Coast to Coast (2004)

Self-important, over-dramatic, uninspired.

Good story, Not enough for a whole film

Excellent, smart action film.

There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

This is certainly an enjoyable movie with some very sharp witty remarks scattered throughout the dialogue.The main criticisms I have are:1. The awful music score. It sounds as though it was put together on a cheap and nasty electronic keyboard. It grated on me throughout the film.2. Some of the longer scenes of two people talking to each other were just too long. A cut-away or two would have relieved the tedium. Yes, the 'conversations' were, in the main, very relevant to the plot, but were just too long. A few more snips with the scissors in the editing room would not have gone amiss.3. Those infernal maps! Ugh! They lent a real 'cheap and nasty' air to the movie, which was a pity.As far as I'm concerned, the 'test' for a good movie is whether I will watch it again or not. This one scores scores a definite 'maybe'.

As I was watching this movie, I found myself struck by what seemed to be a number of similarities with the movie "Ordinary People." Like the story in that movie, Richard Dreyfuss and Judy Davis play a couple whose marriage is falling apart as they deal with the accidental death of their son a number of years before. "Coast To Coast," however is not as good as "Ordinary People," although it's not a bad movie at all and while it definitely didn't captivate me, it definitely did pull me in and keep me interested."Coast To Coast" is an often heavy movie, although the heaviness is broken up somewhat by rather low-key comedy, which is largely introduced by making Dreyfuss' character of Barnaby Pierce a comedy writer. Essentially, Barnaby and Maxine (Davis) set off from their home in Connecticut to attend their surviving son's wedding in Los Angeles. (In another scene strikingly similar to "Ordinary People" the surviving son is having problems of his own dealing with his brother's death, as they were in the car together when the accident occurred.) Along the way, Barnaby and Maxine have encounters with several old friends and acquaintances, all of whom seem to have lives even more dysfunctional than theirs. The most notable (to me) of those encounters was with one of Maxine's former professors (played by Maximilian Schell) who has married a young bombshell, but whose ex-wife still lives in the house, coming out only at night and never interacting with the ex-husband. Essentially the central part of the movie is the trip to Denver, when Maxine has a rather difficult encounter with an old flame, played by Fred Ward.Somehow, any real suspense is lacking here. I never had any doubt that Barnaby and Maxine would eventually reconcile, and that reconciliation is certainly hinted at by the last scene of the movie.The performances of Dreyfuss and Davis were the highlights here. Dreyfuss is always excellent, and this was no exception. Davis I was unfamiliar with, having not seen any of her previous work, but she also did a very commendable job with her role. These performances pull a basically OK movie up another notch. "Coast To Coast" didn't blow me away, but on the strength of an interesting story, memorable characters and the above mentioned performances, I still give it a 7/10

My wife and I discovered this movie (accidentally) when TiVo recorded it for us. We noticed the great cast so decided to give it a try. It had us captivated right from the start. No formula TV movie here. Coast to Coast is refreshingly original; doesn't neatly fit into any particular genre. It was both very funny and emotional, yet felt true-to-life.This is a movie made by intelligent people for intelligent people. We particularly enjoyed the witty dialogue and the wonderful characters Dreyfuss and Davis meet along their journey. These are two great actors at their best.Lately, it seems that good movies are few and far between, so this was a real treat for us.

"Coast to Coast" sticks Dreyfuss and Davis front and center as a middle-aged couple on the verge of divorce who take a road trip from East to West coasts to attend their son's marriage while waxing nostalgic, visiting quirky friends, and sorting through old regrets along the way. Supposedly a poignant dramedy about reconciliation, this lame dose of couch potato fodder from Showtime has Toronto standing in for the US and a big hole where the entertainment should be. One can only speculate that budgetary constraints got between the cast and crew and a quality film product result. Coulda-shoulda been better, "Coast to Coast" is an uneven, uninspired nice-try-but-no-cigar near miss. (C)