Two guys, a young and an older one, on the road having debates about life and how to live it. On their road trip they stumble on unexpected circumstances and they deal with it in their own way. That's basically the story of The Long Dumb Road. It's easy to watch, mildly entertaining, but it isn't a bad movie. I would not say it's a movie that I'm going to remember in the future, as I probably will forget anything about it in a week. Tony Revolori (Nat) and Jason Mantzoukas (Richard) play the two major characters and it isn't bad, but it's just not mindblowing. Maybe it's just the script as I really liked Tony Revolori's performance in The Grand Budapest Hotel. Nonetheless The Long Dumb Road is just fine to watch once.
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deloudelouvain12 January 2019
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chuckvapor14 July 2020I actually just created an account because I saw a lot of people talk about how they weren't a fan of the ending but I personally really enjoyed the ending because of the realism. Not everything is a happy ending in real life, not that it was an unhappy ending, but to me this seems like something that would actually happen. They didn't go the stereotypical route and in the end they Didn't become best friends and he gets the girl that he met on the road.... Everyone went their own way
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stu-0032916 April 2018When filmmakers title their project The Long Dumb Road, it's a nod to potential viewers - a tongue-in- cheek way of saying: "Yes, it's another road movie, but we think we've got a fresh take that will amuse you."
In this case, the secret weapon is Jason Mantzoukas (The Good Place, Dirty Grandpa), the current go-to actor for nutty but endearing characters. The Long Dumb Road is a showcase for Mantzoukas, who moves into a lead role after stealing scenes as a supporting actor in earlier films and television shows.
Mantzoukas' straight man is 21-year-old Tony Revolori (The Grand Budapest Hotel). He plays Nat, who is leaving the family nest and driving from Texas to Los Angeles to begin art school.
Engine trouble brings Nat together with Mantzoukas' Richard, an itinerant mechanic in his 30s who has simply bounced around since he was Nat's age. After Richard gets Nat's minivan running again, the kid agrees to him a lift to a nearby town.
Circumstances conspire to extend their trip together to Las Cruces, New Mexico, and then north to Albuquerque. Along the way, Richard's antics yank Nat out of his comfort zone, effectively demonstrating the things he can and can't control and forcing him to overcome unexpected challenges.
The two men are bookends for young adulthood. Nat has a plan he thinks he can follow. Like many of us of a certain age, Richard looks into the mirror and wonders: What the hell happened?
A number familiar faces pop up during the trip: Casey Wilson (Happy Endings) as Richard's old flame from high school, Grace Gummer (Mr. Robot) and Taissa Farmiga (American Horror Story, The Bling Ring) as sisters the guys pick up in a bar, Pamela Reed (Parks and Recreation) as a good Samaritan and Ron Livingston (Office Space) as Richards's frenemy Francois.
Without giving away the ending, suffice it to say that it's not the type of conclusion one usually sees in this sort of movie. Credit writer/director Hannah Fidell and cowriter Carson Mell (Silicon Valley) for finding that fresh take on a tired genre. -
First ,, don't know if you guys know Jason Mantzoukas or watched him on something before ,, but i first saw him in "The League" on FX as Rafi and then partially on "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" ,, the guy is genius in this type of comedy,, the type where he act like the guy who doesn't give an F, and just move dragging a lot of messed up issues ,, This movie again he was the same ,, he was hilarious and goodhearted at the end ,,
The movie itself was good ,, was properly written, the script looked well done and the plot even though lacks a bit of genuinity, yet it showed dependency and the flawless, quick and easily followable scenario.
The cast, Jason Mantzoukas did really amazing ,, Tony Revolori (the boy from The Grand Budapest Hotel :D) was coo too.
The movie might not be a top boxoffice ranked but it was really good and with a bit of marketing it might do well for the rest of the year ... So recommended . -
natcalgary22 November 2018Always been a fan of Jason Mandoukis and his style of quirky comedy ever since the league. I like his style of comedy and all the actors actually did a great job.
Ending could have been a bit better then I would have rated it higher but still a solid
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ernestsavesxmas8 April 2020A perfectly fine and totally watchable coming of age / buddy road romp / odd couple riff. Firmly a part of an era which has been / still is very unkind for comedy. Doing its best to not offend but still, somehow, against all odds, be edgy. The lead actors (Tony Revolori, Jason Mantzoukas) have great chemistry and are very good in this overall. That it feels like it's carrying the torch for a subgenre that cannot and maybe should not exist is not at all its fault. But it's impossible not to see the shortcomings as it works inside that structure.
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LLgoatJ1 March 2019Story is about a young guy off to college who gives a lift to a slightly older guy who fixes his car for him. The older guy has lived a life and the younger one has lived a sheltered one. It's pretty standard mix matched strangers thrust together and falling out but needing each other so staying together fayre. There are some genuinely funny parts and some parts that are suppose to be funny but fall apart. The unexpected part when (Ron Livingston) gives them a lift is an unexpected twist that you sort of see coming The ending though is rubbish. They say goodbye and that's it. No being reunion at the end of the film. It also just ends with the older guy playing a slot machine while credits role. That's it. He doesn't even win millions from it. Overall it had the potential to be a great film but ended up as an okay film. Despite this, I actually enjoyed it. I would never watch it again but glad I did.
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SpecialWeirdo10110 January 2019I was expecting 90 minutes of fun, but I was surprised, it felt way longer than 90 minutes. Basically this movie fits better in drama category, I smiled one time and didn't laugh at all. I'm not sure we can blame the actors, most of them are well experienced and should do better performances. The director/writer, Hannah Fidell, is the next in line, and my feeling is that she have seen lots of road movies and decided to "do it better myself". Well, I think you failed in that. Its common that these movies include, broken car ( at least one time in each movie), fighting in bars, strangers ending in bed together, change in plans (which ends up in a bad way). This movie have all of that, and all other things ever been in a road movie. The story is not "fun", it just makes the movie feel long and dumb (pun intended). I blame this on Hannah Fidell.
The only thing that saves this from a nice one star is that it actually have actors that CAN act, even if they get poor directions. But even the acting is not good enough to give it more than 2 thumbs up, sorry folks. -
thesar-212 July 2020Wow. I've seen a few like this. "Comedies" that I really liked but haven't a funny joke that landed in the entire film.
The only thing that drew me to this movie was my latest obsession to horror movies, so I wanted to change it up and watch a "comedy" for once. Helped when I saw the poster. I love Jason Mantzoukas and Tony Revolori, the "driver," is so cute. So, I thought, here'll be a funny road-trip film.
Nope. This movie is as funny as 2020's virus. BUT, that said, it's still a charming drama with two leads with enormous chemistry. That and how well the movie was shot and progressed was worth the trip.
The move's a simple one: Nat needs to drive from Texas to LA to attend art school. While his future is supposedly planned out for him from his parents, apparently, they didn't plan for the vehicle they gave him to break down in the middle of Nowhere, TX. Lucky, or unluckily, for him, Random-Stranger Richard's there to save the day, fix the vehicle and they start a journey together of "self-discovery" across the Southwest. I guess.
The Long Dumb Road admittedly had me smirking and smiling a lot and I loved the ending, tremendously. I just wish it was funny. It's not like a lot of the "comedy" flew over my head; I seriously didn't hear hardly any jokes. Just two bros who share a ride to their respective destinies. And along the way they have a few misadventures with sad results. You MIGHT feel sorry for them, but we know who's to blame.
I would recommend it, but it's not groundbreaking and for the 20th time: it's not a comedy. So, don't expect one. But, DO expect a nice adventure with two leads who definitely share a real bond. And that was nice to see.
***
Final thoughts: Funny, this movie, while not providing a future, did have an impact on me and I loved watching it, despite its shortcomings. Nice to see they give these two established and good actors leads. We need to see more of them. -
larrys36 February 2019This road trip movie started off well with some humor and a solid set-up but, unfortunately, it just deteriorated as the film progressed, in my opinion. There were some laughs along the way, but most of the misadventures of Tony Revolori and Jason Mantzoukas just didn't work on screen.
Expect very raw language throughout with numerous sexual references and situations. There are a number of known screen names in the movie but they can only do so much, as the film just never seemed to get its act together. -
cekadah25 November 2018Greatly enjoyed this fantasy film of a young man driving to LA to continue his education in photography and on his way he gives a stranger a ride to Vegas. The stranger is both a life lesson, to the young man, in the realities of living beyond the protective parental middle class environment and in self discovery.
A very well scripted, acted, and photographed film of a road trip story! My only grip with story is the nominal ending of the flick. -
Kamurai2510 July 2020Good watch, might watch again, and take it or leave it: it's just nothing special.
Now, I like Jason Mantzoukas (The League, The Good Place, Brooklyn 99), he does crazy like no one else, but Tony Revolori (Spider-Man: Flash) is kind of the character to carry the movie, but he's playing a slightly more sensitive Flash Thompson, with moneybag parents, and part of the premise is that Richard has give Nat a taste of real life on this road trip so the character is literally designed not to be equipped to carry the movie in which he is designed to carry the movie.
I think if they had fixed that problem this would have gone from okay to awesome. There is a lot of good humor in this, they could have expanded a couple of the scenes and upped the "this is so crazy" factor a little bit (see Search Party): it is almost like they or the studio were afraid, or they had to embody the fear of their protagonist in their approach.
There are a lot of good things here, and I like a good roadtrip movie, there was just a lot of room for improvement. -
andrejanicichala14 February 2019The worse movie ending I have ever seen in my life.
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Gordon-1111 August 2019This film tells the story of two men who go on a road trip together.
It is a light hearted comedy, as events portrayed are a little exaggerated. It is still an enjoyable comedy, especially because of the number of recognisable faces. -
tobimmeyer21 March 2021Jason gets on my nerves, but he does in everything I see him in, he is always a tad over the top. But it was ok. I wouldn't watch it again.
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cliffmas28 December 2019How are people even giving this movie stars. Yes, I actually got threw it and I am disappointed in my boy Jason......
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mweaver-104012 September 2021I was hoping this would offer more...it's not really a buddy movie...not really a road trip movie...it just meanders through disjointed happenings and goes nowhere. There is no real story to this. No reason the characters stay together as long as they do. No good ending. It's sad because I like a lot of actors in this film, but even they couldn't save it.
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elizrug13 February 2019...but it seriously fizzled out at the end. Plus, so many corny scenes that made no sense, like when they stole the Prius, you think the owner or his wife didn't call the police? Actually the more I think about the film the more painful it feels. Richard would have been dumped on the side of the road by anyone else, a lot earlier on.
It was the long, dumb movie. What a shame. -
vandrist5 May 2019This is an average indie movie with decent acting and a basic script. Pretty much like a poor version of Due Date, I would strongly recommend watching that instead if you haven't seen it yet. Not very realistic, but pretty much what people would fear picking up a hitch hiker. Appearances from Grace Gummer and Taissa Farmiga, which kind of gives you something to look forward to. Overall I wouldn't have high expectations watching this, so hopefully that helps.
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mike-c-b29 December 2019A road trip featuring Tony Revolori and Jason Mantzoukas. Jason's character has boundless energy and keeps the action going, while Tony's character stares blank and awkwardly in every scene. So you start to relate to Jason's character more even though the story is about Tony's character. However everything is a downward spiral. - Every chance to stand up for themselves or do well, they fail... and there's no art in it (self preservation)... just "oh whoops my life went wrong der".
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LloydSeddon0828 April 2021For some reason left me with the same feeling as Hard Eight. Highly recommend. The two main actors are brilliant in it. Inevitable to become a cult hit.
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theimprimere-4172015 July 2020This is a very good "background" movie. One that you can halfway tune into and find enough of a story to ride it out.
There are very few memorable moments and the ending is certainly not one of them. However, the overall feel of zany, but not completely crazy people coming together along the way is one most people will find entertaining.
I'm almost positive that I'll never watch this again, but I'm betting there is a decent chance that you won't regret giving it a spin. -
lillijag25 January 2022Did not care about the characters. Did not laugh. Watched the entire movie but was not entertained much. A naive boy meets a mental man child and they make poor decisions and have some bad luck while traveling from Texas to LA. Seen worse but that doesn't mean it was good. Plot did not exist other than boy gives idiot ride, idiot remains idiot. Boy too dumb to ditch idiot.
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MovieIQTest18 November 2018Do you know how expensive the tuition for a private Art School in Los Angeles? When the son of my wife's colleague decided to go to the private art school in Pasadena, it almost bankrupted them. The tuition was so expensive that she had to borrow money from the bank to pay for her son's art classes. How a poor young man from Texas could afford an art school in Los Angeles? How he could even afford paying his rent? Even he was accepted by a California college, he got to pay triple for his tuition, because he's not a Californian resident.
The second thing that bothered me and thought it was the stupidity of the screenplay writer and the production team, including the director, who were so out of touch. Did they know that people now are using digital cameras and SD card to shoot pictures? Making the young man from Texas still used the film camera was a big joke since developing photo films are even more expensive than using a digital camera with a laptop and a laser printer. You might even not be able to find a store where still sell films for such cameras. And in the end of this movie, we saw the young man from Texas was developing the films he shot from his road trip? So not only he got to pay for the rent, he got to have another space for his dark room to develop his photos.
This is not a realistic movie and by the way, since shooting movies with celluloid films instead with the digital cameras now are so expensive, we better not to call movies as "Films", because nowadays, movies made in celluloid films are not just rare but more expensive, we should just call motion pictures as "Movies"; because they got nothing to do with "film" anymore.