Two-Lane Blacktop

Here's a movie that goes nowhere.

Two-Lane Blacktop. 1971. James Taylor and Dennis Wilson. Two guys driving a 1955 Chevy rat-rod across America. They drag race in small towns for money to fuel their endeavor. That's it.

At some point they meet and challenge a dude in a yellow 1970 GTO. First dude to DC wins pink slips. It's on...

Of course there's a girl. There always is. But in this case "girl" is the operative word. She looks about 17.

James and Dennis are stoicism personified. They don't crack a smile the whole time. They don't talk about anything. The only time they open their mouths is to eat or discuss engine specs. If they're not talking about how the car's running, they're not talking at all.

Warren Oates is the man behind the wheel of the GTO. He does all the talking. He picks up hitchhikers. Quite the variety. And he talks and talks and talks.

There's no real back-story on any of the characters. It's just the two cars and America. It's SORT OF like Easy Rider. But Easy Rider was a masterpiece and this isn't.

If you want some muscle car porn, then hit play on the video above. If listening to the growl of a GTO for 90 minutes doesn't really thrill you then you might wanna stay away.

390 horses. 500 ft/lb torque. 0-60 in 7.5 secs. All that power and that's all you can do with it? Weak. Simplify and add lightness. James and Dennis did...