Bonneville (2006)

Three women take a road trip to Santa Barbara in order to deliver the ashes of one of their dead husbands to his resentful daughter.

Director:

Christopher N. Rowley

Writers:

Daniel D. Davis (screenplay), Daniel D. Davis (story)

Stars:

Jessica Lange, Kathy Bates, Joan Allen

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jessica Lange	...	Arvilla Holden
Robert Conder	...	Taxi Driver (as Bob Condor)
Kathy Bates	...	Margene Cunningham
Joan Allen	...	Carol Brimm
Bruce Newbold	...	Bishop Evans
Kristen Marie Jensen	...	Student
Christine Baranski	...	Francine Holden Packard
Tom Amandes	...	Bill Packard
Laura Park	...	Riva Fox
Tom Wopat	...	Arlo Brimm
Ivey Lloyd Mitchell	...	Evelyn Brimm (as Ivey Mitchell)
Evan May	...	Robert Brimm
Erin May	...	Lauren Brimm
Tom Skerritt	...	Emmett L. Johnson
Victor Rasuk	...	Bo

Storyline

The distressed emotions that Arvilla Holden are feeling upon the death of her husband Joe Holden are compounded by dealing with Joe's adult daughter, Francine Packer. Joe and Arvilla were lovingly married for twenty years, and although they lived in Pocatello, Idaho - Arvilla's home town - they traveled the world on one adventure after another. Joe was from Santa Barbara, California, where Francine and the extended Holden family still live. Arvilla is certain that Joe wrote a new will after they got married, but since that will is nowhere to be found, the official will is the one that Francine has in her possession, which outlines certain things that Arvilla knows Joe would not now have wanted. That will states that Joe's embalmed body is to be interned with Francine's mother in Santa Barbara, despite Joe already having been cremated. Arvilla knows that Joe would have wanted his ashes scattered into the wind. The will also deeds the house in which Arvilla and Joe lived their entire ...

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Plot Keywords:

will | ashes | time | road trip | lake | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for some mild language and innuendo

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

29 February 2008 (Canada)

Also Known As:

Por siempre amigas

Filming Locations:

Bonneville Salt Flats, Utah, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$174,571, 2 March 2008, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$488,393, 13 April 2008

Company Credits

Production Co:

SenArt Films, Drop of Water Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

93 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The car used in this film was a 1966 Pontiac Bonneville Convertible, of which about 11,000 were produced. The standard model came with a 389 cubic inch (6.4 liter) engine with 2-barrel carburetor that produced about 325 horsepower. It was also available with an optional 421 cubic inch (6.9 L) engine with 4-barrel carb or GM's "Tri-Power" carb. Turbo-Hydramatic 3 speed transmission was standard, manual optional. The front seat in the movie car was a standard split-back bench seat, but bucket front seats were also available. The dark copper-red exterior of movie car was not an authentic color offered by Pontiac-General Motors in 1966. Original available colors included Black, White, Milano Maroon, Nocturne Blue, Martinique Bronze (aka Martinique Gold), and a creamy shade of Yellow. The interior of the movie car appears original (judging by the door panels) and is white/ivory. Other available interior colors included Black, Nocturne Blue, and Martinique Bronze. The rear-view mirror had been removed from all of the movie cars, probably to prevent the chrome mirror housing from casting a reflection of the film crew. The opaque black steering wheel appeared to be an aftermarket replacement, as the originals were transparent acrylic, tinted to match the interior color, overlaid on a chrome circular rod.

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Goofs

The license plate on the car has a 1A designation, which signifies Ada County, which is Boise. Pocatello is in Bannock County, which has a designation of 1B.

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Quotes

Arvilla: [driving beside Emmett L. Johnson's rig] Hmmph. Wonder what the "L" stands for.
Margene: Luscious.
Arvilla: [laughs] Oh!
Carol: Loser.

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Soundtracks

That Girl Is Bad
Written by Alexander Baker and Clair Marlo (as Claire Marlo)
Courtesy of Three Under Music and Metropark Music
Courtesy of Associated Production Music LLC

User Reviews

Not Thelma and Louise, but certainly an enjoyable women's road movie

I have read some negative reviews around this movie, mainly based on a comparison with Thelma and Louise. I consider Ridley Scott's masterpiece one of the best movies ever, certainly the best dealing with women's friendship in the most authentic and sincere way. Bonneville is undoubtedly something different, we have three middle-aged women, we have a road trip, we have almost the same breathtaking scenery, but the whole context and the motivations are totally different, so that I find it totally useless to try make a comparison. The cast remains a talented one, and the only presence of Cathy Bates could not make a movie a bad one, and indeed it is a movie that with no pretension simply tries to reflect upon life, death, relationships, introducing some good entertaining and amusing moments. I have also read about an accusation of being too sentimental, on the contrary I appreciated its sentimental side. We are probably nowadays so used to insensitiveness around us, that whenever a movie with some feelings inside is released it risks an accusation of being a melodrama. This is not the case with Bonneville, it's a decent, pleasant road-comedy , with a good story inside, starring a good and cohesive cast.