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Cast: Mary Steenburgen, Harry Dean Stanton, Jeff Bridges, Lyle Lovett, Kate Mara, Justin Timberlake
With his mother (Mary Steenburgen) facing surgery, Carlton (Justin Timberlake) and his friend Lucy (Kate Mara) travel to Ohio to round up his estranged father, Kyle (Jeff Bridges), a baseball legend. Michael Meredith's comedy-drama follows the unlikely trio on an emotionally awkward road trip back to Texas. As the miles unfold before them, father and son begin a journey of reconciliation in the hopes of healing old wounds.
Since this is a road-movie of sorts some might think it will have foul language,partying and maybe even chase scenes in it but I am happy to say the film contains none of those things which is a good nice change of pace. The film is about Carlton has has to travel to Ohio to find his father he hasn't seen in four or five years(depending on which one you ask the father or the son), his mission is to conceive the father to fly back to see his mother who is sick in the hospital. The film is a drama at heart but there is some light humor along the way created from the situations at the time which I fond to be terrific. I really enjoyed this film and was left wondering why this never got a big theatrical push, I suppose with all the brainless, raunchy comedies and PG-13 horror films flooding the box-office every week it is hard to find an audience for a film like this. The story is well-written and contains some nice little twists and turns along the way. Also I like the way the humor was created through the drama as it was never forced. The cast is terrific, Jeff Bridges and Justin Timberlake are both fantastic as father and son and show great chemistry together. Mary Steenburgen has limited screen time but does a very good job playing an important character in the story and Kate Mara is cute and wonderful as the friend of Carlton who agrees to travel with him, it's a friendship we sense both might want more from and it has you feeling the same way. The Open Road is a realistic drama that both young and old will enjoy, it has it's sad moments as well as some funny and tender moments as well. In the end you find out that family is what matters most and it leaves you hoping that Carlton and his father can continue the relationship they started on the road trip. I think this will find the audience it deserves on DVD with strong word of mouth. The DVD comes with Special Features that include:
Behind The Scenes of The Open Road
Audio Commentary featuring Writer/Director Michael Meredith and Actor Jeff Bridges.
Released by Anchor Bay Entertainment
**** Out Of *****