Back Roads (1981)
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50% of critics liked it
(8 reviews) -
34% of users liked it
(1,544 ratings)
For his follow-up to 1979's Academy Award-winning Norma Rae, director Martin Ritt re-teams with that film's star, Sally Field, for this gritty romantic road comedy. Reportedly Ritt's homage to Frank Capra's films of the 1930s, Back Roads stars Field as Amy Post, a no-nonsense… More For his follow-up to 1979's Academy Award-winning Norma Rae, director Martin Ritt re-teams with that film's star, Sally Field, for this gritty romantic road comedy. Reportedly Ritt's homage to Frank Capra's films of the 1930s, Back Roads stars Field as Amy Post, a no-nonsense prostitute in the deep South struggling with the fact that she gave up her only child for adoption. When Amy first encounters the recently unemployed Elmore Pratt (Tommy Lee Jones), she is anything but fond of the drifter. But after taking to the road together with dreams of California, the two societal misfits find themselves falling for each other. Ritt and Field would team together once again four years later in another romantic comedy set in the South, Murphy's Romance. ~ Matthew Tobey, Rovi
- Directed By
- Martin Ritt
- Genres
- Drama, Romance, Comedy
R,
- In Theaters
- Mar 13, 1981 Wide
Critic Reviews
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Tom Milne, Time Out
Very good on local colour but a bit sugary in its attitude to the central relationship, it would have been better taking a bleaker cue from Tommy Lee Jones' admirably dry performance.
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Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
If the movie had been willing to deal honestly with the plight of its characters, it wouldn't need to be clutterted up with eccentrics and hearts of gold.
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Vincent Canby, New York Times
Less a movie than an extended sketch, and it's to the credit of Mr. Ritt, his stars and Gary Devore, the screenwriter, that the movie is so much fun.
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, TV Guide's Movie Guide
It's a surprise to discover that this hackneyed, relatively dull road picture is the work of director Martin Ritt.
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Scott Weinberg, DVDTalk.com
A quiet and unassuming little comedy, a dual-gendered character study mixed with a low-key "road trip" adventure.
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Cast
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Sally Field
as Amy Post
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Tommy Lee Jones
as Elmore Pratt
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David Keith
as Mason
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Miriam Colon
as Angel
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Michael Vincente Gazzo
as Tazio
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Dan Shor
as Spivey
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M. Emmet Walsh
as Arthur
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Barbara Babcock
as Rickey's Mom
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Nell Carter
as Waitress
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Alex Colon
as Enrique
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Royce D. Applegate
as Father
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Jim Bailey
as Billy
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Don 'Red' Barry
as Pete
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Lee de Broux
as Red
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Bruce M. Fischer
as Ezra
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Tony Ganios
as Bartini
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John M. Jackson
as Merle
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John Dennis Johnston
as Gilly
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Eliott Keener
as Willis
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Lee Mc Laughlin
as Deputy
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David Powladge
as Fight Announcer
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Ralph Seymour
as Gosler
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Henry Slate
as Grover
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Diane Summerfield
as Liz
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Woody Watson
as Larry
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John Wilmot
as Ed
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Richard Boyle
as Ernest
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Eric Laneuville
as Pinball Wizard
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Bill Holliday
as Isaac
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Fred Baldwin
as Gordy
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David Dahlgren
as Mel
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Brian Frishman
as Bleitz
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Billy Jayne
as The Boy Thief
- Michael V. Gazzo
