Honky Tonk Freeway Reviews

Neither as bad as its initial reviews nor as good as it could have been, this interesting $25 million failure was saddled with an awful ad campaign and grossed only $500,000. Director John Schlesinger (MIDNIGHT COWBOY; THE FALCON AND THE SNOWMAN) structured this slice-of-American-life comedy after the fashion of Robert Altman's NASHVILLE, cross-cutting between dozens of characters. The result, however, is a fragmented, hit-or-miss affair that is occasionally very funny but more often confusing. The plot revolves around the efforts of a small Florida town, Ticlaw, to win a freeway exit ramp for their dying community. The crazy mayor (Devane) bribes some officials to ensure the ramp's construction, but he is double-crossed and forced to trick motorists into venturing into his town. Among the hapless travelers who end up in Ticlaw are a young woman aimlessly wandering the country with the her mother's ashes (D'Angelo), a wacky elderly couple (Cronyn and Tandy), and the author of a children's book titled Randy the Carnivorous Pony (Bridges).