American Strays (1996)

The desert can be a lonely place for the people who live there or for those who are traveling through. It is also the teller of different stories including the story of a traveling salesman... See full summary »

Director:

Michael Covert

Writer:

Michael Covert

Stars:

Scott Plank, Melora Walters, John Savage

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Scott Plank	...	Sonny
Melora Walters	...	Cindy
John Savage	...	Dwayne
Brion James	...	Oris
Joe Viterelli	...	Gene
James Russo	...	Eddie
Luke Perry	...	Johnny
Will Rothhaar	...	Jordan
Jessica Perelman	...	Daphne
Toni Kalem	...	Alice
Eric Roberts	...	Martin
Vonte Sweet	...	Mondo
Anthony Lee	...	Omar
Stephanie Cushna	...	Johnny's Girlfriend
Sam J. Jones	...	Exterminator (as Sam Jones)

Storyline

The desert can be a lonely place for the people who live there or for those who are traveling through. It is also the teller of different stories including the story of a traveling salesman whose only commodity is death and the story of a young man who finds that the death that he wishes for is difficult to find. Others are just traveling through, on their way to another place when they stop to eat at Red's Desert Oasis. The food may not be great, and the waitress may be surly, but those who stopped at Red's will find that they are involved in the showdown of their life.

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Plot Keywords:

desert | salesman | satire | hitman | psychopath | 

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Taglines:

Love 'em or Kill 'em.

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Genres:

Action | Comedy

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong language, some violence and sexuality

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

13 September 1996 (USA)

Also Known As:

América Selvagem

Company Credits

Production Co:

Canned Pictures Inc., Harmony Gold

Technical Specs

Runtime:

97 min

Sound Mix:

Ultra Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

Referenced in BlackMale (2000)

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Soundtracks

"Phat Sedan"
Written & Performed by J. Slamm & Robby Melnik

User Reviews

Self-indulgent, uneven quirky road movie.

'American Strays' is part of the quirky road movie sub-genre in the vein of 'Highway 61', 'Motorama' and 'Roadside Prophets', only it isn't anywhere near as good as those overlooked efforts. A self-conscious, contrived gallery of eccentric characters derived from equal parts David Lynch, and the Coen brothers, with some sub-Tarantinoesque dialogue thrown in. This movie tries much too hard in some ways and not hard enough in others, making it way too uneven and self-indulgent to satisfy either a mainstream or cult audience. When it does have a decent idea (e.g. Luke Perry's failed suicidal slacker hiring 'The Exterminator' to do the job for him) it goes nowhere with it, and every potentially interesting bit is sabotaged by lame and silly schtick like Jon Savage's serial killer vacuum cleaner salesman. Just about the only reason to watch this is for one of the oddest and most eclectic casts assembled in recent years. They range from cult heroes like Luana Anders ('Dementia 13'), Sam Jones ('Flash Gordon) and the late Brion James ('Blade Runner'), dependable character actors like Joe Viterelli ('Heaven's Prisoners'), Jennifer Tilly ('Bound'), and James Russo ('Donnie Brasco'), coulda been contenders turned b-grade slummers Eric Roberts ('Runaway Train') and Jon Savage ('The Deer Hunter'), and left field picks like Luke Perry ('90210'), Melora Walters ('Magnolia') and Patrick Warburton ('Seinfeld's Puddy). Apart from the spot-the-actor aspect, there's not a whole lot to recommend this movie.