Rev up for summer with more road trip movies
Published 2:00 pm Wednesday, June 2, 2021
- From left: Zoey Deutch, Emma Stone, Jesse Eisenberg and Woody Harrelson in a scene from “Zombieland: Double Tap” (2019).
There really is no shortage of road trip movies. In fact, this is the third one of these genre lists we have featured in GO! Magazine since last year, and each one is different. So fill up the tank, pack a snack and buckle up for more road trip movies to start your summer.
The Blues Brothers (1980) — The musical-comedy was the first of many “Saturday Night Live” skits to get the feature film treatment, and one of the few to do it with great success. Starring John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd as brothers Jake and Elwood Blues, two blues musicians who are tasked with raising $5,000 to pay the back taxes on the orphanage where they grew up. This “Mission from God” sends them to reunite with their former bandmates while meeting a cast of characters played by some of the greatest musicians of all time, including Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin and Cab Calloway. Stream it on Peacock or rent it on Amazon Prime, Apple TV, Google Play, Vudu or YouTube.
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It Happened One Night (1934) — Home of the iconic hitchhiking scene that has seen homages and been outright stolen in countless other films, the original stars Claudette Colbert as wealthy socialite Ellie Andrews, who runs away from her father after he learns of her elopement with a fortune-hunting pilot. When she boards a bus, she meets an out-of-work reporter named Peter (Clark Gable), who recognizes her and agrees to help her return to her new husband in exchange for an exclusive. The two then start off on a madcap journey of loathing that turns to love. Rent it on Amazon Prime, Apple TV, Google Play, Vudu or YouTube.
Midnight Run (1988) — The action-comedy came on the heels of director Martin Brest’s breakout “Beverly Hills Cop” and was one of the first to give audiences a taste of Robert De Niro’s comedy skills. De Niro plays bounty hunter Jack Walsh, who tracks down Jonathan “The Duke” Mardukas (Charles Grodin) a convicted embezzler. But The Duke is also on the radar of the mob he embezzled from, so the two take a cross-country trip with them, the FBI and another bounty hunter at their heels. With Grodin’s recent death, now’s a good time to revisit this classic ‘80s action flick. Rent it on Amazon Prime, Apple TV, Google Play, Vudu or YouTube.
The Muppet Movie (1979) — The classic comedy starring the Muppets is still a gem, if a little dated in places. When Kermit the Frog decides to jump the swamp and make his way to Hollywood for a career in the movies he meets a Fozzie Bear who joins him in his endeavor. Together they make their way from Florida to California picking up every Muppet along the way, including Miss Piggy, Gonzo, Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem. They also meet just about every comedian and actor famous in the late ’70s, who all have cameos in the film, which just adds to the joy. Stream in on Disney+ or rent it on Amazon Prime, Apple TV, Google Play, Vudu or YouTube.
Nomadland (2020) — The historic Oscar-winner brought home the Best Actress for star Frances McDormand and Best Director for Chloe Zhao along with top honors this year and it’s easy to see why. The slow-burning film follows Fran (McDormand), a 60-something woman who lives on the road, roaming from place to place and taking odd jobs to get by. She finds friendship and camaraderie along the way but ultimately it is about her own personal freedom she feels from the openness of life on the road in the American West. Stream it on Hulu or rent it on Amazon Prime, Apple TV, Google Play, Vudu or YouTube.
Zombieland: Double Tap (2019) — Picking up where the first installment left off 10 years before (six years in the film’s timeline of events), we find zombie apocalypse survivors Tallahassee, Wichita, Columbus and Little Rock (Woody Harrelson, Emma Stone, Jesse Eisenberg and Abigail Breslin) holed up at what remains of the White House. But not much has changed over the years for this chosen family, and Little Rock takes off with a pacifist named Berkley (Avan Jogia) for a hippie compound called Babylon. So the other three set out to find her, along the way killing zombies and meeting more survivors. Stream it on Starz or rent it on Amazon Prime, Apple TV, Google Play, Vudu or YouTube.