February 9 2003
I have a real weakness for road movies. “Two Lane Blacktop” has been my naughty favorite for a long time even though it’s not a very good movie. I think it connects so deeply with me because they filmed it on Route 66. No fake locations like “Duel” or “Breakdown” where they go to one location (usually on the outskirts of LA) and try and make it look like the Midwest, Texas, New Mexico and Arizona. The other extreme is “Thelma & Louise” where the main exteriors are filmed around Moab, with the outskirts of LA standing in for everywhere else. To me, it seems static, like they’re not really going anywhere. Now they’re supposed to be in Texas, but it’s still Moab in the background. Now they’re supposed to be in Oklahoma but it’s the San Fernando Valley (with mountains in the background!). The beauty of “Two Lane Blacktop” is that they are actually on the highway, the camera is in the actual car as they are moving on the actual Route 66. The sound is rough like it would be in a real car. They have to talk over the roar of the engine. When it rains in the movie it’s really raining. Not that fake Hollywood rain where it’s raining around the actors but not anywhere else. The acting by Dennis Wilson and James Taylor is at best wooden, but Warren Oates is fantastic!. But the landscape is a major character in the movie. The scenery changes gradually, from LA to Needles, to Kingman to Flagstaff, thru New Mexico and into Texas and Oklahoma. I just love that. “Easy Rider” has that authentic feel also probably because they did the same thing. With that said, I now have a new favorite road picture which I saw with Kathy and Deena today—”Y Tu Mama Tambien” (And Your Mother too) is a stunner. It’s all in Spanish with subtitles and it was filmed on real highways in Mexico (we rented the DVD and watched the making of the film). I think it’s the most honest, brave movie I’ve seen in years. It is raunchy and over the top, but that’s part of what makes it amazing. As opposed to “The Mexican” with Brad Pitt and Julia Roberts, where they try to do real Mexico but end up with a kind of back lot, Hollywood version. The problem is they have too much money so when they try to do funky, it ends up as shiny, clean, Santa Fe funky. In “Y Tu Mama Tambien” it is so Mexican. They have the beggars, the unfinished buildings, the little funky cafes where no one waits on you (you get your own beer, etc.). It is muy fantastico and I can’t wait to see it again. And did I mention the sex? Ay-yi-yi! One warning: if you’re offended by group sex in motels, better stay away from this one.

Afterwards, we went up to Albertsons and bought fixins for pork green chile, pinto beans and salsa ($38 cash). It was rainy out all day, so we cooked in the kitchen and solved life. Watched the first half of the U of A Washington State game and went to bed around nine.

"Don't worry about the world coming to an end today. It's already tomorrow in Australia."
—Charles Schultz