Writing about movies never feels like work. This is especially true when I’m writing about multiple movies that all have something in common. This week, I decided to write about road trip movies. It’s the perfect topic for this time of year when the weather is starting to break and people are thinking about coming out of hibernation. It gets you thinking about summer vacations, weekend getaways, and mini-adventures.
Road trip movies research
While researching this topic, I came across dozens of road trip movies, many of which I’ve seen. But I only wanted to choose movies that I genuinely liked and ones that maybe weren’t the most obvious selections. They didn’t necessarily have to be the focus of the movie. Some, like When Harry Met Sally, kick off the events of the story. Others, like Garden State, wind down the plot. Some are about pursuing your dreams (The Muppet Movie), some are about escaping (Logan), while others are about trying to get home (Seeking A Friend for the End of the World).
Alfred Hitchcock typically made movies in close quarters. Road trip movies do the same thing, only with an ever-changing landscape. However, both Hitchcock movies and road trip movies share the same claustrophobic vibe. The genre plays with different character types, allows space for long, meaningful conversations that reveal information in an organic way, and allows for humor, disaster, and drama to unfold over the course of the trip. It’s rarely ever smooth sailing, but the characters come out the other side as better and/or more worldly people.
Road trip movie season
It’s important to get away from your everyday environment and to experience life beyond the boundaries of your daily routine. Road trips also teach you how to work as a team, how to put the needs of others over the needs of yourself, and how to take life as it comes. You embrace the unknown and work towards a destination that will achieve some personal goal while recognizing the unexpected achievements that popped up along the way.
So, check out my article: 12 Road Trip Movies to Get You Ready for Summer, take my poll, and leave a comment. Let me know if you plan to hit the road this summer, where you want to go, and what you want to achieve. Thanks for reading!
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