A 10 years-old boy takes a surreal “Thelma & Louise” journey
"Motorama" (1991) is an amusing ride through the American Southwest; an offbeat satire about the sometimes crazy trek of life. It’s filled with familiar guest stars, such as Robert Picardo, Mary Woronov, Meat Loaf, Irwin Keyes, Michael J. Pollard, Vince Edwards, Flea, Susan Tyrrell and more.
Drew Barrymore appears prominently on the movie poster (and DVD/Blu-ray cover), but she’s only actually in the movie for like 20 seconds as the boy’s fantasy girl (with no lines). I say “girl” because she was only 15 during shooting, a couple months shy of 16 years-old. Similarly, Cynthia King appears slightly longer as the backseat teen.
I smiled and laughed here & there and enjoyed the Southwest landscapes during winter, but there weren’t enough interesting bits to keep my interest. It’s a quirky curiosity that needed a rewrite to flush out more entertainment. Still, if you like road movies and can roll with the wacky approach, you might appreciate it more than I did.
It runs 1 hour, 29 minutes, and was shot in the Glen Canyon area of north-central Arizona and south-central Utah; Fox Plaza in Century City was used for the Chimera Headquarters.
GRADE: C