Drifters Leave Behind Broken Lives and Take to the Road in Backseat

Backseat, scripted by writer-actor-producer Josh Alexander and directed by commercial veteran Bruce Van Dusen, follows two friends on a New York-to-Montreal road trip to meet—and likely terrify—actor Donald Sutherland. Aside from the strange characters they meet along the way, a drug smuggling subplot, and one excellent, heavily armed confrontation, the film is not unlike a road trip you may have experienced yourself—maybe you even selected the same moody, thoughtful soundtrack.

Colton (Alexander), a struggling actor, and Ben (Rob Bogue), a struggling boyfriend, set off on a trip mostly to take a break from their respective frustrations. Two guys without jobs or meaningful relationships, the pair leaves the country to hunt down Colton’s idol, Donald Sutherland. “You knew I thought fidelity was suspect!” Ben’s girlfriend shouts at him before he leaves. “You read my thesis.” Though the characters are obviously years out of college, the whole story feels suspiciously like summer vacation. In the trailer and press notes, the movie invites comparisons to Sideways, but when Colton and Ben are amazed to find themselves toying with real guns, it’s hard not to think back to the oversized kids played by the Wilson brothers in Bottle Rocket.

A brief scene with Ben’s parents—seemingly the only adults in the movie’s universe—poses a startling contrast with these wanderers still wading through their formative years. Beyond Alexander and Bogue, the supporting cast contributes an interesting, eccentric assortment of performances. By far the best is Frankie (Will Janowitz from The Sopranos), winning every scene as a peculiar friend who only communicates through instant messaging.

Though it sometimes feels like the less imaginative parts of car-based home videos, Backseat more often than not captures the kind of energy absent in movies that take months to film. Shot in only seventeen days with a remarkably low budget, it shares the DIY aesthetic so popular now with the Mumblecore set. Last fall, the film claimed the Austin Film Festival’s Best Narrative Feature Award, winning major praise in the town that might be the Mumblecore capital of the world.

For a movie that bills itself as a “coming of age late” story, Backseat is almost defiantly ageless. In real life, Rob Bogue’s IMDB profile reports he is 43 years old, while the film’s characters behave as if they’re 17. Though the movie wants to describe what it feels like to be a certain age—listless, confused—it comes off like a bit of an aging Hollywood starlet refusing to admit her birthday.

Ultimately, Backseat offers both encouragement and warning. Yes, all you need is a hand-held camera and a little cash to make a bright, engaging story, but if you’re a few years out of school—or maybe 43 years old—and still talking about a college thesis, what you actually need is a job.