Mojave Moon (1996)

Director:

Kevin Dowling

Writer (WGA):

Leonard Glasser (written by)

Genre:

Comedy | Romance | Thriller

Tagline:

A Roadtrip, a Romance, and a Not-So-Dead Body.

Plot:

Al McCord is hanging out at his favourite restaurant when he meets an attractive young woman (Ellie)...

Plot Keywords:

Desert | Female Nudity | Mother Daughter Relationship | Wild Girl | Seductress

Cast

Danny Aiello	...	Al
Anne Archer	...	Julie
Michael Biehn	...	Boyd
Angelina Jolie	...	Eleanor 'Elie' Rigby
Alfred Molina	...	Sal
Jack Noseworthy	...	Kaiser
Zack Norman	...	Terry
Peter MacNicol	...	Tire Repairman
John Getz	...	Police Officer
Mary Joy	...	Waitress
Lee Arenberg	...	Friendly Motorist
Mark Anderson	...	Gunman 1
Gary Lee Davis	...	Gunman #2
Corin Nemec	...	Car Thief
Leonard Termo	...	Shorty

MPAA:

Rated R for language and some nudity.

Runtime:

95 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

Iceland:12 | Argentina:13 | UK:15 | Canada:14A | Germany:16 | USA:R | Australia:M | Spain:13

Filming Locations:

Palmdale, California, USA

Quotes:

Al: [first lines - narration] Ever get so bored with your life, you're afraid your gonna do something stupid? And then you get afraid you're so far gone you can't even think up something stupid to do any more? Well last year when my wife and I split up, I decided to leave New York, thought I'd go to Seattle. Then I remembered, Seattle has even more serial killers than Long Island. Add that to the big coffee house scene, and you got a town filled with psychopaths - who are always awake.
Al: Six months in LA, and I'm thinkin' maybe coming here was stupid. Then a thing happened, and I found out, sometimes stupid is good.

Soundtrack:

Rexicana Ballroom

The full moon brings out the weirdos

Al is divorced and he has moved from New York to Seattle to Los Angeles (I don't even know why Seattle was mentioned). He makes his living selling cars, though he seems to know some people who are ... less than honest.

While Al is eating at Johnie's restaurant with friends Sal and Terry, Elie walks in wearing a skirt so short it should be illegal. Al decides to talk to her and finds out she needs a ride to her mom Julie's place in the Mojave Desert. Al agrees to take her.

When they arrive at Julie's trailer (excuse me, 'movable house'), Julie's boyfriend Boyd is there watching TV. Boyd lights his cigarettes with a blowtorch and treats the gentle and sweet Julie like dirt. Elie goes to the Buffalo Chip Saloon to meet boyfriend Kaiser.

From there, things get weird. I mean REALLY weird.

This is a pretty good movie, with good performances by the leading actors. And plenty of plot twists. But what really makes the movie work is the crazy characters. Such as the tire repairman with the big guns. And then there is the time a man needs a cadaver and two guys hear this and are all too willing to help. One even pulls a gun on someone so the man can have his cadaver right away!

Boyd reminded me of Billy Bob Thornton, though maybe that's because I read about him in Life magazine the day I saw the movie. It would be interesting to see what he would have done with the role. Michael Biehn just made him a demented clown, but an entertaining one.

I have to mention the camera work with the introduction of Elie. They wanted to make sure we noticed her legs!

I wasn't sure whether this was a comedy at first, but by the second half I had to laugh.