Scenic Route
★★★
Dir: Kevin Goetz & Michael Goetz
(2013)
Growing star Josh Duhamel and writer director Dan Fogler star in this frantic but simple story of two old friends stranded in Death Valley after their car breaks down. The imminent horror doesn't come from a monster lurking in the scrub or a ghost on the highway or even an axe wielding maniac. The pair, both dismissive of each other's path in life begin systematically and viciously tearing each other apart. Kevin and Michael Goetz slap Kyle Killen's lean script on to the screen with much vigour but ultimately Scenic Route suffers from a case of not taking it far enough.
Folger and Duhamel play Carter and Mitchell, a failed writer living in his car, still chasing the dream and failed musician with a wife, child and a dog. When the lacking conversation causes the caustic Carter to fake a breakdown to rekindle their old distant friendship things soon become very real when the prank becomes real and the layers of why these too have drifted apart begin to peel away under the scorching sun. Duhamel and Fogler's screaming performances are sometimes fantastic and sometimes horrible, just as their conversations see-saw between the ludicrous and the poignant.
A well photographed buddy film in essence filtered through the horror genre, Scenic Route is admirably spare in its execution. 80% of the film takes place around the pairs broken down pick up truck in both the blazing sun and the freezing nights and although the dialogue often smacks of cliché the film is a fun and sometimes very funny look at male friendships and the fear of failure in a vast and overpowering world.
It suffers hugely from a misfired ending and an unsuccessful flashback sequence and sub-plot concerning infidelity, but the film sparkles in the more manic sections; Clearly it's at its best when it's at its most insane. Duhamel's rebellion at his cardboard cut out life by way of a hair cut is a brilliant example but Scenic Route isn't filled with enough crazy ambition to make it to safety.
