There is something incredibly special about road trip movies. When done well, they tell honest and subtle human stories or can produce the biggest belly laughs. Probably because we Americans love a good road trip, and we’ve all suffered through the long miles in a car with people we’d rather not share a confined space with — at least for a little while.

“A Goofy Movie” (1995) — A classic road trip movie with a father and son, the difference is it stars Disney’s a-hyucking talking dog, Goofy, and his son Max. Goofy decides to spend some quality time with Max over the summer by taking him on a trip to Lake Destiny, Idaho, the same place he went as a child. Well, Max is a typically moody teen, and in an attempt to impress his high school crush, says that Goofy knows pop superstar Powerline, and that they’ll be going to his concert over the summer. The older you are when watching this, the more your heart breaks for Goofy (though let’s be honest, he is the quintessential loveable-but-embarrassing dad). Despite his best efforts, Max still lies to him to get to the concert instead, until eventually they begin to see eye to eye. Stream it on Disney Plus or rent it from Amazon Prime, Google Play, iTunes, Vudu or YouTube.

“The Darjeeling Limited” (2007) — This is maybe Wes Anderson’s most grown-up film, dealing with grief and reconciliation in his signature perfectly meticulous and symmetrical style. The film follows three brothers, Francis (Owen Wilson), Peter (Adrien Brody) and Jack (Jason Schwartzman) as they make their way across India, visiting Hindu temples in an attempt to reconnect a year after their father died and, as it’s revealed later, visit their mother (Anjelica Huston) who is living in a Christian convent in the Himalayas. The three argue and try to break apart, but ultimately find themselves sticking together through it all. Rent it from Amazon Prime, Google Play, iTunes, Vudu or YouTube.

“Grandma” (2015) — A short (coming in at 89-minutes) serio-comedy starring Lily Tomlin and Julia Garner as a grandmother, Elle, and her granddaughter, Sage, respectively. Elle was at one-time a well-known poet who a year ago lost her partner after 37 years together. At the start of the movie we see her breaking up with her much younger girlfriend. Drifting on her own and heartbroken again, Elle is surprised when Sage comes knocking, needing money to help terminate an unwanted pregnancy. Since Elle has no money and cut up her credit cards, the two drive around town asking her old friends for cash. The film really showcases the lengths family will go for each other, and Tomlin’s performance is phenomenal with notes of regret, determination and sadness all rolled into the smart pacing of the film. Stream it on Starz or rent it from Amazon Prime, Google Play, iTunes or Vudu.

“Mad Max: Fury Road” (2015) — A follow-up to the ‘80s franchise starring Mel Gibson. This time Max Rockatansky is played by the grumbly great Tom Hardy and tackled again by the original director and co-writer George Miller. However, this one isn’t really about Max at all, instead, he finds himself tagging along with the warrior Imperator Furiorsa (Charlize Theron), who is basically the female version of Max, searching for home and to save the ones she can after she smuggles out the tyrannical Immortan Joe’s (Hugh Keays-Byrne) five wives from his citadel. This whale of an effects-driven, high-octane film is a hell of a ride through the desert in a fight for freedom through the post-apocalyptic wasteland of the Mad Max universe. Stream it on Hulu (with Live TV plan) or rent it from Amazon Prime, Google Play, iTunes, Vudu or YouTube.

“The Motorcycle Diaries” (2004) — Based upon the memoirs of Ernesto “Che” Guevara and his trip through South America in his early 20s with his friend Alberto Granado. The two begin their trip wide-eyed and full of youthful zeal, but as the journey continues and they drive deeper and deeper into the rural areas of the continent, they see the extreme poverty, disease and bigotry running throughout. Their exploration ended up turning Guevara’s outlook on life around, from becoming a doctor specializing in leprosy to the seeds of a future revolutionary. The film is beautifully shot on location and full of honest performances from Gael Garcia Bernal and Rodrigo de la Serna as Guevara and Granado, respectively. It also features a stellar script written by one of my favorite modern playwrights, Jose Rivera. Rent it from Amazon Prime, Google Play, iTunes, Vudu or YouTube.

“Planes, Trains and Automobiles” (1987) — One of the few holiday films that center around Thanksgiving. (Seriously, how many Thanksgiving movies can you think of?) Written and directed by John Hughes and like some of his films “Planes, Trains and Automobiles” brings out the best in comedic writing before throwing a dash of heartbreak to catch you off guard. Starring Steve Martin as Neal Page, a marketing executive trying to make it home before the holiday and John Candy as Del Griffith, a good egg, albeit an annoying one. The two get stranded in Wichita, Kansas when their flight to Chicago is rerouted due to a storm. In an attempt to help, Del offers Neal a guaranteed room at a dive hotel, which they end up sharing a room and bed. Things get progressively worse for the duo as they try to make their way north. Stream it on HBO Max or rent it on Amazon Prime, Google Play, iTunes, Vudu or YouTube.

“Seeking a Friend for the End of the World” (2012) — This movie may have come out eight years too early. On its release, it was billed as a middle of the road romantic dramedy starring Steve Carell and Keira Knightley. Honestly, the pairing is still kind of weird, but the film comments on the strangeness of it and it seems to work, at least a little. An asteroid is about to hit the earth, ending life as we know it. Society is given a month before the impact and lonely Doge (Carell) decides to make one last attempt to reunite with an old flame. He is joined by Penny (Knightly), who’s just shy of the manic-pixie-dreamgirl trope, on a road trip through society’s reactions to imminent death — including free-loving, rioting, prepping and everything in between. Watching it in 2020 definitely leaves you with a different feeling than it would have in 2012, and it makes it that much more impactful. And for an added gut punch, according to the trivia section on the film’s IMDB.com page, it takes place in either 2020 or 2021. Have a good weekend! Stream on Starz or rent it on Amazon Prime, Google Play, iTunes, Vudu or YouTube.

“Smoke Signals” (1998) — Made nearly entirely by a Native American cast and crew, “Smoke Signals” was lauded on its release and continues to be poignant today, even being admitted to the National Film Registry in 2018 for its cultural significance. It follows two step-brothers from the Coeur D’Alene Indian Reservation in Plummer, Idaho, as they make their way to Phoenix to recover their father’s ashes. The two come to realizations about how they each identify as a Native American as well as coming to terms with the abuse Victor (Adam Beach) suffered at the hands of his father and the reasons why Thomas (Evan Adams) was taken in after a fire claimed his biological parents. Stream it on Hoopla or rent it from Amazon Prime, Google Play, iTunes, Vudu or YouTube.

“Stagecoach” (1939) — This classic John Ford Western showcases the lives of a group of passengers along the Overland stagecoach bound for New Mexico in the 1880s. Passengers of the stage include an alcoholic doctor, midwestern liquor salesman, prostitute, pregnant military wife, gambler, an embezzling banker and an outlaw (the star-making role for John Wayne) as they try to stay out of the hostile areas where the U.S. cavalry and Apache tribe are currently fighting. All of the travelers are bunched together in the tiny coach bumpily making their way west, and in these close quarters we see the small insights into each one of their lives as the coach gets closer and closer to harm. The film marked the shift for the genre from the B-movie, singing cowboy days of Gene Autry to the serious A-type films many became in the mid-20th century. The cinematography is brilliant as is the direction, and it includes one of the best stunt performances ever captured on screen. Be forewarned though, “Stagecoach,” like many early Westerns, is a product of its time, Native Americans and Latinos are portrayed with stereotypes and there are some jokes made at the expense of addiction. Stream it on HBO Max or Tubi or rent it from Amazon Prime, iTunes or Vudu.