Four Lane Highway (2005)

14% of critics liked it
(7 reviews)
50% of users liked it
(383 ratings)

The talented but aimless son of a famous writer embarks on an existential road trip with his best friend in the heartfelt feature debut from writer/director Dylan McCormick. Sean (Frederick Weller) lives in the college town where his father used to teach, and divides most of his time between… More The talented but aimless son of a famous writer embarks on an existential road trip with his best friend in the heartfelt feature debut from writer/director Dylan McCormick. Sean (Frederick Weller) lives in the college town where his father used to teach, and divides most of his time between construction work, bartending jobs, and senseless one night stands. One day, fearing the worst for his future, Sean decides to take fate into his own hands by gassing up the car and heading for New York in search of Molly (Greer Goodman) - a former girlfriend whom he met while bartending. On the road, Sean and his hard-drinking best friend Lyle (Reg Rogers) gradually begin to discover that life is precisely what one makes it out to be. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 44 min.
Directed By: Dylan McCormick
Genres: Drama

In Theaters: Aug 4, 2005 Wide

Critic Reviews

Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News
The director's earnest intentions can't overcome a formulaic story and confusing time structure, let alone performances that feel distinctly amateurish.
Matt Zoller Seitz, New York Times
Affable but dull.
Prairie Miller, WBAI Web Radio
While trying to figure out whether it's a delayed development coming of age mood piece or a college romance turned offbeat road movie, Four Lane Highway offers little of dramatic substance to fill in the empty spaces along the way.
Ted Murphy, Murphy's Movie Reviews
FOUR LANE HIGHWAY is an okay first film, but not one that we haven't seen before. McCormick really doesn't offer any new insights into relationships or love affairs and the trite ending feels something of a cop out.
Nick Schager, Slant Magazine
The cinematic equivalent of a cheesy, confessional acoustic-guitar ballad sung in a café by a heart-on-his-sleeve kid looking to pick up girls.
Frank Lovece, Film Journal International
Give McCormick credit for the high-risk task of writing an essentially four-person piece in which three of his leads are self-loathing.
Prairie Miller, Long Island Press
The film seems preoccupied with figuring out whether it's a delayed development coming of age mood piece, or a college romance turned offbeat road movie.
Maitland McDonagh, TV Guide's Movie Guide
If marginally less smug than Noah Baumbach's Kicking and Screaming, McCormick's film is just as trapped in juvenile navel-gazing: The fact that his characters are in their 30s only makes them more insufferable.