HONKY TONK FREEWAY

US, 1981, 107 minutes, Colour.
Howard Hesseman, Teri Garr, Peter Billingsley, Beau Bridges, Beverly d'Angelo, Daniel Stern, Sandra Mc Cabe, Celia Weston, Deborah Rush, Geraldine Page, George Dzundza, Hume Cronyn.
Directed by John Schlesinger.

Honky Tonk Freeway was an ambitious and expensive satire on the United States – which was not particularly successful at the box office. It is the work of John Schlesinger who made such an impact in England with A Kind of Loving, Billy Liar, Darling, Far From The Madding Crowd and won an Oscar in the United States for Midnight Cowboy. During the 1970s, with such films as Sunday Bloody Sunday, Day of the Locusts, Marathon Man, he showed his ability at observation of British and American society.

Here with an American character star cast and a big budget for road sequences, he tries to highlight the surface values and superficiality of American society (which he did so well in Midnight Cowboy). Perhaps the characters are not so interesting, perhaps the incidents are too superficial – but, while the film is entertaining, it does not become the great American satire.

1. The work of John Schlesinger, his capacity for observation and detail? American society? His English background, eye, sensitivity? The accuracy of his portrait? The truth of the critique of American society?

2. The film as satire, black humour - broad strokes, its validity? impact? Strength? Farcical elements? Wit and witlessness? American stereotypes and caricatures? overall satire on the American dream and lifestyle ?

3. The focus on the town of Ticlaw, the centre of the activity, a magnet for all the characters? American freeways, cars, mobility? Florida as a focus for American society and the freeways? The government and the building of the freeways, the knocking down of old buildings? The government corruption about the exit? The inhabitants of Ticlaw and their enterprise? The range of the group coming towards Ticlaw? America on wheels? An interweaving effect, the cross-section of characters, America in the 1980s? Exaggeration for the sake of truth? Audience identification with the characters, situations? Anticipating the comment on each of them? Irony? Their coming together in Ticlaw? The final accident and their behaviour?

4. Photography, the variety of locations? Florida as the sunny state? The editing and its pace for the variety of stories? Music, songs, the ironic comment through the songs - especially, the Ticlaw theme? The photography of the freeways, fast-moving traffic?

5. Ticlaw as the typical Florida city? The freeway and its bypassing the town? Economic situation, the initial bribe, the devices to raise the money, the bribe being ignored, the meetings to discuss the situation, the reactions of the citizens, the various devices - the zoo, the elephant on water skis, buying the rhinoceros? Free gas and meals? The citizens becoming desperate and painting the town pink? Putting up the advertisements? The meeting in the church? The religious fervour for whatever they did? The blowing up of the freeway bridge? Offering hospitality? Winning out - and the hold that they had on the Governor and his aides? Sympathy for the situation and characters? Ambiguity? Parody?

6. The Mayor and his role with the freeway, the bribe for the exit, the meetings, the lack of an exit? His raising the money? The reaction? The revival meetings, fervour in the church, his information about the woman with vallum, the man with the tacks? The Hallelujah response? His owning the hotel and the few guests, their age and disabilities? The staff waiting? The zoo, the animals, the elephant and his trying to get the elephant to water-ski? The painting of the town pink? The discussions with the Sheriff? The commercialisation of the town, crass attitudes, still hoping? The decision to explode the bridge? The guests, the big party? The phone, the Governor, his diplomacy, success?

7. The types in Ticlaw? the Mayor and his wife and her support, the Sheriff, the people painting the town, the revival religious meetings? The advertisements? Showing the orphans over Ticlaw? Asian refugees?

8. The gallery of characters and the worlds that they represented, the various states, old and young, rich and poor, ethnic, families, drifters, the unemployed? The nuns and the pimp? The orphans? The car thieves? Drug-runners? America on wheels? The various attitudes represented? The American heritage turned sour? Exploitation? Who was genuine and who not? Where did sympathies lie, ambiguous attitudes?

9. The background of the various states: New York and the robberies, Chicago and the family, Arizona and the family in the trailer, Kentucky and Carmen, Utah?

10. Dwayne and his family life, his story of the carnivorous pony, the children responding, his wife’s sour attitude, his leaving, passing Carmen in the car, meeting her, the affair, his falling in love, declarations of love, her nymphomania, his discovering her? His forgiving her?

11. Carmen and her style, her mother's ashes, the driving to collect the ashes, the drive-in money? Her knowing the men at the microphone? Driving, flirting, her declaration about her nymphomania, her happiness with Dwayne, with the family man?

12. The family and their expensive trailer, the father with his work as a dentist, the children misbehaving, the frankness of the daughter, the boy wanting to go to the toilet and using that in the caravan, the comedy at the Gentlemen's, the travel, the husband flirting?

13. The nuns and their strictness, Sister Clarisse making Sister Magdalene go at 45 miles an hour, Sister Magdalene and the make-up, Sister Clarise making her kneel on the pencils? Sister Clarise's haughty attitude, at the motel? Stranded? At dinner? Her reaction to the dancing and the party at Ticlaw? Sister Magdalene attracted by Eddie? Dancing? Her deciding to give up the sisterhood and go travelling with Ed's bordello? The disgust of Sister Clarise?

14. Eddie and his smart talk, the girls, the travelling bordello, Grace at the diner and her indecision about her life as a waitress, her decision to go with him, Sister Magdalene attracted and going also?

15. Sherm and Carol, their wealth, Carol's drinking, her speech about not being an alcoholic? Their car being robbed?

16. The robbery in New York, the discussions with the bank tellers, the actress wanting her cheque, taking the money, escaping with the garbage, losing it in the truck, recovering it on the barge, picking up the druggie? Travel together, smart talk, going to the hookers? Meeting up with the nuns? Giving the drug addict a lift? His drugs, tasting Carmen's mother's ashes?

17. The truckie, the rhinoceros and getting it on the truck, his composing songs, picking up the girl, his singing his way to Ticlaw? Not noticing the traffic, passing through the streams of traffic, the collapsed bridge, his going over the gulf, the crash?

18. The Governor and his assistants, the bribes, the political innuendo, the deals?

19. The final crash and the various characters being left stranded: Carol and Sherm under the car, the trailer crashed and the girl on the hook, the boy at the toilet, Dwayne and Carmen together, Sherm and Carol and the upturned car, Sister Magdalene praying on the street, summarising the satire that had gone before?