I happened to catch one of my favorite movies the other night, the Jeff Bridges, Karen Allen flick, Starman. I bring you greetings! Take it easy – up yours! Man, I love that movie. Funny thing about it though, it spent about five years banging around Hollywood before it got made, going through a bunch of directors and scripts all the while.  John Carpenter told Michael Douglas, who was producing the property, that he wanted to do it with a different take than every other director that came before him. What he proposed sold Douglas on hiring the director, and it what made Starman so great- Carpenter wanted to make it a road movie! The road trip movie is a cinematic staple, and has been since Hope and Crosby cranked them out almost annually just after WWII, to this very day. The plot is pretty simple, put two conflicting characters in a car, give ’em someplace to go or somebody that’s chasing them, and then just sit back and let the magic happen. I’ve noted that Starman is one of my favorite road trip flicks, and I even like that ghetto Mustang II that makes it all possible. Next time you watch it, notice that, while they left the rearview mirror in, they totally took out the seat belts. What about you, do you have a secret hankering for Thelma and Louise? Or, maybe you’re a Smokey and the Bandit kind of person? Whichever, what is your favorite road trip movie? Image source: Blu-ray.com