Bonneville

Casting three powerhouse actresses of a certain age in a road movie may sound like a promising concept, but I was disappointed by how insular and monotonous the film feels for a shared journey supposedly focused on self-discovery. Director Christopher N. Rowley and screenwriter Daniel D. Davis, both first-timers to feature films, don't really offer the intimidating trio of Jessica Lange, Kathy Bates and Joan Allen much to work with in terms of character or story development, and were it not for the three actresses, this little-seen 2008 movie would have surely ended up on Lifetime TV where it most obviously belongs.

The plot focuses mainly on Arvilla Holden, who just lost Joe, her husband of twenty years while on vacation in Borneo. Back home in Pocatello, Idaho, it doesn't take long for her resentful stepdaughter Francine to stake a claim on her father's ashes to transport them back for a funeral service the following week in Santa Barbara where she lives. Arvilla, however, promised Joe to scatter his ashes at various places that meant something to them. Francine threatens to take away Arvilla's house unless she complies. Under emotional duress, Arvilla agrees but only if she can deliver the ashes herself. She then turns to her friends, sassy Margene and uptight Carol for support as they head out on a road trip to California taking Joe's beloved `66 Bonneville convertible. The rest of the movie follows their various adventures, which include picking up a young hitchhiker looking for his birth father, flirting with a smitten truck driver, and making the typical stops one would make west of the Rockies.

With her shopworn beauty compromised a bit by surgery, Lange is still able to convey the tethered fragility of her early-career work in Frances and Tootsie. She inhabits Arvilla with that lost, Blanche DuBois-like quality that fits the character's delusional aspects very well. Bates (About Schmidt) is in familiar territory as Margene, supplying comic relief and surprising poignancy through her trademark salt-of-the-earth persona. As the hopelessly prim Carol, a devout Mormon, the versatile Allen (The Bourne Ultimatum, The Upside of Anger) uses her vast arsenal of talent to bring life to a relatively cardboard role. Doing a 180-degree turn from her surgically-inclined cougar in Mamma Mia!, Christine Baranski is saddled with a no-win role as Francine. Tom Skerritt relies on his familiar toothy charm as the truck driver, while Victor Rasuk (Raising Victor Vargas) appears to be channeling early Brad Pitt as the low-key hitchhiker.

While the various locations - Bryce Canyon, Bonneville Salt Flats, Joshua Tree - are nicely filmed by Jeffrey L. Kimball, those expecting a post-menopausal version of Thelma & Louise will likely be disappointed since the film's energy level sputters with every curve of the road, especially as it veers toward a predictably drawn ending. At the same time, when are you likely to see actresses of this caliber share the screen again? The 2008 DVD is short on extras - a standard ten-minute making-of featurette with gushing testimonials by the actresses, several deleted/alternate scenes of varying quality, a one-minute gag reel, and a promotional spot for The Red Hat Society, a social organization for women over fifty.

While I did not seek this film out, I ended up watching it when I had little else to do. I think that is a shame. This turned out to be a wonderful film that didn't hit the viewer over the head with some "age old" message. Instead, this film presented a well delivered story that was touching and unapologetic. Baby-boomers will find many of the themes familiar, as will anyone with a little life experience. Hit the road and watch this film...or vice versa. Recommended!

I picked up this movie through Netflix as a recommedation for liking Kathy Bates. I'd never heard of it, but I'm a sap for "Thelma and Louise" type movies so I gave it a try. And I'm glad I did.

Thelma and Louise fans will definitely relate to this one, despite there being three ladies in the convertible this time. The similarities are astounding...right down to them picking up a cute hitch hiker and coming into possession of a lot of money, and wearing the signature scarves and sunglasses with the top down. But, Bonneville definitely stands on its own and has it's own completely different storyline.

Yeah, it's a bit of a sappy movie. Two women driving cross country with their recently widowed sister to deliver her dead husband's ashes to his demanding daughter (a small part played by Baranski). But anyone who has lost a loved one, or possibly had to deal with overbearing family members who weren't always around when the person was living, will definitely relate.

The ending is completely predictable, and plays out just as I expected it would but with a nice simple twist at the end. But just as the overall theme of the movie resonates, sometimes it is more important to just throw up your hands, shrug it off, and accept what life hands to you today. You'll always have your memories, and no one can take that away from you.

A true gem of a movie that will make you laugh and cry, and an all star cast that does it justice!!

I preordered this DVD approx. 2 months in advance. The story line sounded very promising and the cast was wonderful. Some of the best actresses we have. I feel guilty saying I was disappointed but the movie could have been so much more. It certainly wasn't the fault of the cast or story line but there wasn't much to the story. Whoever wrote &/or edited the film didn't do a very good job. Certainly not worthy of the cast that was present.

BONNEVILLE creeps up on the viewer. It is a solid marriage of light comedy and sentiment and the somewhat slight story is brought to life by the natural gifts of a trio of superb actors. Why it did not find popularity in the theaters is probably due to the topic of death and the cast of 'older actresses', but it is a solid little film that deserves more attention.

Arvilla (Jessica Lange) has lost her husband of 20 years and promised to scatter his ashes over places the couple loved. Her step daughter Francine (Christine Baranski) demands the 'ashes' be buried next to her mother's grave in Santa Barbara, threatening her stepmother with eviction from her Pocatello, Idaho home if Arvilla doesn't comply. Two of Arvilla's friends - the restless widow Margene (Kathy Bates) and the oh-so-Mormon Carol (Joan Allen) support their friend and plan to fly with Arvilla to take the ashes to Santa Barbara. But circumstances begin to change when the threesome bond tightly and decide to take Arvilla's husband's old Bonneville on a road trip to California. From here on the film is a Road Trip - a time when the three women learn lessons about life and death and love and compassion from each other - and from a young hitchhiker Bo (Victor Rasuk of 'Saving Victor Vargas', 'Stop-Loss' etc) and trucker Emmett (Tom Skirrett). The trip from Idaho to California passes through some of the Southwest's most beautiful scenery, places once shared by Arvilla and her late husband, and slowly the urn of ashes is distributed along the way to the dreaded Santa Barbara funeral.

Christopher N. Rowley directs this sweet story by Daniel D. Davis with great respect for the gifts of the three fine actors, allowing them to show us just why they remain some of our finest talent on the screen. It is not a great film, but it has such a fine heart that we can relax and just ride along with it. Grady Harp, July 08