Around the Bend (2004)

In LA, Jason Lair is recently separated, living with his grandfather and his son; he's a banker, tense, with a limp. Grandfather Henry, an archaeologist, wants to take the family van on a ... See full summary »

Director:

Jordan Roberts

Writer:

Jordan Roberts

Stars:

Michael Caine, Jonah Bobo, Josh Lucas

4 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Michael Caine	...	Henry Lair
Jonah Bobo	...	Zach Lair
Josh Lucas	...	Jason Lair
Glenne Headly	...	Katrina
Christopher Walken	...	Turner Lair
David Eigenberg	...	John
Robert Douglas Washington	...	College Student (as Robert Douglas)
Carlos A. Cabarcas	...	KFC Counterman (as Carlos Cabarcas)
Gerry Bamman	...	Albert
Jean Effron	...	Albert's Mother
Lily Knight	...	Tiffany's Saleswoman
Rick Negron	...	KFC Manager
David Marciano	...	Detective
Norbert Weisser	...	Walter
Laurie O'Brien	...	Ruth

Storyline

In LA, Jason Lair is recently separated, living with his grandfather and his son; he's a banker, tense, with a limp. Grandfather Henry, an archaeologist, wants to take the family van on a trip to Albuquerque. His plans are interrupted when Turner, Jason's father and Henry's son, appears after years of absence. Henry wants to celebrate family, as does Zach, Jason's son; Jason is angry and distant, Turner seems detached and says he's got a bus to catch in the morning. This prompts Henry to put in place an elaborate plan that will send his "tribe" on that VW bus trip to New Mexico sorting out relationships and digging up a crippled family history. Dust and dogs figure prominently.

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Plot Keywords:

on the road | trip | bus | banker | mexico | 

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Taglines:

The skeletons in the family closet just came out to play

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Genres:

Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language

Details

Official Sites:

Warner Bros. [us]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

20 January 2005 (Argentina)

Also Known As:

A kanyaron túl

Filming Locations:

Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$17,879 (USA) (8 October 2004)

Gross:

$193,571 (USA) (19 November 2004)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Independent Pictures (WIP)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

85 min 82 min (Ontario)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital DTS SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

When Katrina is watching Ghost Ship, there is a picture above her head. It is a picture of Her Majesty Queen Margrethe II of Denmark.

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Goofs

The graveyard scene at the beginning of the film was supposed to be set somewhere in southern California, as this was before they began their road trip to New Mexico. However, in the background you can catch a few glimpses of the Albuquerque skyline.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Henry Lair: [banging on the furniture]
Jason Lair: Henry, it's 1 o'clock.
Henry Lair: I was... drumming for an idea.
Jason Lair: I heard.

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Connections

Featured in It's a Good Day: The Making of 'Around the Bend' (2005)

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Soundtracks

"A Song For You"
Written by Leon Russell
Performed by Leon Russell
Courtesy of Shelter Records
Under license from EMI Film & Television Music

User Reviews

Possibly prejudiced, but passionately pro

I was the composer on this film, and while I recognise that that fact may taint me as blindly partisan on its behalf, I still have to say that

A) I have never seen audiences respond with such obvious affection and warmth towards anything that I've ever worked on, (even including my terminally unemotional engineer, who actually cried, something I never expected in a million years that I would ever see, and doubt that I will again. )

and B)... Just give it a chance. If you hate it, so you blew 20 bucks and a couple hours. feel free to send me a nasty email, and if you make a convincing enough case, maybe i'll personally refund your 20. I doubt I'll have to. This is a wonderful film, made by the kind of person and for the kinds of reasons that we all need to support, if we care at all about what we do, and how it affects people. And I mean people, not industry professionals. See it with a civilian audience, as a human being, and you will be rewarded. This is a splendid movie, and Walken is stunning, and this is one where you just have to take the big city critics with a grain of salt. This movie was not made for them. It wasn't made for professional opinion makers. It was made for you. And yes, I may be prejudiced, but I don't think so.

David Baerwald