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Double feature - Incompatible and on the run
Rafferty and the Gold Dust Twins - The premise is about the only thing this has in common with HftW. The cast is certainly respectable with the always intriguing Alan Arkin starring as retired Marine Gunnery Sergeant Rafferty. He's an aimless and alcoholic Los Angeles driving instructor who meets two hitchhikers while drinking his lunch in a park. McKinley "Mac" Beachwood (Sally Kellerman) is an aspiring singer and her young friend Rita "Frisbee" Sykes (McKenzie Phillips) is a surly and unapologetic con artist. They're on their way to New Orleans where Mac supposedly will get a job singing in Frisbee's dads bar. That's the story they tell Gunny Rafferty until Frisbee pulls a gun and forces him to drive them there. He has no trouble getting away from them but since his old life was an unrelenting pit of despair he doubles back and picks them up again. From there it turns into a road movie with stops including Las Vegas and Tucson. There are welcome appearances by Alex Rocco as a flaky Vegas hustler named Vinnie, Charles Martin as a lovelorn soldier and Harry Dean Stanton as one of Mac's former suitors.
To me it's an archetypal 70's flick having been released in 1975. But it also has that slightly disheveled, shaggy dog story feel to it that so many films from that era had. I want to like it more than I did because I love 70's movies but I'll have to admit it has limits to it's world building potential and it reaches those limits quickly. But even though it really doesn't have much of a story to tell, the cast makes it worth your while.
Hunt for the Wilderpeople - 2016 Taika Waititi film about an odd couple on the run from the law. Sam Neill plays Hector Faulkner, a reclusive curmudgeon who, along with his wife Bella, take in troubled foster child Ricky Baker (Julian Dennison). He has a history of running away and even though he tries leaving the Faulkner's isolated farm he doesn't get far. He's a city kid so his lack of outdoor skills plus Bella's patient and loving nature convinces him that life with the couple is the closest he'll come to finding happiness. But an unexpected tragedy forces Ricky to leave the farm in order to make good on what he felt to be a dying wish. Hector, who's gone off on his own journey of solitude, comes across a wayward Ricky and the two are eventually forced to throw in together. The authorities in the meantime are convinced that Hector has somehow kidnapped Ricky. The rest of the movie chronicles their weeks long odyssey through the New Zealand wilderness with all manner of police and reward hunters on their trail. Waititi has a knack for gentle whimsy without compromising on the comedy. The script, which was co-written by Waititi, also takes you to unexpected places. Again, without losing sight of the core message. The protagonists are likable and the supporting cast of characters are the usual bunch of affable Kiwis. Another success for Taika Waititi.
Rafferty and the Gold Dust Twins - The premise is about the only thing this has in common with HftW. The cast is certainly respectable with the always intriguing Alan Arkin starring as retired Marine Gunnery Sergeant Rafferty. He's an aimless and alcoholic Los Angeles driving instructor who meets two hitchhikers while drinking his lunch in a park. McKinley "Mac" Beachwood (Sally Kellerman) is an aspiring singer and her young friend Rita "Frisbee" Sykes (McKenzie Phillips) is a surly and unapologetic con artist. They're on their way to New Orleans where Mac supposedly will get a job singing in Frisbee's dads bar. That's the story they tell Gunny Rafferty until Frisbee pulls a gun and forces him to drive them there. He has no trouble getting away from them but since his old life was an unrelenting pit of despair he doubles back and picks them up again. From there it turns into a road movie with stops including Las Vegas and Tucson. There are welcome appearances by Alex Rocco as a flaky Vegas hustler named Vinnie, Charles Martin as a lovelorn soldier and Harry Dean Stanton as one of Mac's former suitors.
To me it's an archetypal 70's flick having been released in 1975. But it also has that slightly disheveled, shaggy dog story feel to it that so many films from that era had. I want to like it more than I did because I love 70's movies but I'll have to admit it has limits to it's world building potential and it reaches those limits quickly. But even though it really doesn't have much of a story to tell, the cast makes it worth your while.
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