Travel Movies: Road Tripping in Search of ... Something

We’ve paid tribute in the past to our favorite travel race movies—road trip flicks where it’s all about getting there. But there’s another breed of road trip movie, too, where the driver is looking for something bigger, more meaningful, than an interstate thrill. “Easy Rider” is a good example: Its tagline reads, “A man went looking for America. And couldn’t find it anywhere…”

With the famous motorcycle movie celebrating its 40th anniversary this month, I thought it was about time to call out a few of my favorites from the sub-genre.

Transamerica
Felicity Huffman was nominated for an Oscar, and won a Golden Globe, for her performance as Bree, a pre-op transsexual who has to complete one last task before her surgery: driving the son she never knew she had from New York City to Los Angeles. I hate the word “dramedy,” but I don’t have a better one to categorize this funny, touching movie. Suggestions, anybody?

Thelma and Louise
I wrote yesterday about “Easy Rider” helping to define the idea of finding freedom on the road. For my money, “Thelma and Louise” perfects it.

Y Tu Mama Tambien
I was critical of some aspects of this Mexican flick when we gave it the World Hum Travel Movie Club treatment awhile back, but when I think about “road trip as life changing force” movies, it’s still one of the first names that comes to mind. And the trailer alone still makes me want to hit the road and point south.

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