Remember that terrible song that said “If life is a highway, I wanna ride it all night long”? I hate to admit that it somewhat sums up Two-Lane Blacktop and that this Tom Cochrane character was onto something. Featuring little dialogue or music, it is all about the beautiful vintage cars, the drivers, and the journey. Though there were two (musical) elephants in the room (James Taylor and Dennis Wilson of the Beach Boys) I fell in love with the supporting characters of Warren Oates and Laurie Bird.
With her floppy sheep dog like bangs, fine features and need for attention, Bird is perfect as “The Girl”, a hitchhiker who joins the men on their aimless road journey. And Oates’ character: “G.T.O.” being a well to do yet lonely liar was pretty charming. It’s also interesting that none of the characters are ever addressed by their names and even in the credits are listed simply as “The Driver” (Taylor) “The Mechanic” (Wilson) “The Girl” (Bird) and “G.T.O” (Oates). I’m guessing that this film is what Vincent Gallo’s The Brown Bunny aspired to be.
Here in my car
I feel safest of all
I can lock all my doors
It’s the only way to live
In cars
