Very Cool!!!

It's no definitive masterpiece but it's damn close.

Yo, there's no way for me to review this film without saying, take your *insert ethnicity + "ass" here* to see this film,like now. You have to see it in order to know what you're really messing with.

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

After being admitted to a hospital in California for a terminal illness, a truck driver named "Elegant John Howard" (Henry Fonda) has his big rig repossessed by the finance company. But rather than stay there and die he decides to retake his truck and drive it one last time on a trip across the country. On the way he picks up a hitchhiker near Cheyenne named "Beebo Crozier" (Robert Englund) who wants to go to Florida. Unfortunately, neither he nor Beebo have enough money to pay for the food and fuel necessary to get there. As luck would have it, however, while driving near Laramie, upon stopping to visit an old friend named "Penelope Pearson" (Eileen Brennan)—who happens to be the madam of a brothel--he discovers that she and six prostitutes desperately need to get to South Carolina. Needless to say, with their ability to make money, combined with his need to fund one last cross-country trek, both Elegant John and Penelope reach a business agreement of sorts to accomplish their respective goals. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that this was an entertaining and light-hearted drama which kept me interested from start to finish. Admittedly, it is a bit dated but I thought it definitely managed to capture that particular period of time quite well. In any case, although this isn't the best "trucker film" ever made, I thought it was well worth the time spent and for that reason I have rated it accordingly. Slightly above average.

I was the Production Accountant on this movie, and I also got to do some voice-over work on it, so I'm not entirely unbiased, but if it were awful, I would say so. I thought it was a fun film, not a critically acclaimed masterpiece, by any means, but there were plenty of laughs along the way. The Bible states that laughter does good like a medicine, so watching this movie could be good for your health.So many of the actors in this picture hadn't yet reached their peak at the time we made this film. Susan Sarandon, of course, is one who has since gone on to much greater fame. Melanie Mayron was seen on TV on a weekly basis as a photographer in the "Thirty-Something" TV drama series. Robert Englund later became known as Freddie Krueger, still haunting people's dreams. One of my personal favorite actors on this show was Dub Taylor, who played the sheriff. He was an excellent comedic actor, and a truly nice, sincere person. We all had fun working on this show, and I think that fun comes through.

** SPOILERS ON THE ROAD!!! ** I was ready for another 1970's car chase/truckin'/CB radio movie.That isn't what I got.I was ready for a ridiculous comedy.That isn't what I got.What I got was more of a dramedy. Don't get me wrong, there are many moments of slapstick, goofiness and ribaldry. After all, much of the plot concerns the fates of hookers and their Madam. Also, some marijuana is smoked. I believe that this was mandatory in movies made in the Seventies, be they Blaxploitation films or nature documentaries. Also, Nietzsche is mentioned and quoted, several times. Ouch. Them's the Seventies for ya.And yes, there is a cross-country road journey. In a big 18-wheeler. It also happens to be stolen. And there is a roadblock of police cars that gets smashed.But all of that was sort of just window dressing, beside the point of the movie. The movie is really about kicking death in the ass and going out in style and with dignity, instead of wasting away in a hospital bed. Kids, this is more James L. Brooks territory than Roger Corman. Elegant John, Henry Fonda's character, retains his dignity, and heads out on the open road with no money, for one last adventure. And he gets it, in spades, before he shuffles off this mortal coil, just short of completing that elusive "one last perfect run." The most bothersome parts to me are the shifts in tone, from pathos to wacky slapstick. Actually, I guess life is like that sometimes, but this isn't life, it's a movie, and this could have been handled a little more deftly. There are a few jarring shifts in tone. Also, the pace is a little slow. It takes far too long for our hero to load up his truck with hookers and hit the road. Even the fact of the stolen truck, which should be titillating and exploitive, is sad and winsome: he stole back his own truck which was repossessed because he was sick in the hospital and missed his payments because he couldn't work.Most of the actors are spot on. Fonda is rock solid as always. Eileen Brennan is great. Robert Englund is funny and highly believable. Susan Sarandon is adorable and charming. Dub Taylor does that same insane character he always plays. And John Byner and Austin Pendleton are really freaking annoying. Especially Austin Pendleton. But that's what he does. Asking Austin Pendleton to avoid being annoying is akin to asking a plant to stop photosynthesizing.Having made all the objections I have, I would still rate this film as better than expected, but can't recommend it without reservations. You will be disappointed if you're looking for another Smokey and The Bandit. It seems like the filmmakers wanted you as the viewer to reach for the handkerchief far too much, and far too little for the beer. By the same token, those looking for a good weeper are not going to turn to this occasionally ribald semi-slapstick comedy with the exploitation title.

Henry Fonda plays Elegant John, an old trucker who steals back his prized rig in California and takes off with almost no money. His Kenworth tractor has the name Eleanor on it. Elegant John once met Eleanor Roosevelt. He pulls a Fruehauf van with a "sunroof". Why is he called Elegant John? Well, sonny, if you drive five million miles without being late or having a wreck, you deserve to be called Elegant. Elegant John picks up Bible-thumping hitchhiker Beebo Crozier, who is going to Florida to learn motel management. Elegant John stops and gets fuel. Beebo reluctantly pays for fuel. The two stop at a whorehouse for truckers at Cheyenne, Wyoming, a possible homage to Fonda's movie The Cheyenne Social Club. The prostitutes are about to be raided, and the madam hires Elegant John to take them to the coast of South Carolina to start another prostitution business. Thus Elegant John's trip will be coast to coast. They go through Kansas and have a commotion near Springfield, Missouri, with Dub Taylor's character Harley Davidson. After that, there's a truck stop dancing scene to the music of Orleans' "Still the One", which is pop rock in a country sort of way. The movie claims that it's a compliment for a truck driver to be called a cowboy, but I've seen where an out-of-place, amateur, careless truck driver is called a cowboy or a cotton picker. There's a great Smokey roadblock in Georgia to stop them. Will Elegant John's Kenworth plow through a bunch of old Mopars? Will Elegant John live to see the Atlantic Ocean? And what is Beebo going to do with his life, now that it has taken an unexpected turn? This movie is just a hodgepodge of elements thrown together for drive-in fare.