At the height of the travel season — and in honor of the state-traversing U.S. Route 6, Pennsylvania’s coolest two-lane — Webb presents a half-dozen road movies.
We’ll stick to “under-the-radar” films in this category — trusting that most readers already know about such classics as “Rain Man,” “Planes, Trains and Automobiles,” the Oscar-magnet “It Happened One Night” and 2018’s Best-Picture winner, “Green Book.”
“Chef” (2014): The accomplished actor-director Jon Favreau (“Iron Man I” and “II,” plus the live-action “Jungle Book” & “Lion King”) took up the pen for this winsome winner about a talented chef who has a public meltdown and thereafter hits the road in a food truck; this cross-country trip then enables Chef Carl to reconnect with his pre-teen son. Laced with luscious food footage and a tasty soundtrack, “Chef” co-stars Scarlett Johansson, Oliver Platt, Dustin Hoffman, Sofia Vergara and in a terrific cameo, Robert Downey Jr. Rated R for language.
“Harry and Tonto” (1974): After entertaining generations on TV’s “The Honeymooners,” Art Carney grabbed a late-career Oscar playing an aging widower who, forced to vacate his Manhattan apartment, hits the road with his cat, dropping in on his three children while also connecting with a cast of kooky characters. A wistful and funny portrait of mid-seventies America … and one truly lovable old coot. Rated R for language and brief nudity & sexuality.
“Midnight Run” (1988): Now a bit lesser known, this box-office hit pairs Robert De Niro and Charles Grodin as, respectively, a low-rent bounty-hunter and his latest quarry, a big-time embezzler who turns out to be more scrupulous than we first thought. Directed by Martin Brest (“Beverly Hills Cop”), “Run” is not only very funny but also loaded with exciting action; and Grodin steals every scene he’s in. Rated R for pervasive language.
“The Peanut Butter Falcon” (2019): Louisiana backwaters constitute “the road” in this 2019 sleeper that unites two misfits — a troubled petty thief named Tyler (Shia LaBeouf) plus a stout & stalwart lad with Down Syndrome (Zack Gottshagen) who has fled his institution with nothing more than a pair of tighty-whities. Zak’s unlikely goal is to reach a professional wrestler — so he too can take up a grappling career! Meanwhile, the pair is joined by a kindly staffer who’d like to return Zak (Dakota Johnson) — and on top of that, two vicious thugs are also coming after Tyler. The cast is excellent, highlighted by an irresistible Gottshagen — who met the filmmakers at an acting camp and insisted they make a movie about him. Rated PG-13 for language.
“A Perfect World” (1993): Kevin Costner is sensational in this lesser-known triumph from director Clint Eastwood and writer John Lee Hancock (“The Blind Side,” “Saving Mr. Banks”). Set in 1963, “World” focuses on Butch Haynes, a career criminal who, after escaping from jail, takes a preteen boy as hostage; but like young Phillip, we can see that Haynes is not all bad, and this gripping crime thriller morphs into an equally gripping road movie as Haynes takes the fatherless child under his wing. Eastwood co-stars as a Texas Ranger in pursuit, with help from a criminologist (Laura Dern) and a cocky sharpshooter (Bradley Whitford). Rated PG-13 for language, violence and sexuality.
Road to Perdition (2002): This neglected masterpiece is my ultimate “best movie you never saw,” a galvanizing crime drama in which Tom Hanks is cast against type — as a Depression-era hitman. Hanks’ Mike Sullivan works for a Capone-related syndicate near Chicago. When Sullivan’s 12-year-old son accidentally witnesses a hit, the syndicate goes after his family, forcing Sullivan and son to take to the road — where they become 20th-century Robin Hoods, vengefully nailing banks in which Capone stashes dirty money. Top-notch direction by Sam Mendes (“American Beauty,” “Skyfall,” “1917” ); meticulous period detail; sensational music by the peerless Thomas Newman — literally my single favorite movie score; jaw-dropping photography by lensing legend Conrad Hall, whose work here won a posthumous Oscar; plus a supporting cast that includes Paul Newman, Jude Law, Daniel Craig, Ciaran Hinds, Stanley Tucci … and, as the boy, a young Tyler Hoechlin — later more famous for TV’s “Teen Wolf” and “Supergirl” (as Superman). Rated R for some violence.
And to conclude with a bit of trivia: Did you know that Route 6 stretches all the way to California, covering roughly 3200 miles?
Now THAT’s a road trip.
