Scenic Route is a movie about two friends trying to reconnect on a road trip. One friend, played by Josh Duhamel, has a wife and child, a relatively successful career and is handsome. The other friend, played by Dan Fogler, has been an aspiring writer since they met, but has no visible adult markers to objectively show the progress that he has made in life. Their bonding becomes explosive after experiencing car trouble in the middle of the desert.
I was really excited to see Scenic Route because after reading its description, I thought Scenic Route was inspired by Raffi Kodikian’s murder of his best friend, David Coughlin. Kodikian claimed that the killing was an act of mercy after they got lost in the desert while hiking and thought they were dying, but scientific evaluation definitively revealed that they were not. Were they just stupid and subjectively truly believed that they were going to die or did something more sinister happen out there in the desert? Only God and the two men know. I have yet to see any explicit references of this incident made by the creators of Scenic Route
I also love watching movies that show men confidently tackling nature and not realizing that life can be treacherous without malice then failing like 127 Hours, Into the Wild, Everest, which Scenic Route is not, but it shares the same elements because the characters are unaware of how small their lives are.
I did not love Scenic Route. First, I hate when movies and TV shows use the “how we got here” technique where the story opens at the end/middle and the rest of the episode shows how the characters got to that point. Scenic Route’s pacing did not work. In six minutes, one of the characters references the title. In fifteen minutes, the entire relationship unravels. How are you going to fill the rest of the eighty-two minute movie? By using the unreliable narrator device to make viewers question whether or not something is occurring or is the delusion of a character. None of these techniques are deal breakers, and theoretically they could be interesting, but the actual execution is not because of the next reason.
Second, Scenic Route stars Josh Duhamel, not Timothy Olyphant, who is a far more seasoned actor. Scenic Route largely rests on Duhamel’s shoulders, and he is not a bad actor, but he is not intriguing enough to carry the entire film forward. His character is conventional trying to be unique, and so is he, but he is not (yet). You hire Olyphant when you want someone who can be conventional, but has something distinctive under the surface. Fogler is a really interesting actor, but he is not the focal point of Scenic Route.
Third, when Scenic Route focuses on Duhamel’s character telling a story about feeling alive again, it reminded me of Anomalisa, which is not a good thing. Scenic Route’s main character is filled with yearning, but all I see is a stupid, entitled jerk that equates harmless rough housing with wielding crutches. Oops, I did not mean it. When do adult males get treated like adults?!? You nearly died after a day in the desert….A DAY IN THE DESERT!!!!! The Taxi Driver references are obvious and did nothing for me. The entire desert is before you, but you puke into the back of your truck? Why? Why!!!!
If I was being charitable, Scenic Route is about how two men reignite their passion for life by keeping the other accountable for losing hope and settling, but Scenic Route is not that good so screw charity and do not see this film.