— by ALEXA MILAN —
“The Open Road,” a dramedy from writer-director Michael Meredith, began filming in early 2008 and has been struggling to find an audience ever since. The movie had a limited run in theaters in August and will now hit store shelves on DVD Nov. 17.
The film centers on Carlton Garrett (Justin Timberlake), a minor league baseball player who hits the road with his girlfriend Lucy (Kate Mara) to find his estranged father Kyle (Jeff Bridges), a star athlete. Carlton’s mother (Mary Steenburgen) is dying from a heart defect and wants to see her former husband one last time. Years of unresolved problems begin to reemerge as Carlton attempts to bring his immature father home.
I’m a little hesitant about this one, especially given its struggle to find a release date and lukewarm reception. In these new clips, Bridges looks like he gives a good performance as usual, though Timberlake looks a bit wooden at times. The story also seems a little tired and overdone. I feel like strained parent-child relationships are commonplace in indie road movies, and this one doesn’t look like anything special.
The clips below establish Kyle’s carefree personality and his unstable relationship with Carlton.
Follow Alexa Milan on Twitter at http://twitter.com/alexamilan.
I never saw the appeal of Timberlake.
^ I’m with you. He’s good on SNL, but I just don’t like him in movies.