The Open Road

Plot

Movie centers on the adult son of a baseball legend who, together with his girlfriend, embarks on a road trip with his estranged father.

Release Year: 2009

Rating: 5.4/10 (1,611 voted)

Critic's Score: 47/100

Director:
Michael Meredith

Stars: Justin Timberlake, Ted Danson, Harry Dean Stanton

Storyline
Carlton Garrett, son of Hall of Famer Kyle Garrett, plays minor league ball in Corpus Christi. He's in a slump when his grandfather calls to say that his mother, in Houston, is refusing a heart operation she needs to prolong her life. She says she won't have the operation until Kyle, her ex-husband, comes to see her. So Carlton, with his close friend Lucy, who used to be his girlfriend, goes to Columbus, Ohio, where Kyle is signing autographs. They haven't spoken in four years. Will Kyle go to Texas or will he find a way to duck out, as he's done for years? In addition to the father and son relationship, what about Lucy, and what about the slump?

Cast:

Justin Timberlake
–

Carlton Garrett

Ted Danson
–

Coach

Harry Dean Stanton
–

Amon

Mary Steenburgen
–

Katherine

Kate Mara
–

Lucy

Jeff Bridges
–

Kyle

Bret Saberhagen
–

Himself

Robert Casserly
–

Moderator

Tony Sanford
–

Fan #1

Kevin Lee Foxx
–

Fan #2

Laurie Foxx
–

Louisiana Waitress

Paxton Brown
–

10-Year Old Kid

Douglas M. Griffin
–

10-Year Old's Father

Wayne Douglas Morgan
–

Jack Masterson

Clay Chamberlin
–

Impatient Fan

Taglines:
they've got a long way to go.

Details

Official Website:
Anchor Bay Entertainment |

Release Date: 28 August 2009

Filming Locations: Corpus Christi, Texas, USA

Box Office Details

Budget: $10,000,000

(estimated)

Gross: $19,348
(USA)
(6 September 2009)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

USA: 90 min
 |
Germany: 91 min
(European Film Market)
 |
Argentina: 90 min

Did You Know?

Trivia:

In several scenes in the movie, Jeff Bridges' character mentions "Walter Henry Hagan" at the Dallas airport. Walter Henry Hagan was in fact head of Special Services for American Airlines up until his retirement in 1995, and remained on as a consultant in same capacity until his death in February 2000. Hagan was "the" man to talk to if you needed assistance in your travels with American Airlines. He considered former Dallas Cowboy, Don Meredith (father of writer-director, Michael Meredith) and his wife, dear friends.

Goofs:

Factual errors:
Carlton, Lucy and Kyle are leaving out of Memphis on a Southwest Airlines flight. Southwest has never flown out of Memphis.

User Review

I just saw the Open Road !

Rating: 8/10


I thought Timberlake and Bridges were a good match as dysfunctional
father and son. Good story line and nice set of subtle twists and
turns. Timberlake was impressive as an actor, quite believable really .
Kate Mara , soft spoken yet sweet girl next door kind of looks … A
believable , down home story that I thought was well executed. I
especially liked that there were no Chase Scenes, Gunshots, , Violence,
not much foul language. Good Music too by the way … Lots of Bluezy
,Jazzy, Piano and Organ Background music, well suited for this flick.
Id like to see more films with this kind of score.I especially liked
the piano piece in the Lyle Lovette section of the movie! Im not sure
if The Open Road will be a blockbuster, especially with whats out there
these days , But i guarantee it will please young and Old alike in that
it is a somewhat heartwarming, real laid back, enjoyable movie for all
to see. I can imagine after a nice run in theaters, it will do very
well on DVD and on the HBO and SHOWTIME kinds of movie networks !

I have two concerns though… first, It was a very limited opening in
very few theaters in very few Cities ,and second ,not enough
advertising,There wasn't even a Poster up in the 20 theater cinaplex I
saw it in !

Not even the people who worked in the theater knew ANYTHING about this
film … Lets give "The Open Road" a fighting chance !