Gas Food Lodging

• Director: Allison Anders
• AMG Rating:
• Genre: Drama
• Movie Type: Family Drama, Feminist Film
• Themes: Kids in Trouble, First Love, Sibling Relationships
• Main Cast: Brooke Adams, Ione Skye, Fairuza Balk, James Brolin, Robert Knepper
• Release Year: 1992
• Country: US
• Run Time: 101 minutes
• MPAA Rating: R

Plot

Based on a novel by Richard Peck called Don't Look and It Won't Hurt, Allison Anders' melodramatic coming-of-age tale Gas Food Lodging takes place in Laramie, NM, a small town right off the highway. Nora (Brooke Adams) is a truck-stop waitress who lives in a trailer park with her two teenaged daughters, Trudi (Ione Skye) and Shade (Fairuza Balk). While Trudi sleeps around and defies her mother, Shade spends her time at the local cinema and wishes she could have a dad like a normal family. One day, Trudi hooks up with a visiting geologist (Robert Knepper) and spends a magical evening in a cave with him. However, he turns up missing and Trudi finds herself pregnant. Meanwhile, Shade's romantic advances are rejected by Darius (Donovan Leitch), but she finds something new with film projectionist Javier (Jacob Vargas). Shade's attempts at finding a husband for her mom are unsuccessful, but Nora ends up meeting satellite TV installation man Hamlet Humphrey (David Lansbury). Features a cameo appearance from Dinosaur Jr. frontman J. Mascis, who also wrote the original music. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide

Review

Gas Food Lodging tells a very simple story about a family that could live off the exit ramp of just about any highway in America. Narrated by Shade (Fairuza Balk), its works well as an lighthearted slice-of-life movie about a teenager stuck in a stifling small town with relatively no means of escape. The characters are all well realized, with the relationship between mother Nora (Brooke Adams) and daughter Trudi (Ione Skye) especially true to life. While some of the acting comes off as amateurish, the dingy desert settings and kitchen-sink realism almost makes up for it. There is nothing new here as far as story goes, just a believable drama dealing with issues of divorce, pregnancy, and basic small-town survival. Anders throws in a few bits of fun with the fictional Elvia Rivero (Nina Belanger) films, which are the overly dramatic black-and-white Mexican movies Shade goes to see to detach herself from the boring daily life of Laramie. James Brolin also makes a notable appearance as Shade's real father, convincingly portraying a rugged cowboy's meager attempts at parenting. Best appreciated by teenagers, Gas Food Lodging lovingly captures plain existence and succeeds as a plausible domestic melodrama. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide

Cast

• Brooke Adams - Nora
• Ione Skye - Trudi
• Fairuza Balk - Shade
• James Brolin - John Evans
• Robert Knepper - Dank

David Landsbury - Hamlet Humphrey; Chris Mulkey - Raymond; Donovan Leitch - Darius; Tiffany Anders - Persi; Diane Behrens - Hostess; Adam Biesk - Brett; Sissy Boyd - Rocio; Julie Condra - Tanya; Leigh Hamilton - Kim; Bill Kemp - Jock; Graci Lund - Girl; Jeff McDonald - Long Haired Boy; Jeff Miller - Rock Boy; Laurie O'brien - Thelma; Shirley Smith - Bubbly Mother; Jacob Vargas - Javier; J. Mascis - Cecil; George Parker - Trucker

Credit

Lisa Denker - Art Director, Carla Weber - Art Director, Susan Bertram - Costume Designer, Matthew J. Clark - First Assistant Director, Allison Anders - Director, Tracy S. Granger - Editor, J. Mascis - Composer (Music Score), Jane Ann Stewart - Production Designer, Dean Lent - Cinematographer, William Ewart - Producer, Daniel Hassid - Producer, Christoph Henkel - Producer, Seth M. Willenson - Producer, Carl-Jan Colpaert - Producer, Mary Meeks - Set Designer, Allison Anders - Screenwriter, Richard Peck - Book Author

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