A very quirky road movie that treads the edge of self-conscious weirdness. Fortunately, it treads the right side of that edge, particularly due to the performances of McKellar and Buhagiar, who succeed beautifully in the tricky task of making their eccentric characters human and likeable. A funny and fun movie. And as a bonus, in my eyes Jackie Bangs (Valerie Buhagiar) is one of the most appealing women I've ever had the pleasure of encountering in a film...not classically beautiful, but rather a feisty and uniquely attractive woman I'd really enjoy hangin' with.
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seekingxdecember8 August 2006I actually know the township where this movie was filmed the first 15 minutes or so. The place is called Virginiatown and it is in Ontario, they also filmed in Larder Lake, Ontario.
I decided to watch the movie(we have it on display where I work) and it is surprising how the place has changed. We also even have the barber chair and all his equipment that was owned by the actual owner of the barber shop, who appeared as a customer in the movie.
Even though this movie fits the typical "weird" movie, I actually liked it, but then again, I am a fan of those old 80's style movies. The only thing I have to say negative about it is that I don't recommend it to kids, this movie still contains things that should not be seen at a younger age. -
An unscrupulous female roadie seduces an innocent small-towner into taking a road trip down to New Orleans. Along the way they meet all sorts of crazy characters. You're probably thinking you've seen this movie before, but did that movie involve a coffin strapped on top of the car and the devil hot on the characters' trail? Maybe you still have, but this movie is worth watching.
There's a charming underground-indie-cult appeal to this movie -at least here in the upper Mid-West. It's campy but not ridiculous. Some will find the fact that Canadian actors play distinctly American characters annoying -I know I did- but I never lost interest. The female lead could've stood to be a bit foxier (shaving those arm-pits would be a start) and more in-your-face, but hey, she's Canadian. The male lead -who also wrote the movie- is brilliant. I don't want to be condescending to Canadians (I tease because I love) but this movie is nothing like anything else I've seen come out of Canada. Two thumbs up. -
fizzlepop12 December 2002I have to disagree with the other review on this movie... the Satan character MADE the movie, in my opinion. Two of his scenes stick out in my mind - the one where he convinces the little girl to sign over her soul for fame and the end scene where he explains when he discovered he was "the dark one." This movie is a little known gem and it's a bit off the beaten path, being a Canadian film and all, but if you have a strange, wry sense of humor like my friends and me, you'll definitely love it. I would recommend this movie for anyone that's open-minded to the indie-type flicks.
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The goof is a barber and frustrated trumpet player with no life, no love and no prospects.
With the coffin strapped to the roof of his vintage car, manipulated by the wiles of the anti-heroine our anti-hero finds himself motoring from Thunder Bay to New Orleans along old Highway 61, the thoroughfare made famous in song.
Toronto filmmaker Bruce McDonald brings his gonzo rock 'n' rock style to what is obviously not your conventional love story.
But it is a hell of a wild ride that invokes motorcycle gangs, wacko farmers and Jello Biafra in a strange and wonderful cameo.
An off-beat delight.
Comment written by Liza Levchuk -
SnoopyStyle19 January 2016Pokey Jones (Don McKellar) is a naive small town barber in northern Ontario. He dreams of getting out and playing his trumpet. One morning, he finds a frozen corpse. Jackie Bangs (Valerie Buhagiar) is a tough roadie who rides the bus to the end of the line. She pretends to be the dead man's sister and smuggle stolen drugs across the border. The dead man sold Mr. Skin his soul who now wants the body. Jackie can't get a ride hitchhiking to New Orleans and Pokey offers to drive Highway 61 all the way south.
Director Bruce McDonald reunites his Roadkill actors McKellar, Buhagiar and others in another weird Canadian indie. McKellar and Buhagiar are great together just like before. Earl Pastko is wonderfully weird. The father and his three daughters are great material. Mr. Skin telling the little girl that she's ugly is terrific. Nobody names a girl Florida. It's an outsider indie with a lot great weird stuff. -
elwing1627 April 2001This is one of my favorite movies of all time (the other one is The Purple Rose of Cairo). If you haven't seen this movie yet then I envy you, because I can never watch it again for the first time like you can. It is the story of Pokey, the small-town barber who has never left his home of Pickerel Falls (well - he hasn't travelled further than Thunder Bay), and his awakening into adulthood one summer as he travels down highway 61 with a mysterious red-haired woman who asks him for a ride. Their adventures along the way as they race for New Orleans with Satan close behind, are often riotous (as in my favorite scene in the bingo hall), and always kooky.
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OJT15 August 1999Surprisingly had only two written comments on this film, and then I can't help myself! This film has got some scenes which you'll simply never forget. A road movie with everything you want from one of it's kind.
It all starts off when a local Canadian barber one morning is asked by a strange woman if he can drive her and her dead brother, lying in a wooden casket, down from Canada into the U.S. - But is it really her dead brother??? On the way they meet all kinds of strange people.
This film contains so much - like the most fantastic bingo-scene in film ever, the devil's hijacking of a little girl's soul, and what about indoor chicken hunt with guns, or the dream of having U2 to play in your wedding!?
I can't wait to see this movie again, and I understand it's now on DVD. So go buy it, never mind the price! This is hilarious fun with death on the back wheels! Don't miss it! The best Canadian film I ever saw! -
This movie is slow, totally unfunny, and unbelievable, even given some suspension of disbelief. Over-dramatic, overacted, poor character development, awkward plot. None of the characters are identifiable. Main characters undergo sudden inexplicable behavioral and moral changes; the "bad guy" is sleazy at best, pathetic at his worst.
The only humorous touch was that "Satan"s address is 668, indicating that he is a bit off - ha ha. That the dead body is unravaged after days' incarceration in a coffin riding atop a car in the southern sun doesn't seem to be a problem for the directors. It was for me. 2/10 seemed generous. -
more campy than roadkill (if that was possibly) and much lighter than dance me outside and hardcore logo, highway 61 is a great, fun film that fits perfectly on a snowy Saturday afternoon. the random plot twists as well as the off beat characters make this film truly unique and oddly Canadian. don mckellar proves here why he is Canada's most important actor - not because of any extensive talent, but because of his knack for playing the nervous, shy, eccentric who doesn't really fit in. this is one of those Canadian movies that totally could have gotten a bigger following if it had better distribution. now where's the DVD?
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echoes_2K323 October 2005Good lord, i saw this film a couple days ago, and i went in with low expectations, and came out with a headache, and one the worst movie experience of my entire life. We saw it for some Canadian school movie festival, and i really went into it not knowing a damn thing about the film, and came out knowing a little less about life in general. The opening was weak, kind of seemed rushed (at best). There were parts that were funny, made me laugh, but there were other parts that actually made my friend yell out "WHAT THE F***?!". Personally, i think if a lot more time and effort was put into it, some better actors and some cleaner editing. This is a train wreck with out the Hollywood effects, just horrible.
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Allison Mackay23 January 1999What can be said about this bizarre little gem of a movie? As a Canadian I have a soft spot for truly good homegrown film, and Bruce McDonald really delivered with this one. The "rock 'n' roll road movie" seems like a cliched category to put this in, for yes, it does involve a journey (physical and spiritual of course), and great musical atmosphere, and yet there's just something completely different. Maybe it's Valerie Buhagiar's ethereal yet calculating performance as Jackie, the roadie whose friends are far weirder than yours. It might be Don McKellar's small-town trumpet-playing barber who finds a dead man behind his shop one morning. Maybe it's the Devil chasing them in his pickup truck, claiming souls with his Polaroid camera. Oops, perhaps I've given away too much already...
At any rate, I loved this movie. It was unconventional without being consciously "arty", and was just fun to watch. Your corner video store probably won't have it (especially in the States) but if you're lucky one of the big chains will have a copy. -
funeral715 November 1999I saw this movie twice in the theatres in the early 90's. It was the first time I saw a movie and I thought to myself "That is the kind of movie I could make". Very inspirational, well-acted and directed for such a small budget indie movie. Very quirky characters. It has a tone similar to movies by Jim Jarmusch or Steve Buscemi's Trees Lounge. The cameo by the dead kennedy's jello biafra is a real treat as well. Try to find this indie gem!
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anyoneforsherry21 July 2006This is an awesome offbeat road movie.
Small town barber find stiff in garden- become local celebrity- meets roadie allges stiff is her brother- hides drugs in said stiff- Convinces Barber to drive stiff from Canada to New Orleans-Lots of sex in graveyards-gun totin rockstars and homo biker gangs are met along the way.
Meanwhile Satan (Either the real deal or a lucky wannabe) is out to collect the soul of afforementioned stiff due to contractual obligations- Pursues dead body across US collecting more contracts for souls funding the trip playing bingo.
Go and rent it or download if you can find it its ace! -
Paul DeLano31 January 2000I realize that my tastes are different than those of the average viewer . But one thing I have never wanted is to be average . This is my favorite movie of all time . The black humor of Bruce McDonald , and the straight faced delivery of Don McKellar add up to the perfect combination to tickle my twisted funny bone . I'm not going to give anything away , but watch for the scene of Satan talking to the little girl . That kills me every time I watch this movie .
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1st watched 8/8/1999 - 5 out of 10 (Dir-Bruce Mcdonald): Despite somewhat likeable relationship between the lead characters this movie tries to retread too many screwball road-type pictures.The Satan character is worthless and really messes up the movie. Could have been a good light comedic character piece.
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Infofreak25 June 2001I loved this movie from beginning to end. There have been way too many predictable road movies made since the 60s. It's difficult to find one that surprises and entertains without being contrived. Highway 61 does it, and I admire the hell out of it for doing so. Wonderful script, superior acting, nice use of music throughout, this is pure delight. Hats off to Bruce McDonald and Don McKellar!
And remember - you can't cheat at Bingo! -
As I suspected, a re-watch of "Highway 61" starring Don McKellar, directed by Bruce McDonald, and penned by McKellar, McDonald, and Alan Magee proved a (slight) disappointment. I had previously only seen it once, unlike "Roadkill", also written by McKellar and McDonald, and one of the finest pieces of low-budget gonzo film-making around. "Highway 61" has a fun script, with some terrific lines, a fantastic first few scenes, and some delightfully surreal, deliberately campy moments. Still, the film feels like "Roadkill" on a bigger budget with a quarter of the charm. McKellar is great and the movie is a nice alternative to most of the road movies out there, it doesn't match the other two parts of McDonald's 'road trilogy', but since I believe those two to be two of the best films ever made, that is hardly a major point of criticism.