Film review: “The Hitchhiking Movie” May 11, 2009

Ryan Jeanes tries to thumb a ride from coast to coast in "The Hitchhiking Movie."

Ryan Jeanes and camerman Phillip Hullquist tell bystanders they’re going to hitchhike from New York City to Los Angeles in one week as part of a documentary. And that’s without money for food or lodging. Tired of hearing about stories of serial murderers or sex predators preying on hitchhikers, they aim to prove there are “kind-hearted people who just want to help.”

Still, there are doubters. Jeanes asks one woman: “Do you still think we’re crazy for doing this thing?”

She replies, “I don’t think you’re crazy; I know you’re crazy.”

Well, maybe they are. After all, Jeanes and Hullquist are going to paddle the length of the Mississippi River starting this month. After that, Jeanes will train to swim the English Channel next summer. It’s all part of their 11 Visions film company, which “goes on outlandish adventures and documents them for your entertainment.”

Crazy or not, “The Hitchhiking Movie” winds up being a pretty good film. Sure, you have the underlying tension of not knowing whether Jeanes and Hullquist will meet their deadline. They deal with exhaustion, bad  weather, tedious hours between rides, and a cop who tells them to get off the interstate.

At one point, the duo is still more than 1,000 miles from their destination with barely 48 hours remaining. It looks so grim that Hullquist talks to Jeanes about possibly giving up.

The film shines brightest when Jeanes and Hullquist get to know the 23 people who give them rides, or those who offer assistance. There’s the former heroin addict who’s trying to put her life back together; the psychiatrist sporting an enormous mustache who rambles about potassium in Americans’ diet; the Mustang-driving dude who lost an eye in a bar fight; and a black couple who buy Jeanes and Hullquist an enormous amount of food and implore them to do a similar favor to a black person.

My favorite character is the somewhat stoic American Indian trucker who talks about his former career as a bull rider, rambles about mysticism, and offers a peace pipe to Jeanes at a rest area. The ceremony occurs off-camera, but Jeanes assures us afterward that no illicit substances were in the pipe. Indeed, Jeanes seemed moved by the gesture.

Another memorable stop occurs at the Luna Cafe on Route 66 in Mitchell, Ill., at the 50-minute mark of the film. The two are given free beers, souvenirs and an enormous taco at the famed roadhouse. One of the waitresses tells the seamy story behind the cherry in the Luna’s neon sign. At one point, Jeanes apparently gets a tad too informal talking to the female bartender, and she briefly covers his mouth with duct tape. Later, Jeanes and Hullquist try to hitchhike Route 66 over the Mississippi River at night, not knowing that the Old Chain of Rocks Bridge is closed after sundown. That’s the extent of their time on Route 66, but it’s memorable.

Hullquist is lucky to have someone like Jeanes as the host of this film. Jeanes carries the right balance of affability, earnestness and wit to keep the film interesting. The film is crisply edited.

And “The Hitchhiker Movie’s” conclusion isn’t entirely unexpected, but there’s enough of a twist there to make it additionally satisfying.