A somewhat dopey movie, nearly all of which is spent following a couple and a cop who they've taken hostage as they drive around the country in search of their son. It's not all comedy, despite there being many funny scenes, and throughout most of the film the viewer is just willing the pair not to do the next dumb thing that they inevitably do.
They're both heartbroken over being apart from their son though, and so we hope that they won't make the next big mistake even as we know that it is inevitable that they do. It all escalates until they have become legendary figures in the local area, and crowds of fans begin greeting them at every town they pass. Ultimately though it ends sadly, and Clovis pays with his life. It's a nicely constructed tragedy, and manages to be very watchable without being at all surprising. The movie ends with Slide telling the Captain that "he took my gun, but he wasn't going to use it". Aw man, major bummer.
It reminds me, and most likely inspired, an excellent episode of 'The X-Files' called 'Drive' which featured Bryan Cranston doing a good job of a man forced to drive west to stop his head exploding for vaguely explained reasons. It ended badly too, and the final few shots were much like the ones here: The car slows to a halt, something's wrong, it's revealed that he is dead, credits roll.
It's not all doom and gloom, though!
A lot of the fun that comes from watching this movie stems from the relationship between Lou, Clovis, and officer Slide. What is initially a kidnapping situation gradually turns into a mutual friendship, and watching this develop is a whole lot of fun. All three actors are brilliant in these roles, and the script is well written and funny while often being refreshingly spartan when words aren't what the scene needs.
There's also a strong 'Blues Brothers' feeling here, as car after car is wrecked and hundreds of bullets are spent in futile. Now and then a car flips for no reason, and there's even the odd explosion. This is fun too obviously, though not wholly needed. I particularly liked the scene where a couple of hicks shoot the crap out of a car lot, not hitting anyone even after about ten minutes of solid shooting. It's also pig snort laugh-inducing to see such a massive train of police cars slowly following the couple, especially when the lead one is forced to push their car along when they run out of gas.
Overall it's a very enjoyable movie, and watching it evoked similar feelings of warm quaintness and adventure that reading a Huck Finn novel would create.
The Sugarland Express: 60.2