Road Trip Movie Night

We're off on a cross country family road trip this week.  It's been years since we've been anywhere as a family, so I'm both exicted and nervous.  In honor of this undertaking, I thought today's post should be a feature list of my favorite road trip movies.  (Just a heads up, the text decided to double space under a few of these and I cannot figure out how to fix it)

1.  Paper Moon (1973)

Admittedly an all-time favorite of mine.  Addie and Moze embark on a trip across the midwest to get the recently orphaned Addie back to her relatives in Missouri, but Moze sees an opportunity to make a little money along the way selling Bibles to widows.  They meet colorful characters and get into a few scrapes in this is the wickedly funny and heartwarming tale of a grifter and his young apprentice.  This role won Tatum O'neal a well-deserved Oscar.

2.  True Grit (2010)

I'm a fan of the book and both the movie adaptations, though I believe the 2010 version stuck closer to the original story.  Young Maddie Ross loses her father and sets out to avenge his death, hiring Marshall Rooster Cogburn to help her bring the murderer to justice.

3.  Zombieland  (2009)

The world descends into chaos and four strangers become unlikely friends while traveling across the country and surviving the zombie apocalypse.  The story is charming, undead gore aside, and the casting is absolutely perfect.

4.  Green Book  (2018)

A world class African American pianist travels through the deep South performing concerts during a time when racial tensions are high and segregation is still enforced.  He hires Italian American driver/bodyguard to accompany him and the two become unlikely friends.

5.  Dumb & Dumber (1994)

    I went to see this movie with a boy-girl group of friends in the eighth grade.  It was a pretty big deal.  Of course, no one could drive, so our parents took us and then stayed to watch it with us...so, it was awkward and embarassing, but none of the boys were interested in me, so it hardly mattered.  But, I digress.  

    I actually really hated this movie at the time.  The humor was just too avant-garde for me.  It would be years before I recognized the brilliance of the story and the performances.  Much of Jim Carey's work was improvised and having watched an unedited version of this film, I can confidently say that they made some amazing cuts, to really create the best version. Harry and Lloyd are friends and, well...their lives aren't going great.  One day a bag full of money falls into their laps, thanks to Lloyd's chance encounter with a beautiful stranger.  Now they're on a mission to return her bag, spending all her money along the way.  

6.  Lord of The Rings (2001)

I mean...do I really need to say anything about the most epic road trip story ever written?  If you haven't seen it or read it, maybe it's time you asked yourself what you've been doing with your life.