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Summary:
Based on the true story of a young man who throws away his well-to-do life for a soul trip across America, ending in Alaska. He meets people along the way who he inspires and befriends, and burns his money because it's part of a connection to "society", which he wants to shirk.

Review:

I liked this movie a little more when it was less serious about itself, and a lot shorter in run time when it was called Straight Story.

So, if you've seen that movie, you get a less pretentious and more straightforward tale without the tedious slow motion shots of the main character doing Christ-like poses on top of an abandoned school bus, or floating naked in the water with his arms splayed out, like Jesus Christ. Or more slow motion shots of him taking a shower behind a strong backlight, with water drops sprinkling off of his smiling visage.
Yeah, sure, the cinematography is nice, but I think any time you put someone walking across virgin snow in the mountains, you'll have people "oooh"ing and "aaaahhh"ing over it. I was always expecting him to meet some crazy-ass loon with a big knife that wants to buttfuck him, but this isn't that kind of story. That's alright with me, because I didn't really want to see that. At the same time, I didn't want to listen to voice over narration from two separate characters, and found a lot of Penn's directorial decisions to be just as silly and self-indulgent as the other flick I've seen by him. This is a much better movie than The Crossing Guard (thank God). My biggest complaint is that I could feel Penn's desire to release this movie as if doing so would make those who see it feel that he's truly an artist with an eccentric eye.

There were some great scenes, and most of the supporting cast did a fine job. I liked the old man at Salvation Mountain, and when he said "you can wipe your hands on my shirt if you want." Or the part when the hippy dude said "She's about to impale herself onto a fence post soon" in regards to this chick's horny desires for Christopher. In the end, though, I didn't really connect with this flick on any level. So, I can't say that it worked as an inspirational piece, or as 2.5 hours of entertainment, nor as a perfect example as to why I would never burn my money and look for odd jobs across the country so I could live alone and lonely in the abandoned forests of Alaska.

GRADE: D+

Reviewed 11/12/07