The highway trip film conjures up the sort of fish – out – of – water struggle that creates real laughs, in terms of humor. The closeness that these tourists should reveal throughout their barrier – ridden excursions contributes to the awkward clash of nerve and quirks – wrecking scenarios. These 10 highway trip comedies managed to catch critical acceptance, famous actors and financial achievement throughout their lengthy distance box office journeys.
Dumb and Dumber
Raking in over $247 million during its world-wide trek, this 1994 Jim Carrey (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind) and Jeff Daniels (The Squid and the Whale) duet about dim-witted do-gooders was directed by a biological duo Peter Farrelly and Bobby Farrelly (There’s Something About Mary). These road-tripping roommates forget to pack their intelligence prior to leaving their home in Providence, Rhode Island before their journey to Aspen, Colorado.
Due Date
After previously sending Zach Galifianakis on a Vegas bachelor party road trip in the enormous hit The Hang over, director Todd Philips threw him back on the wild road this season with Robert Downey Jr. (The Avengers). Downey’s character simply really wants to make it in time to see his child’s arrival, but Galifianakis’s wannabe actor will make that the truly challenging proposition.
Sideways
Screenwriter and director Alexander Payne (The Descendants) adapted writer Rex Pickett’s novel for this 2004 intimate “dramedy” starring Paul Giamatti (Cinderella Man) and Thomas Haden Church (Spider-Man 3) on the California wine tour road journey that out of the blue turns in to a love link. Even a celebratory toast was made by the Academy Awards to this movie by bestowing it with an Oscar for Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay.
The Muppet Movie
Jim Henson makes the ideal vacation agent for colorful puppets, particularly after reserving a cross-country trip around America for the Muppets. Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear and Animal lead the way in this first of several Muppet movies which was launched for households to frequently appreciate throughout the summer of 1979.
National Lampoon’s Vacation
The outdated saying for writers goes: “write what you know”, and that is precisely what screenwriter John Hughes did when he adapted his own short tale of a private family holiday into the highway trip film that became a Chevy Chase franchise — the 1983 hit comedy National Lampoon’s Vacation. Never has the winding road to an amusement park been obstructed with a lot of obstructions.
Little Miss Sunshine
This may be the story of a dysfunctional family understanding to ultimately operate together throughout the unpredictable ride to provide the youngest member to a beauty pageant. Not only did screenwriter Michael Arndt win an Academy Award for his Little Miss Sunshine script, but he also received a nomination for the mega moneymaker Toy Story 3 and was given the incredible show of penning the screenplay for the 7th “Star Wars” episode.
The Blues Brothers
The initial “men in black”, the Blues Brothers performed by Dan Aykroyd (Ghostbusters) and John Belushi (Animal House) lead a musically-inclined cast that includes Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, Cab Calloway and James Brown in this 1980 hit directed by John Landis. Landis is no stranger to comedic cinematic travelers after crafting Eddie Murphy and Arsenio Hall’s Africa to New York trip in Coming to America, Chevy Chase and Dan Aykroyd’s America to the Soviet Union voyage in Spies Like Us, and Steve Martin, Chevy Chase and Martin Short’s Hollywood to Mexico trip in Three Amigos.
Planes, Trains and Automobiles
What better name for a road trip film than this? Composed, directed and produced by John Hughes, usually recognized for teen classics such As The Breakfast Club and Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, this three-day road journey takes Steve Martin’s marketing executive from New York to his family in Chicago for Thanksgiving supper — with John Candy’s look-on-the-bright-side character talking him to dying.
Pee Wee’s Big Adventure
Before Paul Reubens had his own Saturday morning children’s tv series called Pee Wee’s Playhouse, he starred in this 1985 feature film debut of director Tim Burton (Batman, Alice in Wonderland). The tightly suited red bow is taken by this hilarious road trip – tie wearing man – child Pee Wee Herman with over – the – top urgency to recover his pleasure and pride – – a bike.
Midnight Run
Now, the highway trip genre mixes and matches with the motion comedy to follow the debatable journeys of a bounty hunter (Robert De Niro) and a $15 million embezzling accountant (Charles Grodin) who is attempting to jump out on bail. This 1988 odd couple hit also took the great graces of notable film critics along for that trip as nicely, with Roger Ebert giving Midnight Run 3.5 out of 4 stars.