Highway 61 (1991)

A small-town barber goes on a road trip from Thunder Bay to New Orleans with an unpredictable woman and a coffin.

Director:

Bruce McDonald

Writers:

Allan Magee, Bruce McDonald

Stars:

Don McKellar, Valerie Buhagiar, Earl Pastko

3 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Valerie Buhagiar	...	Jackie Bangs
Don McKellar	...	Pokey Jones
Earl Pastko	...	Mr. Skin (a.k.a. Satan)
Peter Breck	...	Mr. Watson
Art Bergmann	...	Otto
Jello Biafra	...	Customs Agent #1
Hadley Obodiac	...	Customs Agent #2
Tav Falco	...	Motorcycle Gang Leader
Tracy Wright	...	Margo
Johnny Askwith	...	Claude
Namir Khan	...	Funeral Director
Steve Fall	...	Jeffrey The Corpse
Larry Hudson	...	Nathan - Manservant
Elizabeth Pritchard	...	Louise Watson
Chantal Ettles	...	Missie Watson

Storyline

A naive Canadian barber who knows US popular culture inside and out meets a flamboyant roadie who needs someone to drive her and her "brother's" corpse to New Orleans. Chaos ensues after the barber agrees to drive her, the corpse, and the drugs stashed within all the way.

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Plot Keywords:

barber | roadie | drugs | new orleans louisiana | trumpet | 

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Taglines:

The most twisted part of this road is the people on it.

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Genres:

Comedy | Music

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Certificate:

R

Did You Know?

Trivia

Bruce McDonald was offered by Capitol Records the song Life is a Highway by Tom Cochrane to use in the film. McDonald turned it down, citing that it was "too poppy".

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Goofs

In one shot the car is traveling in the wrong direction. Before they cross the border into the USA, they cross a river on a bridge. The river must be flowing east towards Lake Superior, so the camera is also pointed east. But the car is traveling from right to left, which means it must be traveling north, not south.

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Quotes

Bingo Angry Woman: He must be cheating that's how.
Mr. Skin (A.K.A. Satan): Lady, you can't cheat at bingo. If you could, I would, but you can't. I won because I was lucky - lucky to wind up in a town full of losers!

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Crazy Credits

Mr. Skin can be heard speaking over the very end of the closing credits.

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Connections

Referenced in Rich Hall's Continental Drifters (2011)

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Soundtracks

Hard Ball
Written and Performed by Blackglama

User Reviews

A road picture: the story of a goof, a coffin, a wild woman and the devil.

The goof is a barber and frustrated trumpet player with no life, no love and no prospects.

With the coffin strapped to the roof of his vintage car, manipulated by the wiles of the anti-heroine our anti-hero finds himself motoring from Thunder Bay to New Orleans along old Highway 61, the thoroughfare made famous in song.

Toronto filmmaker Bruce McDonald brings his gonzo rock 'n' rock style to what is obviously not your conventional love story.

But it is a hell of a wild ride that invokes motorcycle gangs, wacko farmers and Jello Biafra in a strange and wonderful cameo.

An off-beat delight.

Comment written by Liza Levchuk

Details

Country:

Canada

Language:

English

Release Date:

24 April 1992 (USA)

Also Known As:

Highway 61

Filming Locations:

Duluth, Minnesota, USA

Box Office

Gross USA:

$291,645

Company Credits

Production Co:

Cineplex Odeon Films, Shadow Shows

Technical Specs

Runtime:

102 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1