with over-the-top acting and outrageous situations, are meant as a calling card for its creators - a chance to show their wares to others in the industry. So calling all producers, there is one tour-de-force performance in "Scenic Route": the makeup team of Brian Kinney, Sara Robey and Maia Wagle.
Admire their work, and bring earplugs.
G. Allen Johnson is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: ajohnson@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @BRfilmsAllen
G. Allen Johnson is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer.
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