road trip films comedy

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The Funniest Road Trip Comedy Movies

There's something about the open road that continues to inspire hilarious comedies year after year. The best road trip movies are about the mishap-filled journey as much as the funny destination. This is a list of the top movies about road trips including everything from The Blues Brothers to Little Miss Sunshine to Borat . If you're planning on going on your own adventure, you might be interested in the best 2018 songs perfect for your road trip playlist .

What films will you find on this list of the best road trip movies? Dumb and Dumber  continues to make audiences laugh. Whether Harry Dunne (Jeff Daniels) and Lloyd Christmas (Jim Carrey) are traveling by dog-car, scooter or Hawaiian Tropic bus, the result is pure hilarity. Vacation – starring Chevy Chase – is another classic road trip comedy.  Tommy Boy finds the dynamic duo of Chris Farley and David Spade traveling across the country on a mission to save the family business. Other good films featured on this best road trip movies list include Planes, Trains and Automobiles , Road Trip , and Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle .

Which road trip movie do you think is the funniest? Give your favorites a thumbs up and please add any good films that are missing.

Tommy Boy presents Chris Farley in his prime as Thomas "Tommy" Callahan III, an incompetent heir to his late father's auto parts business, who embarks on a wild sales trip with straight-laced colleague Richard Hayden (David Spade). The unlikely duo's misadventures and epic mishaps make for a riotous road trip full of quotable lines and uproarious scenes that have solidified this film as a beloved comedy classic.

• Released : 1995
• Directed by : Peter Segal

Planes, Trains and Automobiles

Planes, Trains and Automobiles delivers side-splitting humor with Steve Martin as Neal Page, an uptight advertising executive desperate to get home for Thanksgiving, and John Candy as Del Griffith, a chatty shower curtain ring salesman. The duo finds themselves stuck together on an outrageously chaotic journey filled with canceled flights, rental car disasters, and unlikely sleeping arrangements—a must-watch for fans of laugh-out-loud road trip comedies.

• Released : 1987
• Directed by : John Hughes

Dumb and Dumber

Dumb and Dumber showcases the hysterical journey of two dimwitted pals, Lloyd Christmas (Jim Carrey) and Harry Dunne (Jeff Daniels), who embark on an epic cross-country trek to return a briefcase full of money to its rightful owner. With endless slapstick comedy and unforgettable one-liners, this classic film is sure to leave viewers in stitches as they witness these lovable fools face one ludicrous obstacle after another.

• Released : 1994
• Directed by : Peter Farrelly, Robert Farrelly

Vacation follows the Griswold family—led by bumbling patriarch Clark Griswold (Chevy Chase)—as they embark on a disastrous yet hysterical drive from Chicago to California's Walley World theme park. Featuring memorable comedic moments like Aunt Edna's untimely demise and Christie Brinkley's flirtatious Ferrari Girl character, this 1983 comedy remains an iconic piece of Americana that guarantees laughter from start to finish.

• Released : 1983
• Directed by : Harold Ramis

We're the Millers

In We're the Millers , a small-time drug dealer (Jason Sudeikis) recruits a stripper (Jennifer Aniston), a runaway teen (Emma Roberts), and their naive neighbor (Will Poulter) to pose as his wholesome family in order to smuggle drugs across the Mexican border. Hilarity ensues as this ragtag bunch of misfits navigates their way through a series of hilarious road trip mishaps, all while trying to maintain their fake-family façade.

• Released : 2013
• Directed by : Rawson Marshall Thurber

The Blues Brothers

The Blues Brothers features John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd as Jake and Elwood Blues, two brothers who reunite their blues band in order to save the orphanage they grew up in. This 1980 musical comedy is packed with high-speed car chases, legendary cameos by artists such as Aretha Franklin and James Brown, and unforgettable tunes that will leave you singing "Everybody Needs Somebody to Love" long after the credits roll.

• Released : 1980
• Directed by : John Landis

Kingpin introduces us to Roy Munson (Woody Harrelson), a washed-up former pro bowler with a prosthetic hand who teams up with Amish bowling prodigy Ishmael Boorg (Randy Quaid) in hopes of winning a million-dollar tournament. This Farrelly brothers' comedy strikes the perfect balance between slapstick humor and heartwarming moments as Roy and Ishmael navigate their way through an absurd series of events, all while trying to avoid the vengeful wrath of pro bowler Ernie McCracken (Bill Murray).

• Released : 1996
• Directed by : Robert Farrelly, Peter Farrelly

In Road Trip , college student Josh Parker (Breckin Meyer) accidentally mails his long-distance girlfriend Tiffany Henderson (Rachel Blanchard) a videotape meant for another girl. With his motley crew of friends in tow—including Seann William Scott as the raucous E.L.—Josh embarks on a madcap journey to retrieve the tape before it's too late, encountering zany situations and uproarious mishaps that make for a hilarious cinematic ride.

• Released : 2000
• Directed by : Todd Phillips

Midnight Run

Midnight Run stars Robert De Niro as Jack Walsh, a bounty hunter tasked with bringing accountant Jonathan "The Duke" Mardukas (Charles Grodin) back to Los Angeles after he embezzled millions from the mob. As they traverse the country avoiding mobsters and the FBI alike, their comedic banter makes for an entertaining ride rife with unexpected twists and turns, elevating this action-comedy into an absolute must-watch.

• Released : 1988
• Directed by : Martin Brest

A modern-day twist on the classic madcap chase film, this comedy features an ensemble cast, including John Cleese and Rowan Atkinson, competing in a wild race to find a hidden fortune. Hilarity ensues as each character encounters outrageous obstacles and colorful opponents along their frantic journey.

• Released : 2001
• Directed by : Jerry Zucker

Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle

Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle follows best friends Harold Lee (John Cho) and Kumar Patel (Kal Penn) on their quest for late-night munchies—specifically those delicious sliders from White Castle. Along the way, they encounter eccentric characters like Neil Patrick Harris playing a drug-addled version of himself, resulting in gut-busting hilarity that has made this stoner comedy a cult favorite.

• Released : 2004
• Directed by : Danny Leiner

David Spade's lovable loser embarks on a quest to find his long-lost parents, encountering a slew of eccentric characters along the way. This offbeat road comedy celebrates the power of resilience and self-discovery in the face of adversity.

• Directed by : Dennie Gordon

Mr. Bean's Holiday

Rowan Atkinson's beloved character embarks on a trip to the French Riviera, where he inadvertently creates chaos at every turn. The film combines slapstick humor with picturesque European settings, making for a light-hearted, visually appealing road trip adventure.

• Released : 2007
• Directed by : Steve Bendelack

Pee-wee's Big Adventure

Paul Reubens brings his iconic character to life in this whimsical adventure across America in search of his stolen bicycle. Pee-wee's innocent charm and imaginative spirit make this road trip comedy a timeless classic.

• Released : 1985
• Directed by : Tim Burton

Robert Downey Jr.'s uptight architect and Zach Galifianakis' eccentric aspiring actor form an unlikely duo in this raucous journey across America. The film keeps viewers laughing while showcasing the transformative power of friendship and personal growth during unexpected detours.

• Released : 2010

Robin Williams stars as a well-intentioned father who takes his family on a disastrous RV trip, leading to a series of comedic mishaps and unexpected encounters. The film showcases Williams's comedic genius while reminding us of the importance of family connection amidst the chaos.

• Released : 2006
• Directed by : Barry Sonnenfeld

Little Miss Sunshine

This heartwarming and quirky indie film follows a dysfunctional family as they travel together in a rickety VW bus to support their young daughter in a beauty pageant. With complex characters and emotional depth, this comedy proves that even the most unconventional journeys can lead to profound personal growth and familial bonds.

• Directed by : Jonathan Dayton, Valerie Faris

Four middle-aged friends, played by Tim Allen, John Travolta, Martin Lawrence, and William H. Macy, hit the open road on motorcycles, seeking adventure and escape from their mundane lives. The film's blend of slapstick comedy and heartfelt moments make it a fun and relatable portrayal of friendship and rediscovering one's passion.

• Directed by : Walt Becker

It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World

This classic 1963 comedy is undoubtedly a memorable road trip comedy, featuring a star-studded cast racing to find buried treasure. From roadside mishaps to comedic misunderstandings, this film set the standard for the chaos and hilarity that characterize the best road trip comedies.

• Released : 1963
• Directed by : Stanley Kramer

When a family attempts to recreate a memorable road trip from their childhood, hilarity ensues in this reboot of the classic comedy. Ed Helms and Christina Applegate's pitch-perfect performances keep audiences laughing through every twist and turn.

• Released : 2015
• Directed by : Jonathan M. Goldstein, John Francis Daley

Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan

Sacha Baron Cohen's mockumentary-style comedy follows the unforgettable character Borat as he travels across America to learn about its culture. The film is both shocking and hilarious, as Cohen's outrageous antics expose cultural divides and challenge societal norms.

• Directed by : Larry Charles

This raunchy comedy follows a group of friends on a cross-country journey to lose their virginity, resulting in outrageous escapades and hilarious misadventures. The film masterfully combines crude humor with genuine heart, making it a memorable addition to the road trip genre.

• Released : 2008
• Directed by : Sean Anders

The Bucket List

Despite its somber premise, this film starring Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman is surprisingly uplifting, as two terminally ill men embark on a road trip to complete their bucket list. Through laughter and shared experiences, the film reminds us of the importance of living life to the fullest and cherishing the connections we make along the way.

• Directed by : Rob Reiner

Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back

Kevin Smith's iconic slacker characters hit the road in this irreverent comedy, on a mission to sabotage the Hollywood adaptation of their comic book alter egos. The film delivers non-stop laughs and clever pop culture references, making it a must-see for fans of Smith's unique brand of humor.

• Directed by : Kevin Smith

Identity Thief

Melissa McCarthy shines as a brazen con artist, leading Jason Bateman's character on a wild chase to clear his name. The film cleverly balances slapstick humor with heartfelt moments, illustrating the unlikely relationships that can develop on the road.

• Directed by : Seth Gordon

Wine connoisseurs and comedy lovers alike will appreciate this critically acclaimed film about two friends on a wine-tasting road trip through California. The film's sharp wit, engaging characters, and beautiful scenery create a humorous yet introspective journey of self-discovery.

• Directed by : Alexander Payne

College Road Trip

Martin Lawrence and Raven-Symoné star in this family-friendly comedy about a father-daughter duo road-tripping to visit colleges. The film is a lighthearted reminder of the challenges and joys of letting go and embracing life's transitions.

• Directed by : Roger Kumble

This classic road trip comedy set during the Great Depression pairs a charming con man with a precocious young girl, played by real-life father and daughter Ryan and Tatum O'Neal. Their adventures and evolving bond create a touching and timeless story filled with humor and heart.

• Released : 1973
• Directed by : Peter Bogdanovich

Bad Grandpa

Johnny Knoxville brings his signature outrageous stunts and pranks to this hidden camera comedy, playing an elderly man on a road trip with his young grandson. The film pushes the boundaries of taste while showcasing the undeniable bond between the two characters.

• Directed by : Jeff Tremaine

Are We There Yet

Ice Cube stars in this family comedy as a man attempting to win over his girlfriend's children by driving them across the country to visit their mother. The film offers a humorous take on the challenges of blended families and the unexpected bonds that can form on the road.

• Released : 2005
• Directed by : Brian Levant

Dirty Grandpa

Robert De Niro and Zac Efron share an outlandish and uproarious road trip as a grandfather-grandson duo, exploring the wild side of life amidst endless comedic debauchery. This light-hearted comedy proves that age is just a number when it comes to having a good time.

• Released : 2016
• Directed by : Dan Mazer

To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar

Three fabulous drag queens hit the road on an inspiring cross-country journey, teaching audiences about friendship, love, and acceptance. With tongue-in-cheek humor, they face adversity head-on, making it a hilarious and heartfelt road trip classic.

• Directed by : Beeban Kidron

Something Wild

Jeff Daniels and Melanie Griffith form an unlikely pairing in this road movie that takes them on a journey of self-discovery and unexpected romance. These two unforgettable characters catapult the film from quirky comedy to thrilling adventure, captivating audiences from start to finish.

• Released : 1986
• Directed by : Jonathan Demme

This animated adventure cleverly combines heartwarming family moments with laugh-out-loud humor as two elf brothers embark on a quest to resurrect their late father. Their magical, journey is riddled with hilarious mishaps and surprising discoveries, making it an unforgettable road trip comedy.

• Released : 2020
• Directed by : Dan Scanlon

A hidden camera comedy follows two pals as they hilariously navigate a wild road trip filled with unexpected (and oftentimes awkward) encounters. Eric André and Lil Rel Howery's undeniable chemistry ensures non-stop laughter throughout this outrageously fun ride.

• Released : 2021
• Directed by : Kitao Sakurai

Johnson Family Vacation

A family road trip turns into an outrageous comedic adventure as Cedric the Entertainer leads his family to a reunion, encountering various eccentric characters and obstacles along the way. The perfect blend of slapstick humor and heartfelt moments make this a must-watch comedy.

• Directed by : Christopher Erskin

An army ranger and his military canine companion embark on a heartwarming and humorous journey in this touching buddy comedy. The dynamic between man and dog leads to countless entertaining situations along their road to healing.

• Released : 2022
• Directed by : Reid Carolin, Channing Tatum

Five college buddies embark on one last wild road trip before facing the inevitable realities of adulthood. Kevin Costner stands out in a lively ensemble cast, exploring themes of friendship and growth in this entertaining coming-of-age comedy.

• Directed by : Kevin Reynolds

The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert

Two drag queens and a transgender woman traverse the Australian Outback in a glitter-adorned bus named Priscilla, displaying their outrageous fashion sense and irresistible humor. This unforgettable comedy chronicles the growth of friendship, acceptance, and self-discovery amidst wild escapades.

• Directed by : Stephan Elliott

The Last Laugh

Two old friends reunite on a road trip to explore a long-lost dream of becoming stand-up comedians. Chevy Chase and Richard Dreyfuss deliver heartwarming performances packed with laughter and life lessons in this endearing buddy comedy.

• Released : 2019
• Directed by : Greg Pritikin

Borat Subsequent Moviefilm

Sacha Baron Cohen returns as the iconic Kazakh journalist, taking audiences on another hilariously bizarre cross-country journey through America. This time, joined by his daughter, they tackle social issues with their unique brand of cringe-worthy yet ingenious humor.

• Directed by : Jason Woliner

Impractical Jokers: The Movie

Fans of the hit hidden-camera TV show will love this off-the-wall road trip comedy packed with their favorite pranks and challenges. The Jokers' chemistry and quick wit make this a non-stop laugh fest as they compete in a high-stakes competition.

• Directed by : Chris Henchy

Interstate 60

A young man stuck at a crossroads in life embarks on a magical and mind-bending road trip down the mysterious Interstate 60. With delightful detours and peculiar characters, this enigmatic comedy offers a fun and thought-provoking journey.

• Released : 2002
• Directed by : Bob Gale

Road Trip: Beer Pong

Boozy antics and chaotic misadventures define this comedy sequel centered on a group of friends in pursuit of the ultimate beer pong championship. Their outrageous journey guarantees countless laugh-out-loud moments throughout.

• Released : 2009
• Directed by : Steve Rash

Uncle Frank

Set in the 1970s, Paul Bettany's portrayal of a gay man confronting long-buried family secrets on an unexpectedly emotional road trip will captivate viewers. This heartfelt drama-comedy explores themes of acceptance and self-discovery with both laughter and tears.

• Directed by : Alan Ball

Rolling Kansas

• Released : 2003
• Directed by : Thomas Haden Church

The Road Within

• Released : 2014
• Directed by : Gren Wells

The Family Plan

• Released : 2023
• Directed by : Simon Cellan Jones

Between Two Ferns: The Movie

Zach Galifianakis takes his offbeat talk show on the road in this hilarious mockumentary-style road trip comedy. With cringe-inducing celebrity interviews and side-splitting antics, it's a perfect blend of humor and adventure.

• Directed by : Scott Aukerman

John Krasinski and Maya Rudolph give charming performances as a couple searching for a place to call home before their baby arrives. Their cross-country journey is filled with laughter and love, making this indie dramedy a feel-good voyage.

• Directed by : Sam Mendes

• Directed by : Adele Lim

Haley Lu Richardson and Barbie Ferreira team up in this poignant and humorous road trip comedy about two teenagers seeking a legal abortion. It's a timely, entertaining exploration of friendship and female empowerment that never loses its heart or sense of humor.

• Directed by : Rachel Lee Goldenberg

The Long Dumb Road

• Released : 2018
• Directed by : Hannah Fidell

The Guilt Trip

Seth Rogen and Barbra Streisand create a memorable mother-son duo in this heartfelt comedy about a cross-country sales trip. Their endearing rapport and comedic mishaps make for an enjoyable voyage filled with laughter and family bonding.

• Released : 2012
• Directed by : Anne Fletcher

The Man in the Hat

Delightfully whimsical and charming, this French road trip comedy follows a man and his tiny Fiat 500 as he embarks on an eccentric journey through picturesque France. The film's lighthearted adventures, coupled with its enchanting musical score, make it a captivating cinematic escape.

• Directed by : John-Paul Davidson, Stephen Warbeck
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Lists that rank the best, most hilarious films that will make you laugh so hard, you'll wake up the whole neighborhood.

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Best Road Trip Comedy Movies: Top Picks for Your Next Adventure

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If you’re planning a road trip, why not add some laughter to your journey by watching some of the best road trip comedy movies ? These movies are perfect for long drives and will keep you entertained throughout your journey. From classic comedies to modern-day hits, there’s a movie for everyone.

One of the most popular road trip comedies is “Dumb and Dumber” (1994), which follows two dim-witted friends, Lloyd and Harry, as they travel across the country to return a briefcase to its rightful owner. The movie is filled with hilarious moments and iconic scenes, making it a must-watch for any road trip .

Another classic road trip comedy is “National Lampoon’s Vacation” (1983), which follows the Griswold family as they embark on a disastrous cross-country trip to the fictional amusement park , Walley World.

If you’re looking for a more recent road trip comedy, “Little Miss Sunshine” (2006) is a great choice. The movie follows the dysfunctional Hoover family as they travel to California in a VW bus to enter their daughter Olive in a beauty pageant. The movie is both heartwarming and hilarious, making it a perfect choice for a family road trip .

Defining Road Trip Comedy Movies

Road trip comedy movies are a unique genre that combines adventure, humor, and travel. These movies often follow a group of friends or family members as they embark on a journey across the country or to a specific destination. The plot usually revolves around the various mishaps and misadventures that occur along the way, with plenty of laughs and comedic moments.

One of the defining features of road trip comedy movies is the sense of freedom and exploration that they evoke. These films often capture the excitement of hitting the open road and experiencing new places and people. They can be a great source of inspiration for those looking to plan their own road trip.

Another key aspect of road trip comedy movies is the characters. These films typically feature a diverse cast of characters with distinct personalities and quirks. The interactions between these characters are often what drives the humor and plot of the movie.

Road trip comedy movies can also be a great way to explore different themes and issues. For example, some films may touch on topics such as friendship, family, or personal growth. These themes are often woven into the plot in a way that feels natural and organic.

Road trip comedy movies are a fun genre that can provide a great escape from everyday life. Whether you’re looking for a good laugh or some travel inspiration, there’s sure to be a road trip comedy movie out there that will fit the bill.

Decade-Wise Classics

If you’re a fan of road trip comedies, you know that the genre has been around for decades. From the 1960s to the present day, filmmakers have been exploring the hilarity and hijinks that can ensue when a group of people hit the open road. Here are some of the classic road trip comedies from each decade.

1960s and 1970s

The 1960s and 1970s were a golden age for road trip comedies. During this time, filmmakers were experimenting with new styles and genres, and the road trip comedy was no exception. Here are some of the classic road trip comedies from this era.

• It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963) : This star-studded comedy follows a group of strangers as they race across the country in search of buried treasure.
• Easy Rider (1969) : This counterculture classic follows two bikers as they travel from Los Angeles to New Orleans in search of freedom and adventure.
• National Lampoon’s Animal House (1978) : While not strictly a road trip movie, this comedy classic does include a memorable scene in which the Delta Tau Chi fraternity takes a road trip to a rival school.

1980s and 1990s

In the 1980s and 1990s, the road trip comedy continued to evolve. Filmmakers began to explore more complex characters and storylines, while still keeping the humor front and center.

• National Lampoon’s Vacation (1983) : This comedy classic follows the Griswold family as they take a disastrous road trip to a theme park in California.
• Planes, Trains, and Automobiles (1987) : This heartwarming comedy follows a mismatched pair of travelers as they try to make it home for Thanksgiving.
• Dumb and Dumber (1994) : This lowbrow comedy follows two dim-witted friends as they travel across the country in search of a lost briefcase.

2000s and Beyond

In the 2000s and beyond, the road trip comedy continued to thrive. Filmmakers began to incorporate more modern elements, such as social media and technology, into their stories. Here are some of the classic road trip comedies from this era.

• Little Miss Sunshine (2006) : This indie comedy follows a dysfunctional family as they travel to a beauty pageant in California.
• The Hangover (2009) : This raunchy comedy follows a group of friends as they try to piece together the events of a wild night in Las Vegas.
• Due Date (2010) : This comedy follows a high-strung expectant father as he tries to make it home for the birth of his child, with the help of an unlikely travel companion.

Top 10 Most Popular Road Trip Comedy Movies

Road trip comedies are a great way to escape into a world of laughter, adventure, and fun. Here are the top 10 most popular road trip comedy movies that you should add to your watch list.

1. Dumb and Dumber (1994)

Dumb and Dumber is a classic road trip comedy that follows the hilarious misadventures of two dim-witted friends, Lloyd and Harry, as they travel across the country to return a briefcase to its rightful owner. Directed by the Farrelly brothers, this movie is a must-watch for anyone who loves slapstick humor and absurd comedy.

2. National Lampoon’s Vacation (1983)

National Lampoon’s Vacation is a hilarious movie that follows the Griswold family as they embark on a cross-country road trip to Walley World. This movie is a classic comedy that combines slapstick humor with heartwarming moments, making it a perfect family movie.

3. Little Miss Sunshine (2006)

Little Miss Sunshine is a heartwarming road trip comedy that follows the Hoover family as they travel to California to participate in a beauty pageant. This movie is a perfect blend of humor, drama, and heart, making it a must-watch for anyone who loves movies that make them feel good.

4. EuroTrip (2004)

EuroTrip is a hilarious movie that follows four friends as they travel across Europe in search of adventure and romance. This movie is a perfect blend of raunchy humor and heartfelt moments, making it a must-watch for anyone who loves comedies that push the boundaries of good taste.

5. Due Date (2010)

Due Date is a hilarious movie that follows an odd couple, Peter and Ethan, as they travel across the country to attend the birth of Peter’s child. This movie is a perfect blend of physical comedy and witty banter, making it a must-watch for anyone who loves comedies that keep them on the edge of their seat.

6. RV (2006)

RV is a hilarious movie that follows the Munro family as they embark on a disastrous road trip in a rented RV. This movie is a perfect blend of slapstick humor and heartwarming moments, making it a must-watch for anyone who loves comedies that make them feel good.

7. The Hangover (2009)

The Hangover is a hilarious movie that follows three friends as they travel to Las Vegas for a bachelor party. This movie is a perfect blend of raunchy humor and absurd situations, making it a must-watch for anyone who loves comedies that push the boundaries of good taste.

8. Zombieland (2009)

Zombieland is a hilarious movie that follows a group of survivors as they travel across the country in a post-apocalyptic world infested with zombies. This movie is a perfect blend of humor, action, and horror, making it a must-watch for anyone who loves comedies that are a little bit different.

9. Road Trip (2000)

Road Trip is a hilarious movie that follows a group of college friends as they travel across the country in search of adventure and romance. This movie is a perfect blend of raunchy humor and heartfelt moments, making it a must-watch for anyone who loves comedies that are a little bit naughty.

10. We’re the Millers (2013)

We’re the Millers is a hilarious movie that follows a drug dealer who hires a fake family to help him smuggle drugs across the border. This movie is a perfect blend of raunchy humor and heartwarming moments, making it a must-watch for anyone who loves comedies that are a little bit different.

Cult Favorites

If you’re looking for something off the beaten path, these cult classic road trip comedies might be right up your alley.

The Room (2003)

Tommy Wiseau’s The Room is often described as one of the worst movies ever made, but it has also gained a massive cult following. The film follows a love triangle between Johnny, Lisa, and Mark, and features some truly bizarre dialogue and plot twists. Despite its flaws, The Room has become a beloved classic for its unintentional humor and quotable lines.

Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle (2004)

Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle follows two stoners on a quest for the perfect burger. Along the way, they encounter a variety of obstacles, including a rabid raccoon, a racist police officer, and Neil Patrick Harris playing a fictionalized version of himself. The film has become a cult classic for its irreverent humor and depiction of stoner culture.

Napoleon Dynamite (2004)

While not strictly a road trip movie, Napoleon Dynamite follows the titular character and his friends as they navigate life in a small Idaho town. The film features a quirky cast of characters, including Napoleon’s eccentric family, his best friend Pedro, and his crush Deb. Napoleon Dynamite has become a cult classic for its deadpan humor and memorable characters.

Wet Hot American Summer (2001)

Set at a summer camp in the 1980s, Wet Hot American Summer is a parody of teen sex comedies. The film features a star-studded cast, including Paul Rudd, Amy Poehler, Bradley Cooper, and Elizabeth Banks. While it was initially a critical and commercial failure, Wet Hot American Summer has since gained a devoted cult following for its absurd humor and over-the-top characters.

International Road Trip Comedy Movies

If you’re looking for some comedy movies that take you on a wild ride across different countries, then these international road trip movies are a must-watch. Here are some of the best international road trip comedy movies that will make you laugh and entertain you throughout the journey.

1. EuroTrip (2004)

EuroTrip is a hilarious movie that follows a group of friends as they travel across Europe to find a girl. The movie is filled with funny moments and interesting characters that will keep you entertained. The movie is set in different countries such as Germany, France, and Italy, and each country has its own unique culture and quirks that the characters have to navigate.

2. The Inbetweeners 2 (2014)

The Inbetweeners 2 is a British comedy movie that follows four friends as they travel to Australia for a gap year adventure. The movie is filled with hilarious moments and relatable characters that will keep you laughing throughout the journey. The movie is set in different parts of Australia, and each location has its own unique culture and humor that the characters have to navigate.

3. The Darjeeling Limited (2007)

The Darjeeling Limited is a Wes Anderson movie that follows three brothers as they travel across India on a train. The movie is filled with quirky characters and beautiful scenery that will keep you entertained throughout the journey. The movie explores the different cultures and traditions of India and how the characters navigate them.

4. Y Tu Mamá También (2001)

Y Tu Mamá También is a Mexican movie that follows two friends as they take a road trip across Mexico with an older woman. The movie is filled with humor, drama, and interesting characters that will keep you entertained. The movie explores the different regions of Mexico and how the characters navigate the cultural differences.

5. The Trip (2010)

The Trip is a British comedy movie that follows two friends as they travel across England on a food tour. The movie is filled with witty banter and hilarious impressions that will keep you entertained. The movie explores the different regions of England and the different cuisines that they have to offer.

Road Trip Comedy Movies Based on True Stories

If you’re looking for some road trip comedy movies that are based on true stories, you’re in luck. These films will have you laughing out loud while also giving you a glimpse into some real-life adventures.

Little Miss Sunshine (2006)

This movie follows the Hoover family as they take a road trip from New Mexico to California so that their daughter Olive can participate in a beauty pageant. Along the way, they encounter several obstacles, including a broken-down van and some personal issues. Little Miss Sunshine is based on the real-life experiences of the film’s co-director, Valerie Faris, and her husband, Jonathan Dayton.

The Guilt Trip (2012)

The Guilt Trip stars Seth Rogen and Barbra Streisand as a son and mother who embark on a road trip together. The movie is based on the real-life experiences of screenwriter Dan Fogelman, who took a road trip with his mother to Las Vegas. While the movie takes some liberties with the actual events, it still captures the essence of a mother-son road trip.

The Endless Summer (1966)

While not a traditional comedy, The Endless Summer is a classic documentary about two surfers who travel the world in search of the perfect wave. The movie is based on the real-life experiences of director Bruce Brown, who was a surfer himself. The Endless Summer is a must-see for anyone who loves surfing or travel.

Y Tu Mamá También (2001)

Y Tu Mamá También is a Mexican road trip movie that follows two teenage boys and an older woman as they travel to a secluded beach. The movie is based on the real-life experiences of director Alfonso Cuarón and his brother, Carlos. While the movie has its comedic moments, it also deals with some serious themes, including class and sexuality.

Borat (2006)

Borat is a mockumentary that follows the fictional character Borat Sagdiyev as he travels across the United States. While the movie is not based on a true story, it does incorporate real-life events and people. Borat is a hilarious and sometimes cringe-worthy look at American culture through the eyes of a foreigner.

These road trip comedy movies based on true stories are sure to entertain you while also giving you a glimpse into some real-life adventures.

Final Thoughts

The road trip comedy genre has given us some of the most entertaining movies of all time. Whether you’re looking for a classic like “Dumb and Dumber” or a more recent hit like “Game Night,” there’s something for everyone.

Some of the most popular road trip comedies include “National Lampoon’s Vacation,” “Planes, Trains and Automobiles,” and “The Hangover.” These films have stood the test of time and continue to be enjoyed by audiences today.

It’s worth noting that while some road trip comedies may rely on crude humor and slapstick, others offer more subtle humor and clever writing. For example, “Little Miss Sunshine” and “Sideways” both offer a more nuanced take on the genre.

No matter what your taste in comedy, there’s no denying the appeal of a good road trip movie. They offer a unique blend of adventure, humor, and heart that can’t be found anywhere else. So next time you’re planning a road trip of your own, consider adding one of these classic comedies to your watchlist for some extra entertainment along the way.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What are some must-watch road trip comedy movies.

If you’re planning a road trip and want to get in the mood, there are some classic road trip comedies you should definitely watch. “National Lampoon’s Vacation” (1983), “Planes, Trains and Automobiles” (1987), “Dumb and Dumber” (1994), “Little Miss Sunshine” (2006), and “The Hangover” (2009) are all great choices.

Which Hollywood comedy movies are perfect for a road trip?

If you’re looking for Hollywood comedy movies to watch on a road trip, you can’t go wrong with “Due Date” (2010), “We’re the Millers” (2013), “Identity Thief” (2013), “The Trip” (2010), and “The Guilt Trip” (2012). These movies are all hilarious and perfect for a long drive.

What are some of the best comedy movies for a family trip?

If you’re traveling with kids, you might want to watch some family-friendly comedies. “The Muppets” (2011), “The Incredibles” (2004), “Zootopia” (2016), “Finding Nemo” (2003), and “Toy Story” (1995) are all great choices. These movies are funny and entertaining for both kids and adults.

What are some of the funniest father-daughter road trip comedy movies?

If you’re looking for father-daughter road trip comedies, “The Guilt Trip” (2012), “Tammy” (2014), “The Fundamentals of Caring” (2016), “The Leisure Seeker” (2017), and “Boundaries” (2018) are all great choices. These movies are funny and heartwarming, and explore the complexities of the father-daughter relationship.

Which family comedy movies are perfect for a family vacation?

If you’re planning a family vacation and want to watch some family-friendly comedies, “Home Alone” (1990), “Mrs. Doubtfire” (1993), “Jumanji” (1995), “Night at the Museum” (2006), and “The Secret Life of Pets” (2016) are all great choices. These movies are fun for the whole family and will keep everyone entertained.

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The 10 Best Road Trip Movies, from ‘It Happened One Night’ to ‘Easy Rider’

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A good road trip is one of the most cinematic experiences that a person can have in real life. Different cities and landscapes blur together as scenery flies by your windows and day gradually turns into night. The car can begin to feel like an isolated bubble where nothing matters except the people inside. Whether you’re laughing and singing with friends, fighting with your family, or simply letting your thoughts settle while you drive solo, road trips seem to stop time and create distinct memories that can be revisited over and over again .  

So it’s not surprising that filmmakers have been inspired by road trips for as long as there have been movies. From the titans of the Old Hollywood studio system to international arthouse auteurs and contemporary independent directors, virtually every great filmmaker has tried their hand at a road trip movie at one point or another. Locations and genres can change, but the motif of people going from one place to another in a car is one of the building blocks of the international language of cinema.  

Road trip movies are versatile enough to encompass a wide variety of subject matter, but they often fall into two genres: comedies and contemplative dramas. The road trip comedy is a Hollywood standard because its built-in structure (characters need to get somewhere in a finite amount of time and are stuck together in a small space) lends itself to endless funny scenarios. From disgruntled fathers driving their badly-behaved children to strangers who fall in love after being forced to travel together, cars serve as confined spaces that allow a variety of relationships to flourish. On the other end of the spectrum, you have dramas from auteurs like Wim Wenders and Ingmar Bergman that see the road as a place for humans to think. Those films prioritize the destination much less than the self-discovery that can take place when you’re not in any particular rush to get somewhere.  

The road trip movie has endured for over a century, and its timeless appeal means that it’s unlikely to disappear any time soon. Keep reading for ten of our favorites, listed in chronological order.  

“It Happened One Night” (1934)

What It Is:  The archetypal Hollywood romantic comedy, Frank Capra’s “It Happened One Night” stars Claudette Colbert as pampered socialite Ellie, who boards a Greyhound bus from Florida to New York City to reunite with her new husband, pilot King Westley (Jameson Thomas), after her father attempts to annul the marriage. Unused to fending for herself, she ends up relying on the help of sarcastic newspaper reporter Peter (Clark Gable) to make the journey, despite despising his personality. At least at first — hitchhiking adventures and stays in motels quickly cause sparks to fly between the mismatched pair.

Perfect For:  Couples looking for date night films, “Looney Tunes” fans who want to watch the Gable performance that inspired Bugs Bunny, and lovers of pretty much every romantic comedy made in the last nine decades. —WC

“Wild Strawberries” (1957)

What It Is:  Not exactly the fun road trip romp the genre usually promises, “Wild Strawberries” uses a long car ride as the backdrop for a surreal exploration of aging, loneliness, and death. Ingmar Bergman’s film stars Victor Sjöström as cold-hearted professor Isak Borg, who is set to receive a lifetime achievement award for his career in bacteriology. On the drive to the university where the ceremony will take place, he’s accompanied by his pregnant daughter-in-law Marianne (Ingrid Thulin) and a group of young hitchhikers — one of whom is a double in looks and name for his childhood sweetheart Sara (played by Bibi Andersson). Over the course of the trip, Isak slowly warms to his younger companions, and experiences a series of flashbacks and dreams that forces him to confront the impending end of his life and his many regrets from his empty existence.

Perfect For:  Existential types, dying old men, and those whose only exposure to Bergman’s films are the HBO “Scenes From a Marriage” remake and the chess scene from “Seventh Seal.” —WC

“Easy Rider” (1969)

What It Is : A counterculture classic, Dennis Hopper’s “Easy Rider” stars the director and Peter Fonda as two drug-smuggling motorcyclists on a journey from Los Angeles to New Orleans, where they’re hoping to celebrate Mardi Gras. Along the road, they encounter a colorful cast of hippies, free love commune residents, addicts, prostitutes, and other outsiders. Their free-wheeling adventures are contrasted by the judgment they face from small town types and law enforcement looking to lock them up.

Perfect For:  Rebels, stoners, general miscreants everywhere, and fans of the iconic rock bands like The Byrds, The Jimi Hendrix Experience, and Steppenwolf that soundtrack the film. —WC

“Two-Lane Blacktop” (1971)

What It Is: “Two Lane Blacktop” is so clearly a product of its time that we could never hope to reverse engineer it. But when watched in 2023, it’s a fascinating countercultural artifact and a remnant of a film industry that now looks completely unrecognizable. Monte Hellman’s portrait of youthful angst and the freedom of the open road stars James Taylor and Beach Boys drummer Dennis Wilson as speed-obsessed drifters whose encounter with a mysterious driver named GTO prompts them to embark on a cross-country race.

Who It’s For:  Anyone with a need for speed and pop culture geeks who enjoy seeing famous non-actors trying to act. —CZ

“Paris, Texas” (1984)

What It Is: After making a name for himself in the German arthouse scene with his Road Movie Trilogy consisting of “Alice in the Cities,” “The Wrong Move,” and “Kings of the Road,” Wim Wenders brought his brand of contemplative cinema to America and made his magnum opus. “Paris, Texas” tells the story of a broken man (Harry Dean Stanton) wandering through the desert before his brother finds him and convinces him to reconnect with the family he walked out on. Wenders continued to find poetry in the loneliness of the road, and the desolate American scenery and Stanton’s heartbreakingly expressive face ended up being the best muses of his career. 

Perfect For:  Fans of slow cinema and anyone looking to brush up on the 20th century’s most impressive works of filmmaking. —CZ

“Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure” (1985)

What It Is: After developing a cult following from his stage show at the Roxy, Paul Reubens brought his comedic persona known as Pee-Wee Herman to the big screen in a whimsical road trip comedy directed by a young animator named Tim Burton. The film sees the idiosyncratic man-child traveling across the country to recover his stolen bike — and using his charm and joie de vivre to defuse conflicts with all of the shady characters he meets along the way. 

Perfect for: Loners, rebels, and anyone who wants to revisit the work of a comedic genius at the height of his powers. —CZ

“Planes, Trains, and Automobiles” (1987)

What It Is:  John Hughes’ holiday classic stars Steve Martin and John Candy as a mismatched pair of travelers who team up to make it home to Chicago for Thanksgiving. Martin’s suave ad executive constantly clashes with Candy’s bumbling shower curtain ring salesman as their cursed trip leads them onto — you guessed it — planes, trains, and automobiles in an attempt to get home before the holiday ends. Utterly ridiculous until it gets touching, the film is one of the strongest entries in the seemingly endless string of hits that Hughes churned out in the 1980s. 

Perfect For:  Families at Thanksgiving and anyone on a delayed flight who wants to remember that things could be so much worse. —CZ

“Thelma & Louise” (1991)

What It Is:  Ridley Scott and screenwriter Callie Khouri flipped the script on the conventional gender roles of the buddy comedy genre, opting to tell a story about two women having a blast while running from the law. Susan Sarandon and Geena Davis give career-best performances as the eponymous duo — and both picked up well-derved Oscar nominations for Best Actress. The film is best remembered for its shockingly bold ending, but stands out as one of the 20th century’s most vibrant portrayals of friendship and the highways of America.

Who It’s For:  Ridley Scott completionist s, feminist film scholars, and anyone in the mood for a great time. —CZ

“The Straight Story” (David Lynch, 1999)

What It Is: Perhaps the biggest anomaly in David Lynch’s filmography, “The Straight Story” saw the beloved auteur shifting away from surrealism to tell a G-rated story of a man who travels the country on a riding lawnmower. While the Disney movie doesn’t feature any of the twisted nightmares that define many of Lynch’s best works, it’s filled with the wholesome Americana imagery that appears throughout his filmography. The film is a reminder that for all of his signature stylistic flourishes, Lynch is a filmmaker whose grasp of the fundamentals allow him to tell compelling stories without hiding behind bells and whistles.

Perfect for:  Anyone whose favorite parts of “Twin Peaks” were the wholesome small town antics. —CZ

“Little Miss Sunshine” (2006)

What It Is:  One of the most darkly amusing road trip comedies in recent memory follows the plight of a dysfunctional family who takes an 800-mile road trip to support their daughter’s entry in the Little Miss Sunshine beauty pageant. Piling into a van that’s breaking down almost as rapidly as the familial ties that bind them, they find themselves confronting their delusional dreams and long-simmering resentments (and a horn that never stops honking). While “Little Miss Sunshine” is a classic example of the “Sundance road trip movie” trope that’s often maligned in indie film circles, there’s no denying that it’s one of the best entries in the subgenre. 

Perfect For:  Anyone who is beginning to question their belief that child beauty pageants are an unambiguous societal good. —CZ

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The 27 best road trip movies to watch so you forget you're stuck at home

• Can't go anywhere right now? A good road trip movie could put you in a better mood.
• Here are the 27 all-time best.
• Classics like "Easy Rider" and "Thelma & Louise" are on our roundup.
• There are also more recent movies like "Logan" and "Magic Mike XXL." 
• Visit Insider's homepage for more stories .

Hollywood has always had a soft spot for road trip movies, and some have become memorable not just for what was shown on screen, but what the spirit of the movie meant for the people who saw them.

Take "Easy Rider" for example, whose no-rules approach launched a new way that movies were made for decades. Or "Thelma & Louise," which was as much about female empowerment as it was about a movie about two people on the run from the law.

Here are 27 road trip movies (listed alphabetically) you should check out before heading on your own adventure:

"Almost Famous" (2000)

Cameron Crowe's love letter to the 1970s rock and roll scene, which he covered as a writer for Rolling Stone, is a fun look at adolescence, fame, and highlights the non-stop grind of a band being "on the road."

"The Blues Brothers" (1980)

John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd play two brothers on a mission from God. Trying to get on the straight-and-narrow after getting out of prison, Jake Blues (Belushi) and his brother Elwood (Aykroyd) decide to help raise the money the Catholic home they were raised in needs to stay open. That leads to a road trip around Illinois to get the band back together.

"Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan" (2006)

With the help of director Larry Charles, Sacha Baron Cohen creates one of the funniest road trip movies ever made as he takes his character, Borat, to America to marry Pamela Anderson. But in the process, the movie highlights the US itself, as Borat travels the country doing everything from singing the Kazakhstan national anthem at a rodeo to hanging out with some fraternity kids.

"Dumb and Dumber" (1994)

In this Farrelly brothers classic, friends Lloyd (Jim Carrey) and Harry (Jeff Daniels) are convinced the gas man is out to get them after the death of their bird, so they decide to drive to Aspen to hand-deliver a briefcase the beautiful Mary (Lauren Holly) "forgot" at the airport. Oh, and they are hitting the road in a truck that's made up to look like a dog.

"Easy Rider" (1969)

It's the movie that launched the "New Hollywood" era of the 1970s and was made with little money and lots of drugs.

Directed by Dennis Hopper, the Hollywood bad boy also stars alongside Peter Fonda as two hippie bikers (Jack Nicholson also shows up) who travel from LA to New Orleans after cashing in on smuggling cocaine from Mexico. On their freewheeling trip, they find an America that's split between the stuffy establishment and the younger generation that is starving for change.

"The End of the Tour" (2015)

The days of conversations between Rolling Stone reporter David Lipsky (Jesse Eisenberg) and author David Foster Wallace (Jason Segel) are beautifully profiled in director James Ponsoldt's intimate story that has the two men interacting while on the road for Wallace's book tour.

"Into the Wild" (2007)

Based on a true story, Christopher McCandless' quest to go off the grid and hitchhike to Alaska to live in the wilderness is a powerful exploration of human desire and the kindness of strangers.

"It Happened One Night" (1934)

Frank Capra's famous movie is romantic comedy at its best. Claudette Colbert plays a spoiled heiress running from home, and Clark Gable is a reporter who finally thinks he's found a story that will get him some attention as he follows her to New York. But it will be forever known for its hitchhiking scene in which Colbert's character gets them a ride by pulling up her skirt to show off her legs.

"Little Miss Sunshine" (2006)

Filled with an all-star cast including Steve Carell, Toni Collette, Greg Kinnear, Paul Dano, Alan Arkin, and Abigail Breslin, we follow a dysfunctional family as they jump in a VW bus to drive the young Olive (Breslin) on a cross-country trip to the finals of a beauty pageant she's competing in.

"Logan" (2017)

Marking the coda of the Hugh Jackman era as Wolverine, director James Mangold delivers a somber drama of the superhero's final days. Here he and Charles Xavier set out to drive a young mutant to a refuge in North Dakota. That sounds simple, but it definitely isn't.

"Magic Mike XXL" (2015)

In this fantastic sequel to the 2012 original, Mike (Channing Tatum) sets out on the road with the remaining members of the Kings of Tampa in a food truck to Myrtle Beach for one final performance.

"Midnight Run" (1988)

Robert De Niro is fantastic in this foul-mouthed comedy as bounty hunter Jack Walsh who plans to cash in when he tracks down a sneaky accountant (played by Charles Grodin) who has jumped bail.

But with the FBI, other bounty hunters, and the mob also trying to get their hands on his bounty, things aren't easy for Jack.

"The Motorcycle Diaries" (2004)

Based on the Che Guevara memoir he wrote before becoming the Marxist revolutionary, Gael García Bernal plays young Guevara who, in 1952, went on a trip across South America with his friend Alberto Granado (Rodrigo de la Serna). The experience shaped Guevara's life as it showed him the injustices of the world.

"The Muppet Movie" (1979)

Marking the first time the Muppets appear on the big screen, Kermit, Fozzie Bear and the rest of the gang go on a cross-country drive to Hollywood in hopes of making it big. A load of cameos, songs, and hilarity occur along the way.

"National Lampoon's Vacation" (1983)

This classic from director Harold Ramis stars Chevy Chase as one of his most memorable characters, Clark W. Griswold, the ambitious father whose vacation plans always never work out.

Clark takes the family cross-country to Walley World and in the process leaves chaos in his wake.

"On the Road" (2012)

Based on the iconic Jack Kerouac novel, Sam Riley plays the book's narrator, Sal Paradise, who after meeting Dean (Garrett Hedlund) and Marylou (Kristen Stewart), head on a free-spirited road trip across the country.

"Over the Top" (1987)

Sylvester Stallone plays trucker and arm wrestling pro Lincoln Hawk who needs to get to Las Vegas to compete in the world arm wrestling tournament. But he also has to get his estranged son to his dying mother. This all leads to a big-rig father-and-son road trip.

"Pee-wee's Big Adventure" (1985)

A loose parody of Vittorio De Sica's classic "Bicycle Thieves," Tim Burton makes his own classic around the zany antics of Paul Reubens' hit character Pee-wee Herman.

The movie follows the "boy" as he goes to search of his stolen bike, which he's been told by a psychic is in the basement of the Alamo (spoiler alert: there's no basement in the Alamo).

"Planes, Trains & Automobiles" (1987)

Steve Martin and John Candy play two men who suddenly have to become travel companions as they try to get home for the holidays. Written and directed by John Hughes, Martin and Candy together are a delight.

"Rain Man" (1988)

Tom Cruise plays sleazy Charlie Babbitt and Dustin Hoffman is his brother Raymond, who suffers from savant syndrome. Hoping to cash in on the fortune Raymond got from their father, Charlie sets the two out on a cross-country trip leading to a lot of self-discovery.

If you've never seen Barry Levinson's Oscar-winning movie, now's the time.

"Road Trip" (2000)

Of course "Road Trip" was going to be on this list. Todd Phillips' insane raunchy comedy about four college friends on a race against time to retrieve a sex tape sent in the mail to one of their girlfriends is always a fun watch.

"Smokey and the Bandit" (1977)

Burt Reynolds teams with his pal and longtime stunt double Hal Needham for his first directing effort, and it would go on to become a classic road trip movie.

Reynolds plays a fast-driving bootlegger who has to transport 400 cases of Coors beer safely from Texarkana to Atlanta. But things get complicated when Reynolds picks up a runaway bride (played by Sally Field) along the way.

"The Straight Story" (1999)

In one of David Lynch's most traditional storytelling offerings, Richard Farnsworth plays a man who sets out on a trip via riding a lawnmower to make things right with his ill brother.

The story is based on a real-life event, in which Alvin Straight traveled 240 miles from Iowa to Wisconsin on a lawnmower.

"Stranger Than Paradise" (1984)

Jim Jarmusch's second feature film follows Willie and his friend Eddie as they set out on a road trip to Cleveland to visit Willie's cousin from Hungary, Eva.

The movie went on to be regarded as a landmark work in the independent film world for its unconventional long takes and do-it-yourself aesthetic.

"Thelma & Louise" (1991)

Ridley Scott's look at the road-trip-turned-manhunt adventure of friends Thelma (Geena Davis) and Louise (Susan Sarandon) is arguably more powerful today because of the #MeToo than when it opened in the early 1990s.

"Tommy Boy" (1995)

Perhaps the best Chris Farley/David Spade collaboration, in this one Farley plays an underachieving college graduate who suddenly has to travel the nation (with Spade as the geeky sidekick) to keep the accounts for his auto-parts family business after his father dies. This one truly shows off Farley's high-energy comedy greatness.

"Y Tu Mamá También" (2001)

Director Alfonso Cuarón received a best screenplay Oscar nomination with his brother Carlos for this powerful road trip movie that made Diego Luna and Gael García Bernal international stars.

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Vacation vibes: the 31 best road trip movies of all time, ready to go on a road trip.

Road trips are always a helluva time, and if you can't go on one personally, the next best thing is to watch a few of the movie classics that have been created. Road trip aka open road movies have been a staple of the film industry for decades now, with some of the most memorable movies in history are technically classified as being a "road trip" film. From the National Lampoon's series all the way to legendary one-offs such as 2004's Johnson Family Vacation and 2000's Road Trip , open road movies remain some of the most entertaining and hilarious out there due to the fact that the participants hardly ever make it to where they plan on going in one piece. With us still being in the thick of summer, we thought it would be fun to take a look at the best road trip movies of all time. Buckle up and get the popcorn ready. You're going to need it.

RELATED: The 27 Best Tom Cruise Movies of All-Time, Ranked

1. Johnson Family Vacation (2004)

• Directed by: Christopher Erskin
• Written by: Earl Richey Jones, Todd R. Jones
• Stars: Cedric the Entertainer, Bow Wow, Vanessa Williams, Solange Knowles, Steve Harvey, Shannon Elizabeth
• Where They're Headed: Missouri

We've got be on I-10 by 10. Johnson Family Vacation has so many memorable one-liners that have become even more popular with time. Obviously getting two of the most funny men in comedy, Cedric the Entertainer and Steve Harvey, is going to result in some foolishness, and foolishness was indeed delivered. If you are in the mood to laugh your a$$ off, turn on Johnson Family Vacation .

2. Almost Famous (2000)

• Directed by: Cameron Crowe
• Written by: Cameron Crowe
• Stars: Billy Crudup, Frances McDormand, Kate Hudson, Anna Paquin
• Where They're Headed: All over the place

Sometimes you'll do anything (and put up with anything) to make your dreams come true. 2000's Almost Famous was all about the journey of a young aspiring rock journalist who catches the eye of a Rolling Stone editor who sends him on the road to cover a rising band named Stillwater. A fun little early 2000s film that's cool to watch during a relaxing weekend at home.

3. Easy Rider (1969)

• Directed by: Dennis Hopper
• Written by: Dennis Hopper, Peter Fonda, Terry Southern
• Stars: Jack Nicholson, Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper
• Where They're Headed: New Orleans

Earning an Academy Award nomination for "Best Original Screenplay," 1969's Easy Rider is a must-see film that everybody should watch at least once in their lives. Starring Jack Nicholson, Peter Fonda, and Dennis Hopper, the movie is about two motorcyclist hippies who decide to travel cross-country in search of spiritual truth after completing a drug deal in Southern California. What follows next is a wild ride. Literally.

4. Little Miss Sunshine (2006)

• Directed by: Valerie Faris, Jonathan Dayton
• Written by: Michael Arndt
• Stars: Paul Dano, Abigail Breslin, Toni Collette, Alan Arkin
• Where They're Headed: Redondo Beach, California

The interesting Hoover family are described as "putting the fun back in dysfunctional," so that should tell you all that you need to know about this movie. Showcasing an all-star cast that also includes Steve Carrell and Bryan Cranston, Little Miss Sunshine is another fun road trip film from the 2000s.

5. The Blues Brothers (1980)

• Directed by: John Landis
• Written by: John Landis, Dan Aykroyd
• Stars: John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd
• Where They're Headed: In and around Chicago

A cult classic considered to be one of the greatest comedies of all time, John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd aka The Blues Brothers, hit the streets on a self-proclaimed mission from God in the attempt to get on a good path after getting out of prison. The first task? To save the orphanage the brothers grew up in from closing. The only thing they need to do is raise $5,000 to pay the back taxes on the property (which they plan to do through playing gigs), but as expected, everything goes...wrong.

6. National Lampoon's Vacation (1983)

• Directed by: Harold Ramis
• Written by: John Hughes
• Stars: Chevy Chase, Beverly D'Angelo
• Where They're Headed: Wally World (California)

After re-watching National Lampoon's Vacation , we can effectively conclude that this is one of the best and funniest road trip movies of all time. Chevy Chase steals the show with his wit, sarcasm, and foul sailor mouth, which will keep you entertained from start to finish. The entire National Lampoon's series is worth watching, so we recommend setting aside a day where you can knock them all out.

7. Thelma & Louise (1991)

• Directed by: Ridley Scott
• Written by: Ridley Scott, Callie Khouri
• Stars: Geena Davis, Susan Sarandon
• Where They're Headed: Mexico

Directed by Ridley Scott, Thelma & Louise is a classic example of a movie taking an unexpected turn you never saw coming. Thelma (Davis) and Louise (Sarandon), intend to go on a short fishing trip, however those plans get put to an end when Louise shoots and kills a man at a bar who attempts to rape Thelma. The two decide to flee to Mexico, and embark on a journey that includes running from the law and falling for hot guys.

8. Smokey and the Bandit (1977)

• Directed by: Hal Needham
• Written by: Hal Needham, Robert L. Levy
• Stars: Burt Reynolds, Sally Field, Jerry Reed, Jackie Gleason, Paul Williams
• Where They're Headed: Atlanta

Atlanta has a way of sometimes bringing the chaos, as demonstrated by 1977's Smokey and the Bandit . Anybody who calls themselves Bandit (Reynolds) is probably a person who's done some questionable in their lifetimes, which is probably why he's given the duties of transporting an illegal beer shipment from Texas to Atlanta. If Bandit had stayed on task he probably would have been able to easily accomplish the mission, but because he decides to pick up a rather hesitant bride to be (Field), things get a little complicated.

9. Into the Wild (2007)

• Directed by: Sean Penn
• Written by: Jon Krakauer
• Stars: Emile Hirsch, Kristen Stewart, Vince Vaughn
• Where They're Headed: Alaska

Based on the true story of Christopher McCandless (Hirsch), 2007's Into the Wild is about the son of a wealthy couple who despite graduating from Emory University as a top student and athlete, instead decides to donate his savings to charity, get rid of all of his possessions, and set out on a journey to the Alaskan wilderness.

10. Dumb and Dumber (1994)

• Directed by: Peter Farrelly
• Written by: Peter Farrelly, Bobby Farrelly, Bennett Yellin
• Stars: Jim Carrey, Jeff Daniels
• Where They're Headed: Aspen, Colorado

The partially hilarious and partially annoying Dumb and Dumber is always worth a watch. Quite possibly the two dumbest pair of friends to ever exist, Lloyd Christmas (Carrey) and Harry Dunne (Daniels), decide to go to Aspen, Colorado to return a suitcase full of money left behind by a woman in Harry's car. Somehow (don't ask), this leads to the duo being hunted by both the police and killers. Needless to say, the pair find themselves in a unique jam that they have to get out of.

11. It Happened One Night (1934)

• Directed by: Frank Capra
• Written by: Frank Capra, Robert Riskin
• Stars: Clark Gable, Claudette Colbert
• Where They're Headed: New York and beyond

The concept of open road movies have been experimented with since practically the inception of film, and with five Academy Awards along with an induction into the U.S. National Film Registry by the Library of Congress, we'd say It Happened One Night deserves its ranking as one of the best road trip films of all time.

12. College Road Trip (2008)

• Directed by: Roger Kumble
• Written by: Emi Mochizuki, Carrie Evans, Cinco Paul, Ken Daurio
• Stars: Martin Lawrence, Kym Whitley, Raven-Symoné, Brenda Song
• Where They're Headed: Pittsburgh and Washington D.C.

2008's College Road Trip starring Raven-Symoné and Martin Lawrence remains underestimated in our book. Obviously Martin Lawrence is one of the funniest people to ever do it, and so is Raven. Put the both of them together, and you'll be laughing non-stop.

13. Road Trip (2000)

• Directed by: Todd Phillips
• Written by: Todd Phillips, Scott Armstrong
• Stars: Breckin Meyer, Seann William Scott, Paulo Costanzo, and DJ Qualls
• Where They're Headed: Austin, Texas

Road Trip is stupid, but in a good way. The film is about four college friends who embark on a trip from Ithaca, New York, to Austin, Texas after mistakenly sending a rather illicit tape mistakenly mailed to the girlfriend of one of the guys in the crew. The goal is for them to retrieve the tape before she gets it. Can they do it? You'll have to watch the movie for that.

14. Y Tu Mamá También (2002)

• Directed by: Alfonso Cuarón
• Written by: Alfonso Cuarón, Carlos Cuarón
• Stars: Diego Luna, Gael García Bernal, Maribel Verdú
• Where They're Headed: Boca del Cielo

Y Tu Mamá También is about two seventeen-year-olds, Julio (Luna) and Tenoch (Bernal), who set out on a road trip with an older woman (Verdú), and together they learn lessons about self discovery, engage in escapes with the older woman, and learn more about the world around them.

15. The Bucket List (2007)

• Directed by: Rob Reiner
• Written by:  Justin Zackham,
• Stars: Morgan Freeman, Jack Nicholson
• Where They're Headed: Everywhere

The Bucket List is a touching story about two terminally ill men who set out to accomplish the things on their bucket list before they die. One of the things on their list is backpacking/traveling the world. So what do they do? Backpack and travel the world.

16. Rain Man (1988)

• Directed by: Barry Levinson
• Written by:  Barry Morrow, Ronald Bass
• Stars: Dustin Hoffman, Valeria Golino, Tom Cruise
• Where They're Headed: Cincinnati, Ohio

Long before Tom Cruise was in Mission Impossible , he was in a rather poignant road trip drama called Road Man . Portraying a car dealer named Charlie Babbitt who returns home to Cincinnati, Ohio after learning that his estranged father has passed away, Road Man is a bit sad compared to what we know as the "traditional road trip film," but still a good watch.

17. Crossroads (2002)

• Directed by: Tamra Davis
• Written by:  Shonda Rhimes
• Stars: Britney Spears, Zoe Saldana, Taryn Manning
• Where They're Headed: LA to Tucson, Arizona

Dammit! We're putting this here because Crossroads didn't get enough credit at the time of its release in 2002, and it doesn't get enough credit now. This is a good movie, and we will forever stand by that!

18. Midnight Run (1988)

• Directed by: Martin Brest
• Written by:  George Gallo
• Stars: Robert De Niro, Charles Grodin
• Where They're Headed: All around the West Coast

1988's Midnight Run has a case for being one of the all-time great action films from the 1980s. A not-so-traditional "catch the bad guy" movie, the film is about bounty hunter Jack Walsh (De Niro), being hired to bring a mob accountant (Grodin) to Los Angeles. Walsh gets told ahead of time that the job will either be an easy one or a midnight run (meaning a chase), and, well, the latter happens.

19. My Own Private Idaho (1991)

• Directed by: Gus Van Sant
• Written by:  Gus Van Sant
• Stars: River Phoenix, Keanu Reeves
• Where They're Headed: Idaho

Ah! A baby Keanu Reeves in an early acting role. My Own Private Idaho is a loose adaptation of Shakespeare's Henry IV that centers around a gay hustler that struggles with narcolepsy (Phoenix) and the rebellious son of a mayor (Reeves) who travel from Portland, to Idaho, and finally the coast of Italy in the quest the hustler's estranged money. As expected, along the way they encounter...a lot.

20. Harry and Tonto (1974)

• Directed by: Paul Mazursky
• Written by:  Paul Mazursky and Josh Greenfield
• Stars: Paul Mazursky, Art Carney, Ellen Burstyn
• Where They're Headed: Chicago and beyond

A classic 1970s film, Harry and Tonto (which Art Carney won an Oscar for by the way), is about a man named Harry in his 70s (Carney), who is evicted from his Manhattan apartment when the building is set to be demolished. After staying with his son for a while, Harry to travel across the country with his cat Tonto to visit the various important people in his life.

21. Logan (2017)

• Directed by: James Mangold
• Written by:  Scott Mangold, Scott Frank, Michael Green, James Mangold
• Stars: Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart, Robert E. Grant
• Where They're Headed: Eden

Would do you get when you make Wolverine / X-Men an open road movie. Logan . That's what you get. There's a reason why this movie is considered one of the best X-Men movies as a whole, and now is the perfect time to watch it if you haven't already.

22. Beavis and Butt-Head Do America (1996)

• Directed by: Mike Judge
• Written by:  Mike Judge, Joe Stillman
• Stars: Bruce Willis, Demi Moore, Robert Stack, Cloris Leachman
• Where They're Headed: All round the U.S.

Want to watch another set of dumb a$$es embark on a cross-country road trip? Here ya go. 1996's Beavis and Butt-Head Do America . Thank us later.

23. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998)

• Directed by: Terry Gilliam
• Written by:  Terry Gilliam, Alex Cox, Toni Grisoni, Tod Davies
• Where They're Headed: Johnny Depp, Benicio Del Toro

The legendary Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas aka the movie that inspired the music video for Quavo and Takeoff's single "Hotel Lobby" from 2022. Want to talk about madness, trips, and trippyness? Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas is all that and a bag of chips.

24. Lost in America (1985)

• Directed by: Albert Brooks
• Written by:  Albert Brooks, Monica Johnson
• Stars: Albert Brooks, Julie Hagerty, Garry Marshall
• Where They're Headed: Cross Country (West Coast)

An early Albert Brooks comedy, Lost in America is about a Los Angeles yuppie (Brooks) who convinces his wife Linda (Hagerty) to quit her job and join him on a cross country road trip. Since that's not exactly the smartest ideas, something is bound to go wrong. That said, something indeed does go wrong...in Vegas at that.

25. Pee-wee’s Big Adventure (1985)

• Directed by: Tim Burton
• Written by:  Paul Reubens, Phil Hartman, Michael Varhol
• Stars: Paul Reubens, Mark Holton, Diane Salinger
• Where They're Headed: All Over

Pee-wee get his precious bike stolen, so he decides to go on a road trip aka a "big adventure" to retrieve what's rightfully his. You have to admire the dedication here people.

26. Magic Mike XXL (2015)

• Directed by: Greg Jacobs
• Written by:  Reid Carolin
• Stars: Channing Tatum, Joe Manganiello, Matt Bomer
• Where They're Headed: Myrtle Beach, S.C.

In 2015, the Magic Mike show went on the road after Mike Lane (Tatum) decided he missed the business and wanted to get back out there. Lane and Co. decide to go on a road trip to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina for a stripper convention, providing an interesting twist on the series.

27. The Muppet Movie (1979)

• Directed by: James Frawley
• Written by: Jerry Juhl, Jack Burns
• Stars: Jim Henson, Dave Goelz, Frank Oz, Richard Hunt
• Where They're Headed: California

Kermit the Frog said by any means necessary dammit! In pursuit of a movie career, Kermit decides to go on a cross-country trip from Florida to California, meets some cool friends like Fozzie Bear, Miss Piggy, Gonzo and rock musicians Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem, and sets out to prove his worth in Tinseltown.

28. Over the Top (1987)

• Directed by: Menahen Golen
• Written by: Sylvester Stallone, Stirling Silliphant
• Stars: Sylvester Stallone, David Mendenhall
• Where They're Headed: Las Vegas

Lincoln Hawk (Stallone), a trucker and arm wrestling pro, needs to get to his World Arm Wrestling Tournament, and he needs to get his estranged son to go see his dying mother at the same time. An interesting dynamic to say the least, but it is the ultimate bonding trip to say the least.

29. The Straight Story (1999)

• Directed by: David Lynch,
• Written by: John Roach, Mary Sweeney
• Stars: Richard Farnsworth, Sissy Spacek
• Where They're Headed: Wisconsin

A road trip not in a car, but on a lawnmower. Sound crazy, but you'll do anything when it comes to the people you love. We're not going to spoil this incredible film, so we'll just say watch it.

30. Stranger Than Paradise (1984)

• Directed by: Jim Marusch
• Written by: Jim Jarmusch
• Stars: Cecillia Stark, John Lurie
• Where They're Headed: Cleveland, Ohio

Stranger Than Paradise being black-and-white film in the 1980s should be enough of a reason to watch it alone. Going against the grain and being unconventional is something that will always have our respect.

31. Planes, Trains & Automobiles (1987)

• Directed by: John Hughes
• Stars: Steve Martin, John Candy
• Where They're Headed: Chicago

A control freak and a talkative fellow link up and what do you get? Planes, Trains, & Automobiles . Oh my.

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10 Best Road Trip Movies of All Time

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Road trips have served as the basis for some of Hollywood's best stories for decades, especially in the comedy genre. These movies often follow characters who, through shared adversity, become closer as friends. Everything from buddy-style dynamics to family trips makes the road trip one of the most enduring, successful formulas on film, merging elements of adventure with relatable situations as characters battle the odds to reach their destinations.

Road trips can take on a variety of forms, from tense modern Westerns to comedic adventures, but all of them share the same focus on character growth and overcoming adversity. There aren't nearly enough of these movies, but some stand out as a testament to the value of a good road-faring adventure. Whether through a modern cross-country story of self-discovery or an old-school crime tale, these films are the best road trip movies out there.

10 Every Which Way But Loose Is Silly Fun

Every which way but loose.

The San Fernando Valley adventures of trucker turned prize-fighter Philo Beddoe and his pet orangutan Clyde.

10 Best Comedy Adventure Movies

Adventure films are full of larger-than-life heroes and fun adventures and comedy adventure movies like The Goonies are some of the best it can offer.

Every Which Way But Loose focuses on a bare-knuckle boxer, Philo Beddoe, who hustles his way through off-the-books fights to make a living. When he meets an aspiring country music singer, Lynn, he falls in love but must contend with a seemingly-violent ex-boyfriend of hers. After spending the night with her, he is shocked to discover that both she and her trailer have disappeared. Not content to let things end there, he sets off with his orangutan friend, Clyde, and brother, Orville, to head to Lynn's hometown of Denver so he can find her. However, he draws the ire of a violent motorcycle gang and a pair of angry cops, who pursue him down to Colorado.

Every Which Way But Loose is a charming buddy comedy, casting Eastwood in one of the more upbeat roles of his career. A box office success, the movie earned a sequel, Any Which Way You Can , which continues the adventures of Philo and Clyde. The movie includes plenty of action as the hero takes on hustlers and enemies, proving himself the toughest guy around.

9 The Gauntlet Is An Action-Packed Road Trip

15 best clint eastwood movies (that aren't westerns).

Clint Eastwood is best known for his prominent roles in Western films, but that is far from the only genre he's appeared in.

The Gauntlet follows an alcoholic Arizona cop, Ben Shockley, who is sent to Las Vegas to find a criminal witness, Gus Malley, and bring her back so she can testify in court against the mob. When he finds her hiding out in her house, Shockley discovers that there's a bet against them making it back to Phoenix, as the mob and corrupt cops make their move against them.

The Gauntlet is one of Clint Eastwood's best action movies, one that slowly sees his character prove he's not a washed-up cop as he fights his way across state lines. With the odds stacked against them, the pair fall in love and use an armored bus to try and survive the hail of gunfire orchestrated to keep Gus from making it to court.

8 Zombieland Follows Survivors of the Apocalypse Fighting the Undead

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A shy student trying to reach his family in Ohio, a gun-toting bruiser in search of the last Twinkie and a pair of sisters striving to get to an amusement park join forces in a trek across a zombie-filled America.

Zombieland takes place in the aftermath of a zombie apocalypse, one that has left humanity all but extinct. The movie follows and is narrated by Columbus, a young man who abides by a series of rules to stay alive. When he meets a twinkie-loving, gun-obsessed modern-day cowboy, Tallahassee, the pair join forces, and soon cross paths with a pair of con artists, Wichita and Little Rock. Setting their differences aside, the four decide to travel the country together, realizing strength in numbers. At every turn, they're forced to contend with the brain-eating zombies who stalk the Earth.

Zombieland is a hilarious zombie movie, but makes the road trip of its four heroes the heart and soul of the story, with the four eventually running into Bill Murray . The movie is something of a cult classic of its decade, and one of the best modern zombie movies there is, effectively serving as a relatable "what if you survived the zombie apocalypse?" style movie.

7 Road Trip Adapted American Pie's Formula To The Open Road

Four college buddies embark on a road trip to retrieve an illicit tape mistakenly mailed to a female friend.

After the success of 1999's American Pie , the comedy genre took a notable turn towards fun, juvenile, and raunchy humor. The first and most obvious successor of the movie was Road Trip , which follows college freshman Josh, who cheats on his long-distance girlfriend and accidentally mails her a tape of the tryst. Hoping to race from New York to Texas so he can intercept the tape, he enlists three friends, E.L., Rubin, and Kyle to join him on a road trip. When they destroy their car, the four friends are forced to lie and steal their way to Austin.

Road Trip is a brilliant comedy for people who enjoy the '90s style of humor, even casting Seann William Scott in the road of E.L., a character modeled after Steve Stiffler. The movie is full of timeless humor centered around youth and friendship, alternating between Josh's trip and the story of his delinquent friend, Barry, who narrates the whole thing.

6 Midnight Run Is A Comedic Bounty Hunter Movie

Every martin scorsese and robert de niro movie, ranked.

Martin Scorsese and Robert De Niro are two of the most legendary figures in Hollywood, and they've teamed up to make some of the greatest films ever.

Midnight Run focuses on a Los Angeles-based bounty hunter, Jack Walsh, who agrees to take on a high-profile job to find Jonathan "the Duke" Mardukas, a mob accountant who has skipped his bond. He locates the fugitive in New York and tells his bail bondsman employer he'll have him back soon. However, when Mardukas pretends to be afraid of flying, he forces Jack's hand, and the pair begin an epic cross-country road trip, taking trains and coaches along the way. With the mob, FBI, and a rival bounty hunter after them, the pair develop a respect for one another as they learn about the other's lives.

Midnight Run covers a range of topics and even genres in one movie, combining a mob crime movie, a comedic buddy story, and an old-school road trip. With hundreds of thousands of dollars on the line and trained killers close behind, Jack decides to flip the script on his gangster enemies to save the Duke but collect on his fee. The film is one of DeNiro's best, as he makes for a great partnership alongside Charles Grodin's Mardukas.

5 The Blues Brothers Combines Musical Comedy With The Road Trip

The blues brothers.

The Blues Brothers begins with the release of Jake Blues from prison, with his brother, Elwood, waiting for him. Reunited after years apart, they visit the Penguin, an elderly nun who runs the orphanage they grew up in. When she informs them that the building is facing foreclosure if they can't pay $5000 in property taxes to Cook County. After visiting a church, the brothers have a revelation: they have to reform their old band, the Blues Brothers, to raise money, declaring a mission from God. They head out on a trip to find the old members and get them back in, touring the state to raise cash as they go.

The Blues Brothers is a brilliant combination of musical and road trip comedy, as Jake, Elwood, and the band win over the hearts of everyone through their music. The film includes a variety of brilliant cameos from blues musicians, such as Aretha Franklin, Cab Calloway, and Ray Charles, all of whom turn in one of the best musicals of the decade. With a growing list of enemies chasing them down, the film follows the heroic singers on their quest to save the orphanage.

4 National Lampoon's Vacation Follows A Dysfunctional Family Trip

National lampoon's vacation.

The Griswold family's cross-country drive to the Walley World theme park proves to be much more arduous than they ever anticipated.

National Lampoon's Vacation tells the story of Clark Griswold, a well-meaning but hapless family man from the suburbs of Chicago. One day, he decides to treat his family to a vacation at the vaunted Wally's World, situated in California. Intent on ensuring his family has the trip of their lives, he insists on driving the entire journey. As they cross America, they experience crime, a family tragedy, personal tensions, and the hospitality of the family's oddball cousin, Eddie.

National Lampoon's Vacation started a movie franchise centered around the misadventures of the Griswold family, with sequels exploring their attempt to host a Christmas dinner for their trip to Las Vegas. However, the original movie remains king, thanks to Chevy Chase's brilliant, career-defining performance as the lovable yet bumbling Clark Griswold.

3 Mad Max: Fury Road Is Hell On Wheels

Mad max: fury road.

In a post-apocalyptic wasteland, a woman rebels against a tyrannical ruler in search for her homeland with the aid of a group of female prisoners, a psychotic worshiper and a drifter named Max.

Chris Hemsworth Enjoyed His 'Sick and Twisted' Role in Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga

Chris Hemsworth discusses his role in Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, revealing he thoroughly enjoyed playing Dementus.

Mad Max: Fury Road begins when Max Rocketansky is captured by desert raiders, who report to the tyrannical ruler of the water supply, Immortan Joe. However, when one of Joe's finest warriors, Furiosa, flees with his wives, he leads a war party into the desert to stop her, with Max strapped to a car as a blood bank for its half-life boy driver, Nux. After a sandstorm throws everything into chaos, Max escapes, and forces his way into Furiosa's war rig, aiding the women in their escape to avoid the wrath of Joe.

While Mad Max isn't the traditional road trip movie, it still follows all the basic rules of one, with the characters growing closer along their journey. As they flee into the desert, the characters begin their plan to liberate the Citadel from Immortan Joe's rule, narrowly escaping the violence of the villain and his allies along the way. Not only is the movie a brilliant action romp, it brings high-octane energy to the road trip.

2 Logan Is A Dystopian Superhero Neo-Western

In a future where mutants are nearly extinct, an elderly and weary Logan leads a quiet life. But when Laura, a mutant child pursued by scientists, comes to him for help, he must get her to safety.

Logan takes place at the end of Fox's X-Men timeline , and features an aging, dying Wolverine as he is charged with escorting his young female clone, Laura, to Canada to escape a team of mercenaries, the Reavers. He brings along Professor X, whose ailing health and old age have made it difficult to control his abilities, leading to occasional bursts of harmful psychic intrusions in the minds of those around him. Pursued by the cybernetically enhanced mercs, the hero makes his way north, fighting off villains along the way.

Logan is a fun twist on several genres, from dystopian science fiction and superheroes to Westerns and road trips. The film marks the conclusion of Hugh Jackman's Wolverine story arc and serves as one of the best character send-offs in modern cinema. James Mangold's story borrows expertly from classics like Shane, reminding everyone of the hero Logan is as he helps families and children against the violent and corrupt.

1 Planes, Trains, and Automobiles Is the Definitive Road Trip Movie

Planes, trains and automobiles.

Planes, Trains, and Automobiles stars Steve Martin as Neal Page, an advertising executive on his way home to Chicago for the Thanksgiving holiday, but his journey is besieged with one problem after another. Things turn for the worst when a boisterous but lovable shower ring curtain salesman Del Griffith (John Candy) crosses paths with him. Now somehow stuck with Del, Neal will attempt to make it across the country in a series of increasingly zany incidents to make it home for the holidays.

Planes, Trains, and Automobiles begin when an advertising agent, Neal Page, tries to make his way home from New York to the suburbs of Chicago for Thanksgiving. However, with a raging snowstorm, his flight is delayed indefinitely. He meets a jovial, optimistic shower curtain ring seller, Del Griffith, and the pair attempt to pool resources to make it back. While Neal's more abrasive, frustrated mood clashes with Del's endless upbeat nature, the two do become friends as they make their way across the country. Along the way, they face bad weather, thieves, a car fire, and more, setting them back at every turn.

Planes, Trains and Automobiles doubles as the ultimate road trip movie as well as the perfect Thanksgiving story, revolving around the importance of friendship and understanding. As one of John Hughes' best films, it casts John Candy and Steve Martin as Del and Neal, with the two comedy icons turning in some of their best work as mismatched companions.

10 Hilarious Road Trip Movies to Watch Before Your Next Vacation

Road trips are one of the most exciting ways to explore the world, discover new places, and make unforgettable memories. But let’s be honest: long hours on the road can also be tiresome and even dull at times. That’s where movies come in handy! 

Pack Your Bags, but First, Pop the Popcorn!

In this list, we’ll look at ten comedies that will not only entertain you but will get you in the mood to hit the road. From classic road trip flicks to comedies that mix the laughs with the tears, these films will tickle your funny bone and inspire you to see where the road takes you.

1. Midnight Run (1988)

Have you ever wanted to see a road trip comedy starring Robert DeNiro as a tough-as-nails bounty hunter? That’s a rather specific dream; luckily, 1988’s  Midnight Run  is precisely that. 

DeNiro plays Jack Walsh, a tough-talking bounty hunter tasked with bringing Charles Grodin’s character, an embezzling accountant named Jonathan “The Duke” Mardukas, back to Los Angeles to face trial. However, as a general rule in every road trip flick, things rarely go smoothly for these two.

2. Zombieland (2009)

Funnily scary (or scarily funny,)  Zombieland  isn’t afraid to mix the laughs with the gasps. This 2009 horror-comedy stars Jesse Eisenberg, Emma Stone, Woody Harrelson, and Abigail Breslin as lone survivors in an America ravaged by a zombie apocalypse. The four embark on a “family” trip, in search of a new place to call their home.

Thanks to its witty dialogue, gratuitous zombie gore, and even an unforgettable cameo by Bill Murray himself,  Zombieland  is the perfect companion for an apocalyptic road trip. Just be sure to pack enough Twinkies for the ride!

3. The Blues Brothers (1980)

It’s rare to come across a road trip film that’s also one of the best musical comedies ever made. That might be why  The Blues Brothers  is the only flick I can think of that fits that description. This wild comedy sees legends Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi as Elwood and Jake Blues, two brothers on a divine mission to save their childhood orphanage from debt.

This musical journey takes us through almost all of Illinois, with a particular focus on the Windy City itself. Of course, the film’s highlight is the crazy car chase near the end, when the Brothers escape through the streets of Chicago. Dozens of police cars and a squad of National Socialists aren’t enough to stop the   Blues Brothers, though.

4. Sideways (2004)

Wine lovers rejoice!  Sideways  is a movie that captures the elegance and beauty of the Santa Ynez Valley, complete with its wineries and unforgettable vistas. It’s also a hilarious film to watch if I might add. 

Sideways  stars Paul Giamatti as a writer and wine enthusiast who travels to California’s wine country with his womanizing friend, Jack. Of course, things get a bit rocky for the pair once they meet two women that challenge their beliefs in love, women, and wine. 

If you prefer your comedies to have witty banter instead of gross-out shenanigans, then  Sideways  is the movie for you.

5. Dumb and Dumber (1994)

A trip across the country with the dumbest comedy duo ever conceived? What could possibly go wrong?  Dumb and Dumber  follows the misadventures of Harry and Lloyd, two dimwits on a mission to return a lost briefcase to its rightful owner. However, these two geniuses ignore the fact that the briefcase contains ransom money for a kidnapping plot.

Starring Jim Carrey, Jeff Daniels, and a dog van,  Dumb and Dumber  remains a classic of gross-out humor from the Farrelly brothers, the ones responsible for classics such as  Shallow Hal  and  There’s Something About Mary . The film spawned a couple of sequels – and even an animated TV show – but none are as funny as the original. You just can’t go wrong with the classics – or with 90’s Jim Carrey in general.

6. Planes, Trains, and Automobiles (1987)

Road trips take many shapes and forms. Sometimes, there isn’t even a “road” in the road trips. That’s something that  Planes, Trains and Automobiles  illustrates, complete with how hectic improvised travel can be.

The film pairs Steve Martin and John Candy – two unlikely travel companions that do everything possible to be home for Thanksgiving, including riding the aforementioned planes, trains, and automobiles. Over everything else, this is a rather heartwarming film that teaches us the importance of finding common ground with those that irritate us. 

Also, it’s a great PSA for keeping your eyes peeled on the road, no matter how catchy  Mess Around  by Ray Charles   might be.

7. Due Date (2010)

2010’s  Due Date  combines the stress of a road trip with a stranger with the anxiety of childbirth into one memorable wild ride. The odd couple at the center of the show is Peter (Robert Downey Jr.,) a soon-to-be father whose life gets thrown upside down by an eccentric aspiring actor, Ethan, played by Zach Galifianakis. 

The film takes us on a crazy journey from Atlanta to Los Angeles – with a bizarre detour to Mexico for good measure. Can these two oddballs find some common ground as they discover more about themselves in this life-changing journey? Probably not. Still, it’s pretty funny to watch them try.

8. The Hangover (2009)

Before  Due Date , Todd Phillips reached the pop culture zenith with  The Hangover , a comedy of errors that follows a group of friends at a wild bachelor’s party in Las Vegas. However, when the groom mysteriously vanishes after a night of partying, the “Wolf Pack” will have to piece together the events that transcurred the previous night, all while dealing with colossal hangovers.

More than anything,  The Hangover  combines unforgettable moments that have become landmarks in modern comedy. I mean, who could forget the tiger in the bathroom? While this might not be the most “varied” road trip out there, it’s still a great advertisement of what  not  to do when visiting Las Vegas. Or any city in general.

9. Little Miss Sunshine (2006)

The epitome of the modern road movie,  Little Miss Sunshine  is an indie darling that never fails to make us laugh – and cry. The story follows a dysfunctional family embarking on a cross-country road trip to take their daughter to a beauty pageant. Along the way, we get to see the secret struggles of the Hoover family as they finally learn to come together as a family – on their own terms.

Perhaps one of the best parts about  Little Miss Sunshine  is its talented all-star cast, featuring heavyweights such as Toni Collette and Steve Carell. Coincidentally, Abigail Breslin stars as the lovable Olive Hoover. A few years later, she would also star in  Zombieland , making her a certified road trip comedy expert in our books.

10. National Lampoon’s Vacation (1983)

If there were ever a movie that captures the spirit – and the chaos – of the classic all-American road trip, that would be  National Lampoon’s Vacation . The first entry in this legendary comedy series came out in 1983, and it introduced the world to the chaotic misadventures of the Griswold family.

The first movie follows the Griswolds in a misguided attempt by Clark, the family’s patriarch, to bring his family closer together. What ensues is one of the most hectic comedies ever made, introducing a bizarre cast of characters and some morally questionable situations with every passing mile.

If you’re planning to embark on a road trip of your own soon,  Vacation  might be the perfect guidebook for what to avoid on such occasions. Also, you might want to call Walley World before you visit – they may be closed for repairs.

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Ever debated the greatest movies? Well, we’re counting cash, not critics. Here’s an inflation-adjusted roundup of the top 10 box office champions—because modern-day blockbusters can’t just inflate their way to the top! This list represents the highest-grossing movies of all time.

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Raking in $1 billion at the box office is no laughing matter for a movie. In fact, only 53 total movies have ever accomplished this amazing feat. In this list, we’re going over the most recent 12 films to join the billion-dollar club. If you’ve been looking for a new(ish) movie to watch that is undoubtedly approved by the masses, try one of these out and see for yourself why it was so popular amongst movie-goers.

Here’s What It Was Really Like to Drive a Model T Ford

Tired of driving down easy-street in your super comfy modern car? Well, have no fear because the Model T is here! Let’s take a ride down memory lane with a humorous look at what traveling in a Model T was like when it first came out.

This article was produced and syndicated by Our Woven Journey . Featured Image: Paramount Pictures.

Demi Michele

Demi Michele is a seasoned traveler, turned freelance writer. Having explored most states and ventured internationally, her love for outdoor cafes, new cuisines, and cultural immersion shines through her wide range of articles. Based in Texas with her family and two Scottish Terriers, Demi turns her adventures into captivating travel narratives to share with readers.

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17 Essential Road Trip Movies That'll Have You Craving the Open Road

Let's hit the road.

Rev your engines and hit the pedal for an unforgettable adventure as we dive into the world of the best road trip movies. These films aren't just about getting from point A to B — they're a wild ride full of laughter, friendship and the kind of chaos that can only happen on the open road. As the asphalt stretches ahead, characters find themselves on transformative voyages, both in the literal and metaphorical sense. Whether it's a band of quirky friends, a reluctant pairing of two completely opposite characters or a lone traveler in pursuit of a deeper meaning, these films navigate far more than sprawling highways and convoluted road maps.

Road trip movies are the ultimate recipe for fun, mixing in unexpected and bizarre pit stops, outrageous characters and the kind of bonding that can only happen when you're stuck in a car together for days on end. So buckle up, because we're about to cruise through a curated list of the most entertaining, laugh-out-loud and heartwarming road trip flicks that'll make you want to grab your friends, hit the road and create some unforgettable memories of your own.

Here are the 17 best films about road trips ever made.

Table of Contents

Little Miss Sunshine (2006)

Fox Searchlight Pictures

Who's in it: Steve Carrell, Alan Arkin, Paul Dano, Toni Collette, Abigail Breslin

A dysfunctional family sets off on a hilarious road trip to get their young daughter Olive to a beauty pageant. With a VW bus as their vessel, they navigate absurd obstacles, personal quirks and unexpected revelations, learning that winning might not be everything but the journey itself is a triumph of togetherness.

National Lampoon's Vacation (1983)

Warner Bros.

Who's in it: Chevy Chase, Beverly D'Angelo, Dana Barron, Anthony Michael Hall

The Griswold family embarks on a chaotic cross-country expedition to reach the ultimate destination: the amusement park Walley World. Along the way, they encounter a series of hysterical misadventures that turn their vacation into a side-splitting roller coaster of mishaps and mayhem.

Thelma & Louise (1991)

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc.

Who's in it: Susan Sarandon, Geena Davis, Brad Pitt, Harvey Keitel

Seeking an escape from their mundane lives, friends Thelma and Louise embark on a liberating road trip. However, a series of tragic events lead them down an unexpected path, turning their journey into a thrilling and unforgettable adventure of empowerment and self-discovery.

Almost Famous (2000)

DreamWorks Distribution, LLC.

Who's in it: Kate Hudson, Billy Crudup, Patrick Fugit, Anna Paquin

A young music enthusiast lands a gig writing for a rock band on tour. As he navigates the world of rock 'n' roll, he experiences a whirlwind of backstage antics, heartaches and self-discovery. This coming-of-age road trip through the music scene of the 1970s becomes a transformative journey of love, passion and growth.

Into the Wild (2007)

Paramount Vantage

Who's in it: Emile Hirsch, Marcia Gay Harden, William Hurt

Based on a true story, this film follows Christopher McCandless as he abandons his conventional life to trek across North America's wilderness. His quest for a deeper connection with nature and his own soul takes him on a road less traveled, testing his limits and leading to a contemplative exploration of freedom and isolation.

Tommy Boy (1995)

Who's in it: Chris Farley, BO Derek, David Spade, Dan Aykroyd

After his father's death, an inept but well-meaning heir to an auto parts factory embarks on a cross-country road trip to save the family business. Alongside his reluctant assistant, he dives into a series of comedic escapades, transforming their journey into an uproarious adventure of friendship and redemption.

Planes, Trains & Automobiles (1987)

Who's in it:  Steve Martin, John Candy, Kevin Bacon

In a desperate bid to get home for Thanksgiving, an uptight executive and a lovable but obnoxious shower ring salesman endure a calamitous journey. As their flight gets rerouted, the duo navigates a series of mishaps involving various modes of transportation, resulting in a hilariously heartfelt exploration of friendship and patience. It's also one of the most memorable Thanksgiving movies to add to your holiday watch list.

Dumb and Dumber (1994)

Getty Images

Who's in it:  Jim Carrey, Jeff Daniels

Two dim-witted friends embark on a road trip to return a briefcase to its rightful owner, unknowingly becoming ensnared in a criminal conspiracy. Their comically inept adventures take them across the country, with each blunder leading to side-splitting chaos and unexpected encounters.

Midnight Run (1988)

Universal Pictures

Who's in it: Robert De Niro, Charles Grodin, Dennis Farina

A bounty hunter is tasked with apprehending a bail-jumping mob accountant. Their cross-country pursuit is fraught with obstacles as they dodge both the mob and the FBI. This action-packed road trip blends buddy comedy with thrilling intrigue, resulting in a whirlwind of quips and high-stakes escapades.

Road Trip (2000)

DreamWorks SKG

Who's in it:  Todd Phillips, Breckin Meyer, Amy Smart, Seann William Scott

In a desperate attempt to save his relationship, a college student hits the road with his friends to retrieve an incriminating videotape he mistakenly sent to his long-distance girlfriend. This raunchy comedy navigates a series of wild detours, outrageous mishaps and unexpected adventures, all in the name of love and redemption.

Rain Man (1988)

Who's in it:  Tom Cruise, Dustin Hoffman, Bonnie Hunt, Valeria Golino

When a young man discovers his estranged father has left his fortune to an older brother he never knew existed, they embark on a road trip to forge a connection. With the older brother's autism spectrum disorder adding a layer of complexity, the journey becomes a heartwarming exploration of family and understanding.

Easy Rider (1969)

Who's in it: Dennis Hopper, Peter Fonda, Jack Nicholson, Karen Black

Two counterculture bikers travel across the American Southwest in search of freedom and the true essence of America. Their journey is symbolic of the turbulent 1960s, exploring themes of rebellion, self-discovery and the clash between traditional values and the changing cultural landscape.

Y Tu Mamá También (2001)

Who's in it: Diego Luna, Gael García Bernal, Maribel Verdú

In this Mexican coming-of-age road trip drama, two friends embark on a trip with an older woman in search of a secluded beach. Along the way, their friendships and desires are tested as they grapple with the complexities of relationships, intimacy and the passage from youth to adulthood.

The Blues Brothers (1980)

Universal Picture

Who's in it: Dan Aykroyd, John Belushi

To save the orphanage they grew up in, two soul-singing brothers set off on a mission from God to put their old band back together and raise funds through a benefit concert. Their journey becomes a high-energy musical odyssey, replete with outrageous car chases, wild stunts and iconic performances.

Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan (2006)

Twentieth Century Fox

Who's in it: Sacha Baron Cohen, Pamela Anderson

In this mockumentary comedy, the titular Kazakh journalist embarks on a cross-country journey across America, encountering unsuspecting citizens and exposing the absurdities of their beliefs and behaviors. Through outrageous encounters and cringe-worthy situations, the film satirizes cultural differences and societal norms.

Pee-wee's Big Adventure (1985)

Warner Bros

Who's in it: Paul Reubens

Eccentric man-child Pee-wee Herman embarks on a whimsical quest to recover his stolen bicycle, leading him on a cross-country adventure filled with quirky characters and surreal landscapes. With boundless energy and childlike wonder, Pee-wee's journey becomes a colorful and lighthearted exploration of imagination and determination.

Smokey and the Bandit (1977)

Universal Studios

Who's in it: Burt Reynolds, Sally Field, Jerry Reed, Jackie Gleason

A trucker and his partner-in-crime take on a high-stakes challenge: smuggling a shipment of Coors beer across state lines while eluding a determined sheriff in hot pursuit. This action-packed road trip comedy boasts high-speed chases, witty banter and a dose of Southern charm, making it a classic of its genre.

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The holidays are notorious for crowded, difficult travel, as families reunite and celebrate with no shortage of stress. With the season on cue, Thanksgiving right around the corner, let’s take a look at some of the funniest road trips on film. Of course, comedy is always subjective, so expect omissions and surprises. But there are some enduring classics worth noting, since nothing spells comedy like cramping people together. Particularly for long periods of time, and with zany characters. Many of the films in this niche genre are generally on the wacky side, but at times, that can be a welcome thing.

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Smoke Signals (1998)

This is a unique, self-aware, and entirely Native American production that can speak to anyone. It focuses on a young man confronting the troubled history with his father. And yet, this simple, familiar premise is bolstered by authenticity, and an unexpected embrace of comedy. The humor here works precisely because of the dramatic investment. And while many of its jokes utilize the general public’s familiarity with Native Americans, the smaller beats are the lifeblood of the film. The odd, naive personality of Thomas is crucially effective, and his unlikely friendship with the protagonist is very charming.

Paul (2011)

Sure, this strange outing for Nick Frost and Simon Pegg may not be as sophisticated or witty as Shaun of the Dead . But the protagonists’ natural chemistry is perpetually endearing, and the pop culture references are more sly than pandering. It’s a pseudo-parody of all things science-fiction. While much of the comedy is juvenile, it’s essentially a guilty pleasure of sorts. Paul himself is a surprisingly fun character, well-fueled by the infectious humor in Seth Rogen’s performance. While some may be frustrated by the religion-ribbing, it feels good-natured and harmlessly silly. The story boils down to one long chase, and the friendships are sincere enough to sell the outrageous comedy.

Tommy Boy (1995)

There isn’t room anywhere to give Chris Farley enough praise. The restraints of a list just feel like a fat guy in a little coat. He was a genius of physical comedy, but also nailed the dramatic moments. And his rambunctious personality was a perfect complement to David Spade’s signature, deadpan humor. The two have flawless chemistry, as the protagonist sets out on a sales trip to rescue his family’s factory.

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Before Dan Aykroyd himself can buy it out, a simple yet clever ticking clock. This is a family comedy classic of the 90’s, with enough talent on screen to overcome its tropes.

Dumb And Dumber (1994)

While this Jim Carrey classic may not have dated so well, it too is driven by the cast. The protagonists are complete idiots, a conceit which could otherwise go very wrong. Stupidity for stupidity’s sake can be unbearable, and the redundancy could become tedious. Fortunately, the bizarre concepts are clever enough, and the titular duo are talented enough to carry the film. It moves quickly, with equally imaginative and quirky comedy, unapologetic in its tone. That sincerity will always speak to its target demographic, and particularly worked as a film of the 90’s.

Vacation (1983)

Harold Ramis—Egon himself—was also a brilliant creative. He deftly handles this classic John Hughes screenplay, which is very demanding with slick physical gags. Chevy Chase is the perfect lead for the iconic Griswold family. His protagonist is so determined to give his family a good time, it’s impossible not to root for them. Even when Chase himself becomes preoccupied with a flashy blonde, out on the road. The misadventures slyly escalate, which allows the audience to ease into the brazen humor. While the Griswolds’ Christmas may have elaborated and improved in some regards, this original remains addictive and iconic.

The Blues Brothers (1980)

This film is probably best remembered for its incredible soundtrack, and a glorious car chase. But especially in retrospect, it is absolutely astonishing that this film successfully expanded on an SNL sketch. Of course, the invaluable Belushi and Aykroyd were arguably more entertaining than many of the actual musical guests SNL has invited.

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That dancing alone was something else. Anyhow, the film adaptation wields very smart comedy, even with its physical humor. The music is infectious, and the performances will endure any test of time. The ease with which the protagonists ground each gag is almost unparalleled.

Midnight Run (1988)

This is probably one of the more underrated, or at least forgotten gems of comedy. The plot itself isn’t especially original, mainly a simple twist on the buddy cop formula. The protagonist is a bounty hunter, stuck with an ex-Mafia accountant. It’s another two opposites that sound like the setup for a sitcom. But it’s actually a great showcase for Robert De Niro’s surprising comedic ability. Before he took to parodying himself altogether, this movie simply allowed him to riff on his signature tough guy persona. Sure, most of the film’s jokes rely on direct punchlines, akin to many 80’s comedies. But even the coarse language of the film is cleverly used for comedic effect.

Once Upon A Time In Hollywood (2019)

With all of the press regarding Manson, it was truly a shock to discover the film was predominantly a road trip. The protagonists spend most of their time on the road, conversing as only Tarantino can provide. Despite a possibly mocking interpretation of Bruce Lee, the comedy actually sparks from beginning to end, and it is a fantasy, after all. Brad Pitt’s impossible stuntman is hilarious, as is his palpable friendship with DiCaprio’s has-been protagonist. It’s a divisive film, even among Tarantino’s fans, for its length, indulgence and style.

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But as road trip movies go, it’s undeniably effective with its appealing, laid back spirit.

Zombieland (2009)

The Walking Dead  will soon get its own movie series —based on the TV series, which is based on the comics. Before such an abundance of zombie-related entertainment, Zombieland parodied the genre while perfectly celebrating it. The gore and horror are legitimately effective, despite the consistent laughs. This movie simply works on all facets—as a zombie movie, a comedy, and a road trip about family. The cast has such copious chemistry, they got away with a fun sequel that basically revisited all the same beats. The neurotic protagonist is a surprisingly ideal survivor of the apocalypse, and his romance is unexpectedly sincere. In fact, the characters are all equally plausible, even when they’re larger than life.

Planes, Trains & Automobiles (1987)

Steve Martin and John Candy both lean in to their signature roles. The latter is equally annoying and endearing, while Martin’s family man has a very sympathetic plight. This may be one of the most honest films about the holidays. The struggle home results in a heartwarming, hard-earned friendship, and the dramatic twist is deeply affecting, if not predictable. The comedy of errors doesn’t become tiresome because of sheer ingenuity and talent, a benchmark for everything on this list. But regarding comedy itself, there are few things more amusing than a hopelessly unlucky, endlessly patient protagonist with a noble goal. It makes the holidays seem just a tad less hectic for the rest of us, sincere even when it occasionally entertains a cartoonish tone.

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27 Road Trip Movies Every Traveler Needs To Watch

The road is one of the most enduring images in film history because it can be used for so many different purposes. It can mean the freedom of adventure, or adventure's inevitable dead-end. Road trips can result in meeting interesting new characters, or they can be the worst kind of isolation or even the worst kind of forced bonding. Filmmakers from all over the world are continually drawn to the road movie and specifically the road trip movie, where a simple car or bus ride can become something much more meaningful. It offers plenty of opportunity for unexpected change, and it often does so in front of beautiful, overwhelming landscapes. They'll never stop making movies about road trips because people will never stop taking them, always wanting to see the sights and maybe become a little wiser in the process.

The 27 films in this list all take their own approaches to portraying the road trip cinematically, emphasizing its best and worst tendencies and playing them for both comedy and drama. But even the worst trips taken here offer something to appreciate, sometimes deep thought about the meaning of the road and sometimes a laugh at the expense of the poor fools stuck in the car.

1. Easy Rider

One of the most iconic road trips in cinematic history was taken by Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper in Hopper's 1969 classic "Easy Rider." The legendary image of Fonda and Hopper riding their motorcycles while Steppenwolf's "Born To Be Wild" plays remains people's main association with "Easy Rider." But the movie itself is more complicated than just the thrill of riding down wide-open roads. The tagline tells of a man who went looking for America and "couldn't find it anywhere," and that's a good summation of the cynical eye this takes toward the country it explores.

Fonda and Hopper encounter some friendly people in their travels, most famously Jack Nicholson in his breakout role as a drunken lawyer. They encounter just as much resistance as they do support, from people with no tolerance for their countercultural attitudes and long hair. In one scene, Nicholson tells Hopper that people are scared of him because "what you represent to them is freedom," and the film's bleak ending offers little hope that freedom can be maintained in the face of such strong opposition. But the power of the film's images of freedom and joy is still enough to keep this as one of the beloved road movies.

2. Lost in America

Despite its cynicism, "Easy Rider" inspired many Americans to go out on the road themselves, even ones who couldn't be further away from Fonda and Hopper's biker lifestyle. This is the subject of writer, director, and actor Albert Brooks's 1985 film "Lost in America," in which a middle-class yuppie couple (Brooks and Julie Hagerty) hits the road and quickly realizes they can't handle it. By the end of the trip, they've destroyed their lives and their savings, and they've rid themselves of any romantic notions about traveling America without a plan.

Brooks' directorial work is defined by bitterness and discomfort as much as by laughs, and "Lost in America" can be particularly caustic. Brooks and Hagerty sink to some miserable depths during the course of their trip, reduced to begging for the money they just lost gambling or treating each other with naked hostility. A trip to the Hoover Dam doesn't offer scenery, instead serving as a backdrop to the couple's most vicious fight. "Lost in America" is a satire of the waste and excess of the American '80s, but it's also a reminder to make sure you've carefully thought through your road trip before you embark on one. Some people aren't ready for the road, and Brooks and Hagerty learn that too late.

3. The Color Wheel

Getting stuck with someone annoying on a long road trip can be a miserable experience, so spending the entirety of the 2011 comedy "The Color Wheel" with two annoying people on a road trip can make it a tough sell. But the film's writer-director, Alex Ross Perry, has an uncommon talent for writing people who only seem to be awful and irritating so that they're both funnier and more tragic than they would be in real life. That skill serves him especially well for the two leads of "The Color Wheel," an obnoxious brother and sister (played by Perry and Carlen Altman) whose road trip through New England leads them to meet strangers and old friends who are all even more awful than they are. The scenery offers little comfort when every scene becomes a passive-aggressive argument.

"The Color Wheel" is above all else a comedy, happy to laugh at its main characters for their abysmal social skills and undisguised contempt for each other and everyone around them. But as the trip goes on and they keep meeting hostile exes and classmates, their situation starts to seem a little sad, like they've been molded into hateful jerks by the whole world around them. Their final attempt to escape the cycle of anger and venom is shocking, but it's also unexpectedly tender, because Perry respects his characters even as they embarrass themselves.

Even the awful road trip of "The Color Wheel" can't compare to the nightmare trip taken by the title character of "Zola," and hers really happened. "Zola" was adapted from the famous Twitter thread detailing a disastrous trip to Florida taken by a part-time stripper (Taylour Paige) and a woman she just met (Riley Keough). There's not much time to enjoy Florida on this trip, the scenery consists of strip malls and different men's hotel rooms, and the business Zola has been dragged into quickly spirals into exploitation and violence.

"Zola" is about very bad events in a woman's life, but like the Twitter thread, it believes those events to be hilarious above anything else. The band of fools Zola winds up with can seem dangerous, particularly Colman Domingo's ambiguously accented pimp, but mostly they're all bluster and no brains. When they encounter people who are actually dangerous, they escape by the skin of their teeth. There's tension but never fear in "Zola," and that helps to make it a wonderful comedy even once the blood starts getting shed.

5. American Honey

"Zola" isn't the only movie where Riley Keough is a uniquely awful road trip presence. There's also the 2016 drama "American Honey", where Keough enlists a young girl played by Sasha Lane into a crew of door-to-door magazine salespeople. They travel blissfully across the Midwest, and Lane falls in love with a member of the crew, played by Shia LaBeouf. But their peaceful, off-the-grid existence is threatened by Keough and the precarity of their jobs.

A common thread across many of the great American road movies is that they're not directed by Americans, with international directors often looking at American landscapes in a different way than their American counterparts who've grown up with them. English director Andrea Arnold joins that group of directors with how she films America here, pushing the colors of the landscapes to such extremes that the emotions associated with them are also heightened, whether they be romance or danger. Her beautiful imagery is accentuated by her pulsing soundtrack, which switches between big-name pop hits and obscurities that perfectly match the mood of youthful excitement and negligence that defines "American Honey."

6. Stranger Than Paradise

While road trips can be fun and exciting, they can also be tedious, especially when there's not much scenery to look at. Writer-director Jim Jarmusch expertly captured the boredom of a bad road trip in his 1984 breakthrough "Stranger Than Paradise," in which the three leads take off in search of new experiences and don't find them anywhere they look.

Two of the leads are Hungarian émigrés hoping to find more from America than they did from their home. But the America portrayed in "Stranger Than Paradise" is just the most unremarkable areas of New York, Ohio, and Florida, presented so that the camera is just as unimpressed by them as the characters are. And only the most monotonous aspects of the road trip are shown, like driving through the endless expanse of Pennsylvania or arguing about who has to sleep on the cot when they get to a motel. Despite its tedium, "Stranger Than Paradise" is a very funny study of how the myths of the road can collapse in the face of the realities of going out on the road.

7. Badlands

Not all road trips start from good intentions. The one undertaken by Kit (Martin Sheen) and Holly (Sissy Spacek) in 1973's Bonnie and Clyde story "Badlands" starts after Kit murders Holly's father and burns down their house. That's where the journey begins, and eventually Kit is responsible for much more than one murder. But there's still an innocence to young Kit and Holly's trip, where they create their own society out in the wilderness and encounter all kinds of gorgeous nature. "Badlands," writes Sheila O'Malley for Criterion , is based on the 1958 murder spree of Charles Starkweather and Caril Ann Fugate, but its power doesn't come from its killings so much as its troubling naivete, where the blinkered teenage attitudes of its protagonists and the pastoral beauty of their surroundings say nothing about the horrible violence occurring right in front of them.

"Badlands" was the debut of writer-director Terrence Malick, who would go on to develop a reputation for his eye for natural landscapes. That's present even this early, shooting trees and sunsets so that they appear magical more than natural. But that magic here comes with a terrible price, and Malick seems as disturbed by nature's non-reaction to the evil committed all around it as he is entranced by its power.

8. My Blueberry Nights

Wong Kar-wai has directed some of the most beloved films of all time in his native Hong Kong, but to date, he's only made one movie in the United States. That was 2007's "My Blueberry Nights," which explores the unique geography of America through a road trip starting in New York and ending in Las Vegas. Wong is renowned for his intensely stylized movies, and "My Blueberry Nights" is no exception. Wong's America is beautiful in a way it isn't in real life — only Wong's oversaturated colors and beautiful golden light could make it look this gorgeous. In this way, Wong captures the feeling of a great road trip, of falling in love with every location you pass. And Wong ties all these stunning locales to his usual themes of heartbreak and melancholy, showing beautiful places inhabited by sad, lonely people.

"My Blueberry Nights" is held back from the levels of Wong's best movies by a weak script and inconsistent performances. Otherwise talented actors like Natalie Portman and Rachel Weisz go over the top, while even strong performances from Jude Law and David Strathairn have to go against the bland lead performance from singer and first-time actor Norah Jones. But such flaws don't matter too much in light of how enchanting Wong's vision of the world is. This is the kind of movie that makes people want to keep taking road trips.

9. Alice in the Cities

Few directors are as synonymous with the road and road movies as Wim Wenders, the German director who's made several of the best-loved movies about the road ever made. His most overt takes on the road genre are the three movies that make up his "Road Trilogy," starting with "Alice in the Cities" in 1974. "Alice in the Cities" concerns German writer Philip (Rüdiger Vogler), who follows a disappointing assignment by meeting a woman (Lisa Kreuzer) and her young daughter Alice (Yella Rottländer), then agreeing to go on a trip through Amsterdam. Their trip is marked by complications, boredom, and a lot of music, including a Chuck Berry concert and a jukebox playing Canned Heat. And all the while, Philip and Alice begin to develop a friendship.

"Alice in the Cities" is one of the most lasting Wenders movies, inspiring the work of filmmakers like Allison Anders and Mike Mills, particularly Mills' own adult-and-child road movie "C'mon C'mon." "Alice in the Cities" holds special power for its tale of unexpected companionship, where the road has the magic to bring together people who never would have even met under different circumstances. Even when the sights aren't exciting, getting to experience those sights with someone new can be a rewarding experience.

10. Magic Mike XXL

The success of the male-stripper comedy "Magic Mike" left star Channing Tatum and writer Reid Carolin with the duty of following up a movie that seemed to neatly wrap up at the end. Rather than repeat the first one's formula, Tatum and Carolin decided to go in another direction, turning 2015's "Magic Mike XXL" into an exuberant road trip movie about friends and the joy of performing. "Magic Mike" was an often melancholy movie about the recession, and while there are still economic worries all over "Magic Mike XXL," they mostly take a back seat to just enjoying the chance to escape from them for a few days.

The first film's director, Steven Soderbergh, didn't return to direct "Magic Mike XXL," but he did serve as its cinematographer, and he deserves special credit for how beautiful he makes the film's Southern locations look. Even an ordinary gas station comes to life with Soderbergh's golden light, to say nothing of the beaches and palatial estates Mike and his friends visit on their journey. The beauty of these locations also represents the simple beauty of hanging out with people you love, and this is where "Magic Mike XXL" separates itself from its predecessor. Mike's fellow strippers barely had personalities in the first one, but here they're best friends who love each other's company even as they razz each other. It's a unique pleasure to go on the road with such a tight-knit group.

11. Y tu mamá también

After making 2001's "Y tu mamá también," Alfonso Cuarón stuck to making large-scale spectacles and big-budget blockbusters. But in "Y tu mamá también," Cuarón applies his usual technical excellence to a simple story of a woman and two teenage boys going on a road trip. The Mexican landscapes they drive past are beautifully shot by future Oscar-winning cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki, and their conversations are profane and hilarious, especially as delivered by Diego Luna and Gael García Bernal in their breakthrough roles. But a serious side creeps into "Y tu mamá también" as it goes on, eventually taking it over entirely.

As the three take their trip, they pass by political strife and Mexican culture soon to die out entirely. The characters may only be passing through these areas, but there are people living in the areas whose lives will be very difficult long after the leads are gone. Despite its main characters' immaturity, this is a surprisingly thoughtful road trip movie, understanding that even the most pristine locales are burdened by troubling history. That also turns out to be true about the main characters' dynamics, where the teenage leads eventually realize the depths of sadness and desperation they and their traveling partner carry with them. But before they get to that point, they have a great time, and so does the viewer watching them.

12. My Own Private Idaho

Gus Van Sant's "My Own Private Idaho" opens with River Phoenix's character, Mikey Waters, saying that he's traveled so much down so many roads that he can recognize the roads just by sight. His life on the road is a beautiful but lonely one until he finds someone he can briefly share it with, a senator's son, Scott Favor ( Keanu Reeves ). Their journeys across deserted roads and rocky landscapes are sometimes silly but mostly poetic and sad, showing two young men as lost in the scenery as they are in their own lives.

Van Sant makes a lot of odd digressions in "My Own Private Idaho," including a sequence with talking erotic magazines and an entire plot loosely adapted from Shakespeare's "Henry IV" saga, writes Amy Taubin for Criterion . But the heart of the film is the relationship between Mikey and Scott, one where Mikey may be the only one of the two to realize how special and intimate it is. A heartbreaking scene at a campfire sees Mikey get tantalizingly close to professing his love to Scott and not quite doing so. While Mikey may have lived his life by the isolation of the road, he needs Scott to share that life with him, and the film offers little hope that this will happen.

13. The Straight Story

The films and TV of David Lynch are usually filled with the darkness and violence that lurk beneath the beautiful landscapes of America. But Lynch still loves those landscapes and the people who inhabit them, and never is that clearer than his only movie to get a G rating, 1999's "The Straight Story." He tells the story of a real-life road trip, where an elderly, almost blind farmer named Alvin Straight (Richard Farnsworth) drove a lawn mower from Iowa to Wisconsin to see his ailing brother (Harry Dean Stanton).

There's not much dialogue in "The Straight Story," especially for the long stretches where Alvin is on his own out on the road, but it's not necessary when Lynch is working with the wide-open expanses of the midwest. He finds magic in the crop dusters and near-empty roads Alvin encounters, setting the sights to a moving Angelo Badalamenti score and making them even more powerful. And when Alvin does meet other people, their encounters are simple and touching, showing the hard lessons Alvin has learned about family over the course of a long, difficult life.

Channing Tatum and Reid Carolin made their directorial debuts in February 2022 with "Dog," which followed the "Magic Mike XXL" model of a road trip encountering lesser-known sections of American life. "Dog" is a sadder movie than "Magic Mike XXL" because the trip's ultimate destination is a military funeral, and along the way, Tatum and his dog co-star must contend with the trauma they've suffered as soldiers. This makes the bond of friendship between Tatum and the dog even more important than it is in "Magic Mike XXL," as it provides both of them life-saving help when they need it the most.

The most impressive aspect of Tatum and Carolin's first directing job is how well they film the landscapes encountered over the course of the trip. They make them symbols of the beauty of everyday life without making them overly stylized. The duo learned well from Steven Soderbergh's visual excellence without merely copying it. While "Dog" has its faults, including some awkward comedy at the beginning and a too-brief attempt to deal with the racism instilled into Iraq War soldiers, the strength of Tatum and Carolin's filmmaking and storytelling suggests that they could have a good future as directors.

15. Kings of the Road

The third film in Wim Wenders' Road Trilogy, "Kings of the Road" is a three-hour opus combining two of Wenders' favorite subjects: the road and cinema. The two titular "kings" are a movie theater projector repairman (played by "Alice in the Cities" lead Rüdiger Vogler) and a depressed psychologist (Hanns Zischler), who band together on a road trip after the psychologist has experienced a life-shattering breakup. They drive across what was then the East German border, touring worn-down movie theaters so that Vogler can make repairs.

"Kings of the Road" offers even less of a plot than "Alice in the Cities" does, also offering one of the purest, simplest depictions of a road trip on film. There's no inevitable endpoint for the characters to reach, just a sprawling journey where they come to slightly better understand each other and themselves. It encompasses all the joy and melancholy of road trips in one package, people searching for more from life hoping that they'll find it behind the wheel.

16. Having a Wild Weekend

1965's "Having a Wild Weekend," also known as "Catch Us If You Can," is technically a vehicle for The Dave Clark Five, the British group that came into popularity at the same time as The Beatles . "Having a Wild Weekend" would seem to put the band in a comedy just like "A Hard Day's Night," but director John Boorman instead made a lovely, melancholy road movie, showing two people trying in vain to escape their confining lives back home.

Dave Clark plays a stuntman who takes off on a road trip with a model (Barbara Ferris) dissatisfied with her position as the face of ad campaigns for meat. On their journey, they encounter the youth who will soon become the counterculture and the old men still obsessed with the imagery of old Hollywood. Everywhere they go, Clark and Ferris are reminded of the culture they're trying to fight against, but they're powerless to stop it. The two have impressive chemistry together, but their relationship is a sad one, one that can only last the length of the road trip even though they're the only people who could possibly understand each other. Even once the remaining four Dave Clark Five members show up to do some slapstick, the tone is more elegiac than silly.

17. Wild at Heart

For a more representative David Lynch road trip movie, there's "Wild at Heart," which manages to be funny and romantic as well as frightening. Sailor and Lula, the giddy young couple played by Nicolas Cage and Laura Dern, hit the road only after Lula's mother has unsuccessfully tried to kill Sailor, and on their journey they'll deal with more killers and more victims. But their love may be strong enough to keep them safe every step of the way.

The giddy energy of "Wild at Heart" is unusual for Lynch movies, which usually have a more deadpan tone. Cage and Dern are balls of energy in this, engaging in grand romantic gestures and, in Cage's case, frequently falling into Elvis impersonations. The world around them has gone mad with rage and violence, the road bringing as many terrors as beauties, and they seem to have adapted to that madness by matching it. The title doesn't lie — these are two wild kids who will let nothing, not even a horrifying figure like Willem Dafoe's psychopathic Bobby Peru, stand in the way of their love. And for all the darkness of the rest of the movie, Lynch is still kind-hearted enough to give them a happy ending.

18. Two For the Road

All the good and bad feelings associated with going on the road are present in 1967's "Two for the Road," and they also represent the ups and downs of a marriage. The good and the bad are shuffled together in a nonlinear style, where pieces of the beginning, middle, and end of Audrey Hepburn and Albert Finney's characters' relationship are presented as a series of out-of-order road trips. There is some beautiful European scenery over the course of the trips, but the fractured editing means that the destinations of the trips are less important than the trips themselves, and how they function as both bonding exercises and sources of arguments.

The film's most hilarious section is when Hepburn and Finney commit the error of going on a road trip with another couple, an obnoxious American family that makes the two sure of the mistakes they don't want to make in their own relationship. But of course they end up making those mistakes, and by the end "Two for the Road" is a bittersweet movie about how difficult and tricky it is to stay close to someone, whether that means marrying them or staying with them on a long car ride.

19. Don't Come Knocking

Wim Wenders and playwright-actor Sam Shepard first collaborated on the 1984 road movie "Paris, Texas," one of the most acclaimed films in the genre. Their decades-later second collaboration was 2005's "Don't Come Knocking," another road movie that couldn't match the critical success of its predecessor. But "Don't Come Knocking" is a very good movie in its own right, finding a lot of power both in western vistas and the tragic figure passing in front of them.

Shepard wrote and stars in "Don't Come Knocking," playing a washed-up Western star who ditches the set of his new movie in favor of driving to Nevada and then Montana, where both cheap thrills and old family await him. As with Wenders' other films, he makes the western settings of "Don't Come Knocking" look incredibly beautiful, shooting casinos, small-town squares, and vast deserts with the same level of vibrant color and light. And it also shares with Wenders' other work a tremendous sadness, where Shepard has abandoned the people who need him most and has only realized this too late to do much of anything about it. This trip may not be able to redeem Shepard, but it can get him one step closer, and that's better than he's done yet.

20. Highway 61

Canadian director Bruce McDonald followed in Wim Wenders' footsteps and made his own trilogy of road movies through the 1980s and '90s. The middle film in the trilogy was 1991's "Highway 61," a joyous comedy about American rock 'n' roll. Highway 61 is the highway named in Bob Dylan's legendary "Highway 61 Revisited" album, and one of the two leads (Valerie Buhagiar) is a rock-obsessed drug dealer trying to smuggle a dead body from Canada to New Orleans. Her partner (Don McKellar) is a nervous, shy barber who prefers jazz. Their odd-couple dynamic is very charming, and it only gets more charming as the trip brings them closer together.

"Highway 61" is led not just by romance and scenic views of all of North America, but by a great soundtrack at every step of the journey, often from obscure local bands McDonald is kind enough to introduce to his audience. And there's also plenty of oddball humor, particularly with a character who may or may not be the devil (Earl Pastko) chasing the two leads. "Highway 61" doesn't have much of a reputation outside of its native Canada, but it's a blissful film that deserves more attention.

21. Get On the Bus

One of the least commonly filmed ways of going on a road trip is taking the bus, perhaps because getting stuck with many unfamiliar people is not the most romantic way to see the country. But Spike Lee found a lot of drama, comedy, and political relevance in a story of a bunch of guys trapped on the bus. That story is 1996's "Get On the Bus," following a group of Black men en route to the famed Million Man March. Lee believes that every one of those million men has their own story, and he fits as many of those stories as he can into one bus.

As usual with Lee, "Get On the Bus" has an impressive cast, including Ossie Davis, Charles S. Dutton, Andre Braugher, and Bernie Mac. The characters touch on social issues, including homophobia and the anti-Semitism of Million Man March leader Louis Farrakhan, but mostly they have frank and funny conversations that naturally reveal their prejudices and moral stances rather than shout them out. Lee didn't write "Get On the Bus" (that was Reggie Rock Bythewood), but it shares the perceptive dialogue and unexpected comedy of Lee's best screenplays, including his beloved "Do the Right Thing." "Get On the Bus" is a smaller movie than "Do the Right Thing," but its confined setting doesn't mean it's any less riveting.

22. Thelma & Louise

The road trip that runs through 1991's "Thelma & Louise" is most famous for where it ends, with Thelma and Louise's car in the middle of a jump off a cliff. But their journey shouldn't just be defined by its endpoint, as the entirety of "Thelma & Louise" is a rollicking ode to female friendship and the healing power of the road trip, showing it as a rare opportunity for two women to take their lives into their own hands.

A few things remain consistent throughout Thelma (Geena Davis) and Louise's (Susan Sarandon)'s road trip, namely the beauty of the southwest locations as shot by director Ridley Scott and the appalling behavior of the men both women meet along the way. "Thelma & Louise" is today best-known as the breakthrough film for breakout film for Brad Pitt , but he's only one of the film's parade of awful, often violent men, including the rapist who begins the journey in the first place. With such overpowering adversity, it's no wonder Thelma and Louise are so tight-knit — they must make their bond as strong as the forces united against them. And their bond can sustain even the steepest fall from a cliff.

23. Little Miss Sunshine

"Little Miss Sunshine" was the sensation of the 2006 Sundance Film Festival (per IndieWire ), its story of a dysfunctional family trapped in a Volkswagen van on the way to a child beauty pageant in California proving irresistible to both critics and audiences. The famous images of the film, like the family chasing after the bright yellow Volkswagen, suggest the kind of quirky, Wes Anderson-inspired comedy that was all the rage in the 2000s. But like actual Wes Anderson movies , "Little Miss Sunshine" deals with real pain and hurt, trapping several very fragile people in a small space where they might all combust.

It's helped by having such a sturdy cast playing those fragile people, including Steve Carell in one of his first dramatic performances, a silent Paul Dano, an Oscar-winning Alan Arkin, and most of all an Oscar-nominated Abigail Breslin as the girl all this trouble is in service of. The movie might have collapsed into road-movie cliches without a strong presence anchoring it, and Breslin, then 10 years old, proves more than capable of being that presence.

24. Two-Lane Blacktop

The most existential of all road movies might be 1971's "Two-Lane Blacktop," where driving is the only way of life for its main characters. But they aren't driving with any destination in mind; they're driving because it's the one thing they know how to do. Car culture was a big part of the '60s and '70s, and "Two-Lane Blacktop" has a supporting part for Dennis Wilson, whose work with the Beach Boys helped to cement cars as the ultimate symbol of cool and independence. But it's not all fun for the characters of "Two-Lane Blacktop," with the emptiness of the road ahead of them also representing the emptiness of their own obsessions and personalities.

Shot on the famed Route 66, with minimal dialogue to distract from the scenery, "Two-Lane Blacktop" is not short on great shots of cars in motion. But "Two-Lane Blacktop" also decries the hollowness of making cars the centerpiece of one's life, showing that a lifestyle based solely on speed and appearance cannot be sustained. The film's most famous line is "Those satisfactions are permanent," but the pleasures prove to be a very impermanent, fleeting bliss that doesn't disguise much deeper troubles.

25. The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert

In addition to being one of the great road trip movies, "The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert" was also a breakout LGBTQ film when it was released in 1994, offering such a sunny view of its group of drag queens that it would be pointless to resist. The next year, America was already attempting its own "Priscilla" with the fellow drag-queen road movie "To Wong Foo, Thanks For Everything! Julie Newmar," but it couldn't compete with the original, particularly regarding the gorgeous vistas passed by the central trio. The stunning deserts of the Australian Outback prove to be an ideal setting for a story with outrageous outfits and colors, offering a plain brown backdrop on top of which every outfit and character pops out.

Not that the characters need any help standing out, especially when they're brought to life with such exuberance and talent. Only Terence Stamp, playing the transgender matriarch of the group, was an internationally known actor at the time of the release of "Priscilla." But the film also catapulted its other two leads, Hugo Weaving and Guy Pearce, to their stardom. Even as all three actors are now almost three decades out from "Priscilla," it remains one of their crowning achievements, as well as one of the most infectiously cheerful road movies yet made.

26. Pee-Wee's Big Adventure

One of the goofiest, most enjoyable road trips ever taken on film was the one taken by Pee-Wee Herman (Paul Reubens) as he searched for his lost bike in Tim Burton's feature directorial debut "Pee-Wee's Big Adventure." Pee-Wee would later become famous for his television show, where he created his own wacky universe, but in "Pee-Wee's Big Adventure," he travels through the real America and finds that it's just as silly as he is. Whether visiting dive bars, Hollywood backlots, or even The Alamo, he bends every place he visits to his own indescribable wavelength.

Burton has made flashier, more expensive movies since "Pee-Wee's Big Adventure," but he's rarely made anything better. His work becomes so defined by production design and special effects after this that it's a shock to see him working mostly with real locations, making the natural world ridiculous rather than creating ridiculous worlds from scratch. And the road movie proves an ideal match for his love of middle-American eccentricity, where every new character Pee-Wee meets on his travels is an oddball in their own way. This remains Burton's funniest and sweetest movie, free of the bitter edge that distinguishes many Burton movies and instead celebrating the goofiness of life.

27. Something Wild

Jonathan Demme's "Something Wild" takes a sharp turn around its midpoint, turning from a joyous road comedy to something scarier and more intense. But all of "Something Wild" is united by Demme's love of the road and of the people you can meet along the way. Sometimes those people can change your life, like how Melanie Griffith's free-spirited Lulu gets Jeff Daniels' yuppie businessman Charlie to admit that he has a wilder side than he presents to the world. And other times they can threaten that life, like Ray Liotta as Lulu's malevolent ex-husband, Ray, who resolves to force Charlie out of Lulu's life and win her back.

Even as "Something Wild" gets dark, Demme still finds something magical in every location visited, and often in places that seem perfectly ordinary. A friendly convenience-store employee, a dog on the back of a motorcycle, and a waitress singing outside of a New York greasy spoon — these details all come to vibrant life in front of Demme's camera. Few people have taken a road trip involving this many wacky, endearing characters, but the world as Demme portrays is a better, brighter place than it is in real life. It's a joy to experience a road trip in this world, even if only for two hours.

Best Road Trip Movies, Ranked

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Yearning for the open road? Look no further! Hollywood is no stranger to producing entertaining road trip movies that feature iconic cross-country adventures. While some audiences just can’t seem to get enough of this comedy staple, others flock to theaters for films that take a more heartfelt approach to the genre, utilizing the road trip as a way to express maturation, character development, and coming-of-age themes. Sometimes it's nice to live vicariously through the lives of these big-screen characters. With such an impressive list of beloved classics to choose from, determining the greatest among these films is difficult.

Updated May 18th, 2023: If you're a fan of the open road, you'll be glad to know this article was recently updated with new content by fellow travel enthusiast Amanda Minchin .

So whether you're yearning for some comedic relief from life's difficulties or are just wanting to see the world from a new perspective, these films, with their array of hijinks and chaos, will prove entertaining for audiences of all ages. Instead of needing to hop in the car, sit down, grab the remote, and explore the open road from the comfort of your home. Here is our deep dive into the best road trip movies throughout cinema history.

13 Dumb and Dumber

The iconic buddy-comedy Dumb and Dumber stars Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels as two dimwitted yet well-meaning friends who set off on a cross-country road trip from Providence, Rhode Island, to Aspen, Colorado, in order to return a briefcase full of money.

Related: Why Dumb and Dumber Is a Perfect Road Trip Movie

The charm of this film lies in the delightful ignorance of Lloyd and Harry, whose personas simply don’t allow for a light bulb moment. They have absolutely no desire to either learn or grow during their hilariously harrowing journey and, as a result, they ultimately go off on many a zany adventure without learning all that much. Dumb and Dumber found great success at the box office upon its release, becoming one of the most iconic of 1994 .

12 Y Tu Mamá También

Y Tu Mamá También is the coming-of-age tale of two teenage boys who set out on a road trip with an older woman in her late twenties. This Alfonso Cuaron road movie features a talented cast, including Diego Luna, Gael García Bernal, and Maribel Verdú, who shine against the backdrop of Mexico’s economic and political realities in 1999.

This intimate and tender story is also an exploration of sexuality and maturity. The young men's journey leads to self-discovery and a loss of innocence amidst the stunning road trip setting. The film uses travel and journey as a metaphor. As a result, audiences are able to witness the transformation of the leads from adolescence to adulthood in a fresh and authentic way.

11 Easy Rider

Easy Rider is arguably one of the most important road trip movies in cinema history. This film, which received critical praise upon its release, is credited with helping to spark the New Hollywood era of the 1970s. This 1969 independent road drama tells the story of two bikers who embark on a journey through the American South and Southwest, transporting the proceeds of a cocaine deal.

The film stars Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper as the lead bikers, alongside the memorable performance of Jack Nicholson as the boozy lawyer they pick up along the way. This classic flick focuses heavily on the journey, not the destination, as the free-spirited bikers get a harsh dose of reality during their travels across the country.

10 It Happened One Night

It Happened One Night is an infamous screwball comedy , and with good reason. Widely considered the first, it soon became the roadmap for others to follow after its release in the early 30s. The movie also arguably launched the careers of stars Claudette Colbert and Clark Gable. In the film, Colbert played an heiress on the run back to her true love. Gable, meanwhile, played the intrepid reporter following shortly behind. They travel from Florida to New York in increasingly jerry-rigged modes of transportation and, of course, wind up falling in love in the process.

At the time, a movie about an unmarried couple traveling together was sure to ruffle a few feathers. Considered a Pre-Code film (though the Hays Code was in effect, it was not officially enforced for all pictures until shortly thereafter), this movie managed to skirt the censors by covering any sense of impropriety with snappy dialogue, cheeky humor, and endless innuendo... thus creating the screwball comedy in the process. For example, Frank Capra and crew got around the pair sharing a room together during their travels by dividing said room with a bedsheet that the characters literally nickname “The Walls of Jericho.” Any source of seduction was at most a suggestion, as demonstrated by Colbert’s last-ditch use of her *gasp* bare leg to hail a passing car, though that too was considered rather scandalous in passing.

The touching and deeply endearing 1988 classic Rain Man tells the story of conceited jerk Charlie Babbitt who, upon his wealthy father’s death, discovers the inheritance has been left to his unknown autistic-savant brother Raymond. Tom Cruise and Dustin Hoffman deliver powerful performances as Charlie and Raymond, for which the latter earned an Academy Award.

As the brothers travel from Cincinnati to Los Angeles, Charlie witnesses the restrictions of Raymond’s condition and, in turn, gains a new perspective on life. The film’s unique premise and the chemistry between Cruise and Hoffman as they travel the country, make this a road trip staple.

8 Little Miss Sunshine

Oscar-winning dramedy Little Miss Sunshine features an all-star cast (including Steve Carell, Greg Kinnear, Toni Collette, and Abigail Breslin). It tells the story of a barely-functional family who are determined to get their daughter to the finals of a beauty pageant. Setting off in their VW bus (which requires a rolling start), the Hoover clan soon embark on an 800-mile road trip to California. Their goal of reaching the beauty pageant is what ultimately brings the family together.

The script for this film is both funny and heartfelt, and Michael Arndt received the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay for his effort. The colorful characters add depth and humor to the plot, which is tied up nicely by the end. Little Miss Sunshine was one of those indie films from the 2000s that broke out with mainstream audiences, and part of that is it perfectly captures what it is like to be stuck with one's family for a long road trip.

7 Into the Wild

This film is for those whose wanderlust leads them to less tread pastures. Based on the book by Jon Krakauer, Into The Wild tells the true story of an Emory college graduate and athlete who renounces his family fortune and sets off on a hitchhiking adventure that leads him deep into the Alaskan wilderness. Written, directed, and produced by Sean Penn, the film version stars Emile Hirsch as Chris McCandless, a.k.a. Alexander Supertramp.

Upon its release, the film was nominated for many awards, including Golden Globes and Academy Awards. It was soon added to many of the top lists that year. The abandoned bus that housed the final days of the real-life McCandless even became a pilgrimage site for fans until it had to be airlifted to a safer location. Those wanting to dive into a smaller, safer venture should carve out the 2 ½ hours for this film.

6 Almost Famous

The critically acclaimed Cameron Crowe dramedy Almost Famous is the ultimate coming-of-age film with an ensemble cast of Hollywood heavy hitters like Billy Crudup, Kate Hudson, Frances McDormand, and Jason Lee. The movie is loosely based on Crowe's own experience as a writer for Rolling Stone magazine.

Almost Famous tells the story of a young 1970s Rolling Stone journalist William Miller and his epic journey of self-discovery as he travels with the fictitious rock band Stillwater. As he follows them across the country, William experiences the highs and lows of adolescence: falling in love, being rejected, making friends, and ultimately accepting himself. The movie received critical acclaim and numerous accolades and is included in many lists of the greatest films ever made.

5 Thelma and Louise

Arguably the ultimate female buddy movie , 1991’s Thelma and Louise tells the unforgettable tale of two best friends who take off for the open road after a tragic event forces them to flee for greener pastures. Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon star as the ride-or-die duo who zip across the country in Thelma’s 1966 Ford Thunderbird.

Related: How Thelma and Louise Is a Queer Allegory

The iconic friendship of the film's titular leads, impressively performed by Davis and Sarandon, firmly cements it as a landmark feminist film. The movie also features a young Brad Pitt in one of his first major roles as a drifter who catches Thelma's eye. The iconic ending of Thelma and Louise remains one of the greatest in Hollywood history to this day.

4 The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert

The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert quickly cemented Australia’s cultural status as a producer of quirky, independent cinema when it was first released in 1994. What could have ended as a dumpster fire of epic proportions was instead a surprisingly tender and thoughtful road movie. Featuring a soundtrack of campy classics bolstered by supreme performances from Terence Stamp, Hugo Weaving, and Guy Pearce, the plot follows two drag queens and one transgender woman as they go on tour in Australia.

While the movie arguably may have been even better having an actual trans woman or drag culture enthusiast cast, the trio sure put on one hell of a show as they traverse the literal Outback in sequins, beads, and platform heels. The film, which was written and directed by Stephan Elliott, would later be adapted into a musical. The play premiered in Sydney in 2006 before touring throughout the country. It would eventually be welcomed onto the Broadway stage a few years later in 2011.

3 The Blues Brothers

Beloved Saturday Night Live alums John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd reprised their sketch characters for the silver screen as “Joliet” Jake Blues and blood brother Elwood in 1980s The Blues Brothers . The pair are hilarious as sleazy musicians who make it their mission to save the orphanage they were raised in from foreclosure.

The classic comedy focuses on Jake and Elwood as they reunite their R&B band and travel around Chicago in their “bluesmobile,” playing music for money. With exciting car chases, comical shootouts, and unforgettable musical numbers, The Blues Brothers remains an iconic classic of road-trip cinema.

2 National Lampoon’s Vacation (1983)

This film kick-started a beloved comedy franchise that continues to this day. 1983’s National Lampoon’s Vacation focuses on the Griswold family as their patriarch leads them on a cross-country trip to an amusement park... Naturally, chaos and hilarity arise. The ultimate success of this movie led to a barrage of sequels.

Starring Saturday Night Live alum Chevy Chase as Clark Griswold, Vacation also features the talents of Beverly D’Angelo, Anthony Michael Hall, and Dana Barron as his wife and less-than-adoring children. Chase is brilliant as the comical and determined Clark. This outrageous farce depicts the reality of a family on vacation. None of them are perfect, and all of them are full of endearing dysfunction as they try and fail to have a good time.

1 Planes, Trains and Automobiles

Comedy legends Steve Martin and John Candy partnered up with famed director John Hughes for 1987’s Planes, Trains and Automobiles . Martin starred as uptight Neal Page, while Candy portrayed the overbearing but kind-hearted Del Griffith. Stuck together, the pair join forces in an effort to get Neal home to Chicago in time for his family's Thanksgiving dinner. Because of this, it has since become a Thanksgiving classic.

The chemistry between the two leads in this film is as effortless as it is hilarious. This movie features plenty of sidesplitting situations while also being surprisingly emotional at times. Planes, Trains and Automobiles is a heartfelt flick that utilizes its comedic talent to the fullest. Planes, Trains and Automobiles is a comedic masterpiece that has endured for decades.

• Movie Lists

13 Best Road Trip Movies on Netflix (July 2024)

Road trip movies often send out a deeper message than just going from point A to B. They depict the transformations of those who embark on them and also immensely stress the value of the journey, which is a lot more than the final destination. We understand the value of road trips for you. We also understand that, at times, a little push is needed to get the courage to leave behind everything for a while and go on one. However, there are also road trip movies that incorporate a different genre, like thriller or action or action thriller. In such movies, the plot is underscored by the trip, but that doesn’t dampen the theme and the emotions of the story, which is what the following movies capture.

13. Bad Trip (2021)

‘Bad Trip’ is a hilarious comedy road movie that will surely have you falling out of your chair in laughter. Chris Carey (Eric André) and Bud Malone (Lil Rel Howery) are two friends who are completely dissatisfied with the direction their lives have taken. Stuck at dead-end jobs with no progress or promotion, the two yearn for even the slightest bit of excitement. However, when Chris unexpectedly comes across his high-school crush, Maria Li, the friends decide to set out on a road trip from Florida to New York City so that Chris can win her over. Thus, the friends then steal a car and set out on a trip that ensues one hilarious incident after the other, while unbeknownst to them, Bud’s sister, the actual owner of the car, appears hot on their trail. You can check out the film here .

12. End of the Road (2022)

Directed by Millicent Shelton, ‘ End of the Road ’ is a sinister take on a road trip movie. Starring Queen Latifah and Ludacris, it tells the story of Brenda, her two kids, and her brother Reggie, whose cross-country road trip across the New Mexico desert to a new place for a new job (after losing her old one) and a new life, goes haywire. A halt on the way makes them witnesses to a murder, following which the killer puts them in his crosshair. Moreover, Reggie takes something from the crime scene that belongs to the killer, something that is a huge mistake, and Brenda knows it. How she and her family get rid of this maniac is what follows in this high-octane road trip thriller. You can stream the movie here .

11. Dumb and Dumber (1994)

A gift from mankind to mankind, ‘Dumb and Dumber’ stars Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels as the dimwitted duo, Lloyd Christmas and Harry Dunne. Lloyd is a limousine driver, and when he finds that his latest passenger, the woman he is smitten by, Mary Swanson (Lauren Holly), has left her suitcase at the terminal before leaving for Aspen, he decides to travel to Aspen and give it back to her. In his endeavor, he manages to convince Harry to join him, and they both set off on the road trip in Harry’s van. Their experiences and exploits along the way, involving cops and thugs, underscored by the chemistry of the two comedic legends and their comic timing, make ‘Dumb and Dumber’ one of the best road trip movies ever. You can watch it here .

10. Kodachrome (2017)

Matt, played by Jason Sudeikis, is often overshadowed by his father’s reputation as a famous photojournalist. Upon finding that he has cancer, Matt’s father’s last wish is to go on a road trip with his son from New York to Kansas to get his last few Kodachromes developed before it’s too late and the memories get lost in unprocessed films. The movie will bring back some pleasant memories to those who once used Kodachromes for taking pictures with Kodak cameras before the company went bankrupt and shut down completely. The film is very predictable overall, but that’s how most road-trip feel-good kind of movies are, right? We do not watch them for a predictable storyline. We watch them for the whole positive vibe that the movie gives out to touch us and, at times, even inspire us deeply. You may watch the film here .

Read More: Best Space Movies on Netflix

9. The Fundamentals of Caring (2016)

Put the Antman star, Paul Rudd , in any film, and he’ll surely give you a great performance and some hilarious jokes to remember. ‘The Fundamentals of Caring’ is one such film where Paul Rudd plays the role of a writer who has recently experienced the loss of a loved one. To recover from that, he decides to become a caregiver. This is when he meets an angry and frustrated teenager who has never left his home because of his disability. During the journey, the two get close and get a deeper understanding of friendship and aspiration. This movie is a pure entertainer when you’re in a feel-good kind of mood and will make you laugh and cry at the same time. You can watch it here .

Read More: Most Disturbing Movies on Netflix

8. Seventeen (2019)

‘Seventeen,’ also known as ‘Diecisiete’ in Spanish , follows Hector, a spirited and lively 17-year-old who has been confined to a juvenile detention center for two years. While most believe that Hector is a spoilt teen with no regard for rules, he does have a kind heart and even befriends a dog named Oveja while on a visit to an animal rescue center. Hector appears intent on working towards his freedom and becoming a better person. However, things go haywire once Oveja goes missing, and Hector, fraught with concern, breaks out of prison to search for the missing dog. Surprisingly, the 17-year-old’s loved ones support such a venture, and Hector, along with his brother, Isamel, and their grandmother, soon embarks on a road trip through the Spanish region of Cantabria. You can stream ‘Seventeen’ here .

7. The Trader (2018)

As the title suggests, ‘The Trader’ (Georgian: ‘Sovdagari’) is a documentary that follows a poor traveling trader living in poverty and selling his wares in the rural Republic of Georgia. His travels take him to remote corners of the country and provide an authentic sneak peek into the daily lives of the people from that part of the region. The documentary even portrays previously unheard practices like using potatoes as the only unit of currency. For fans who are curious to know more about different cultures and people from around the globe, ‘The Trader’ will surely be an eye-opening experience. You can stream the film here .

6. Expedition Happiness (2017)

Travel documentaries are a joy to sit through, and ‘Expedition Happiness’ satisfies every craving in that regard as it follows filmmaker Felix Starck and his then-girlfriend Selima Taibi on a road trip across North America. Felix and Selima originally hail from Berlin, Germany , but soon grew tired of the big city with its highrises, noisy traffic, and congestion. Thus, longing for fresh air, a change in scenery, and new experiences, the pair obtain and refurbish a school bus before setting out on an epic road trip across North America along with their dog. Filmed by the pair themselves, ‘Expedition Happiness’ provides a fresh take on North America and can easily be considered a must-watch. You may watch it here .

5. Dhak Dhak (2023)

A Bollywood drama directed by Tarun Dudeja, ‘Dhak Dhak’ brings together four women from different social lifestyles and age groups. Together, they set off on a bike trip to Ladakh, India, a place that is considered the highest mountain pass in the world and can be reached by vehicle. The journey also becomes a spiritual one as each experience brings about new realizations, thereby adding to the meaning of life and what it means to be free. The film stars Dia Mirza, Ratna Pathak Shah, Fatima Sana Shaikh, and Sanjana Sanghi. You can watch it here .

4. 4L (2019)

‘4L,’ known popularly as ‘4 latas’ in Spanish, revolves around Tocho, an alcoholic with bad manners, and Jean Pierre, a past womanizer who still reminisces about his glory days. The film opens with Tocho reading a letter that informs him about his old friend, Joseba, who is seemingly on his deathbed in Timbuktu. The letter makes Tocho realize what he has lost, and soon, he makes up his mind to meet his friend before his death. On top of it, the two also plan on taking Joseba’s estranged daughter, Ely, to her father. Interestingly, apart from agreeing to the trip at a moment’s notice, Ely even provides the men with an old 1982 Renault, the same car the three friends had once used to cross the desert. Thus, they embark on a massive road trip from Paris to Timbuktu while being surrounded by fond memories. Moreover, even though the experiences they have on the road change their outlook on life, the film ultimately teaches us the value of friendship, family, and love. You can watch ‘4L’ here .

3. Qarib Qarib Single (2017)

A Hindi-language Bollywood feel-good rom-com directed by Tanuja Chandra, ‘Qarib Qarib Single’ stars Irrfan Khan and Parvathy Thiruvothu. When two strangers meet via an online dating platform, it’s usually a date that decides whether they will agree to go on further dates with each other. For Jaya (a 35-year-old widow) and Yogi (a not-that-famous poet), it is an adventure that decides it. After some humorous experiences, the two decide to go and visit Yogi’s three ex-girlfriends. Thus begins a memorable trip for our duo as well as for us. From Dehradun to Jaipur to Gangtok, the journey is full of humor, confusion, and humor-filled confusion and ends in a perfect manner. Stop guessing, as you can stream the film right here .

2. Paddleton (2019)

A road trip meets the trip of life in this comedy-drama directed by Alexandre Lehmann. It tells the story of two misfits/neighbors/best friends, Michael and Andy, between whom Michael is diagnosed with terminal cancer . With six months to live, Michael, accompanied by a reluctant Andy, set off on a 6-hour drive to the nearest pharmacy that has the required meds. Their experiences during the journey, which throw light on their friendship and the reality of life in general, make ‘Paddleton’ an enriching road trip movie. The cast includes Mark Duplass as Michael, Ray Romano as Andy, Kadeem Hardison, Christine Woods, Stephen Oyoung, Marguerite Moreau, and Alana Carithers. Feel free to check out the movie here .

1. Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara (2011)

Directed by Zoya Akhtar, ‘ Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara ’ is an Indian Hindi-language movie that tells the story of three friends who come together after a long time when one of them gets engaged. The bachelor trip that follows folds out into a buffet of experiences, both physically and emotionally, as the lives of all three begin to reveal themselves. Pain, regret, fear, mistakes, love, happiness, and insecurities take center stage and address the title of the movie, which translates to ‘Life never happens twice.’ The cast includes Farhan Akhtar , Hrithik Roshan , and Abhay Deol as the three friends, along with Katrina Kaif , Kalki Koechlin , Naseeruddin Shah , and Deepti Naval. You may watch the film here .

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8 Best 80s Road Trip Comedies You Want to Watch Before Heading On The Road

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Cruising the streets of the city on a warm day, stopping to see one of the seven wonders of the world, or spending a week with close friends may be the ideal way to spend the summer away. Most of the protagonists in movies would likely purchase a plane ticket to land at their desired destination, others vowed to pack their bags into a car and head on onto the road.

RELATED: 8 Movies Where You Can Actually Visit The Location Where It Was Filmed

Even if everything is packed, and the outline for the day's adventures is set, road trips can still have their set of surprises. Luckily the protagonists in the 80s movies didn't live through the same nightmares that Cheryl Strayed in The Wild (2014) and Aaron Ralston in 127 Hours (2010) did.

National Lampoon's Vacation (1983) -- Rated R

Clark Griswold ( Chevy Chase ) was on a mission to take his family to Wally World Amusement in California by driving across the country in a 1989 Ford station wagon from Illinois. Clark's wife, Ellen ( Beverly D'Angelo ), and their children, Rusty ( Anthony Michael Hall ) and Audrey ( Dana Barron ), insisted on flying there. Clark convinced them that the best way to travel is by car as a chance to be together as a family.

A wrong turn on the highway, a family visit in Kansas, and losing a card in Colorado might have made the Griswolds take a detour from their main route. However, this gave them a chance to view some iconic landmarks. Although National Lampoon's Vacation (1983) packs many comedic moments, it might not be family-friendly for all audiences . The movie is available on HBO Max.

National Lampoon's European Vacation (1985) -- Rated PG-13

The Griswold family went international after their vacation in Wally World. As answering the final question on a game show, the Griswold family won an all-paid expenses trip across Europe. After arriving in London, they rented a car and traveled across Paris, Germany, and Rome while learning about the people and arts of each country.

The Griswold's road trip through Europe wouldn't be complete if they didn't get trapped on the roundabout in England, mistake strangers in Germany as their relatives, and have thieves steal their videotapes in France. National Lampoon's European Vacation is currently available on HBO Max.

Pee-wee's Big Adventure (1985) -- Rated PG

What motivates people to travel? Sometimes it's the desire to visit new locations or visit a distant friend, other times it's simply to retrieve a prized possession. For Pee-Wee Herman ( Paul Reubens ), his motivation was to reclaim his red bike. Pee-Wee assumed it was his neighbor and enemy Francis Buxton ( Mark Holton ), but Francis claimed he didn't know what happened to the bike.

RELATED: 10 Funniest Comedies of the 1980s, Ranked

After Pee-Wee visited a fortune-teller who believed that the bike was in The Alamo in San Antonio, Texas, Pee-Wee departs for his recovery mission. Pee-Wee's personality and behavior as the boy who never grew up got him into some trouble with gangs throughout the film. Pee-wee's Big Adventure (1985) is available on YouTube.

Fandango (1985) -- Rated PG

Gardner Barnes ( Kevin Costner ), Kenneth Waggener ( Sam Robards ), Phil Hicks ( Judd Nelson ), Lester ( Brian Cesak ), and Dorman ( Chuck Bush ) were the five University of Texas graduates. They didn't have any clue as to what they wanted to do after graduation. With no plan for the future and no real plan for the road trip, the five of them drive down to the Rio Grande which lies on the border of Mexico and the United States.

Fandango (1985) celebrated the carefree moments of being young with nothing to lose. At the beginning of the film, one of the definitions of the word "fandango " defined it as a "foolish act." The five friends' uncalculated ideas and mishaps could be considered foolish, but their ideas also tie in worthy life lessons. Fandango is available on YouTube.

Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986) -- Rated PG-13

Sometimes a road trip doesn't mean long distances, sometimes it could mean taking a day to spend in a nearby city. At least that's what Ferris Bueller ( Matthew Broderick ) did in Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986). Rather than taking a European socialism exam on the last day before Spring Break during his senior year, Ferris decided to take a "sick day" from school. He convinced his friends Cameron ( Alan Ruck ) and Sloane Peterson ( Mia Sara ) to join him on this day, as Ferris borrowed his father's Ferrari and drove through the streets of Chicago.

"Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it," Ferris Bueller's Day Off might be the most referenced line to date and was the quote the Ferris lived by. Ferris Bueller's Day Off relied on situational irony, and juvenile humor tactics as Ferris and his friends tried to outsmart the parents, the Dean of Students, and anyone else who would expose them for not being sick at all. Ferris Bueller's Day Off is available on Amazon Prime Video.

Crocodile Dundee (1986) -- Rated PG-13

Mick "Crocodile" Dundee ( Paul Hogan ) lived his entire life in Australia. He knew the landscape, animal behavior, and the citizens that lived there. When saving a reporter, Sue Charlton ( Linda Kozlowski ) from a crocodile attack in Australia, she invited him to travel with her to New York. This way she would be able to continue to write her article about the Australian hunter.

RELATED: 8 Best Vacation Movies To Stream Before Heading Out This Summer

Mick showed a different perspective on America, as New York City became completely new territory for him. Crocodile Dundee (1986) includes a romantic plot. Miscommunications and culture shocks account for a majority of the film's comedic elements. Crocodile Dundee is available on the Roku Channel.

Planes, Trains & Automobiles (1987) -- Rated R

Only days away from Thanksgiving, all Neal Page ( Steve Martin ) wanted was to go home to his family in Chicago. Because of an oncoming snowstorm, Neal's flight from New York lands in Kansas. Along the way, he bumps into a bubbly salesman named Del Griffith ( John Candy ). After being acquainted with him on the flight, they took different modes of transportation together from Kansas to make it to Chicago.

Any movie with Martin listed in the starring role with likely be a heartwarming family film or a comedy that viewers will grab their sides from laughing too hard. Planes, Trains & Automobiles (1987) happened to be the latter, as each of Neal's plans seemed to be a bust, and both he and Neal encountered unplanned setbacks. Planes, Trains & Automobiles is available on the Roku Channel.

Coming to America (1988) -- Rated R

Prince Akeem ( Eddie Murphy ) lived in his family kingdom in Zamunda in Africa. He was next in line to the throne, all he needed to do was marry. However, Prince Akeem desired to marry a woman that fell in love with him and respected him, and not just respected him for his social status and wealth.

Although he took a flight to New York City to find his true love, Prince Akeem did travel the streets of New York to understand the culture of America. He blended in with the residents in Queens by living on the poor side of the city, trading in his elegant attire for street clothes, and looking to work a minimum wage job. Coming to America (1988) is available on Hulu, and after 33 years, the movie got a sequel titled Coming to America 2 (2021) available on Amazon Prime Video.

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The 20 Best Road Movies of All Time, Ranked

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Being on the road is a great way to manifest a character's spiritual or emotional journey into the physical, as a way to symbolize the obstacles and lessons that come with pursing some goal or dream.

From offbeat comedies to allegorical dramas, here are the best road movies that use the road to teach, challenge, and unite their characters.

20. Planes, Trains and Automobiles (1987)

Directed by John Hughes

Starring Steve Martin, John Candy, Laila Robins

Comedy, Drama (1h 33m)

7.6 on IMDb — 92% on RT

As you might guess from the title, Planes, Trains and Automobiles isn't exactly confined to the road—it also takes to train tracks and even the skies at one point.

Still, at its core, the film centers on the journey shared by two bickering strangers who spend three days wrestling their way to Chicago for Thanksgiving Day.

Steve Martin and John Candy star as the tightly wound marketing exec and his irritating-but-lovable travel mate, for whom just about everything goes wrong.

Planes, Trains and Automobiles is a feel-good comedy classic, directed by the renowned John Hughes. If you enjoyed his other hits like The Breakfast Club and Ferris Bueller's Day Off , you'll like this one!

19. Queen & Slim (2019)

Directed by Melina Matsoukas

Starring Daniel Kaluuya, Jodie Turner-Smith, Bokeem Woodbine

Crime, Drama, Romance (2h 12m)

7.1 on IMDb — 83% on RT

Queen & Slim may not itself be a true story, but it's certainly inspired by all kinds of real news headlines, including the tragic 2012 shooting of Trayvon Martin in Florida.

Released at an important moment—just prior to the Black Lives Matter protests that broke out across the globe in 2020— Queen & Slim tells the gritty story of a Tinder date gone awry.

Starring Daniel Kaluuya and Jodie Turner-Smith, their Tinder date is intercepted by a white cop and... well... you can probably guess the rest.

Melina Matsoukas's glossy directorial debut isn't simply a matter of style or substance, because it's dripping with both.

18. The Rover (2014)

Directed by David Michôd

Starring Guy Pearce, Robert Pattinson, Scoot McNairy

Action, Crime, Drama (1h 43m)

6.4 on IMDb — 67% on RT

An Australian Western set in the near-future, The Rover hums with an eerie atmosphere of desertion.

Ten years after economic collapse, the Australian outback becomes a lawless space for a rugged drifter (played by Guy Pearce) to hunt down a gang of thieves. Left behind with him is an injured, simple-minded young American (brilliantly played by Robert Pattinson).

Robberies and shootouts interrupt the tensely quiet landscape of David Michôd's road drama, in which everybody is only out for themselves.

17. On the Road (2012)

Directed by Walter Salles

Starring Sam Riley, Garrett Hedlund, Kristen Stewart

Adventure, Drama, Romance (2h 4m)

6.0 on IMDb — 45% on RT

Jack Kerouac's On the Road is the be-all and end-all road trip novel, inspired by the Beat author's own skint, boozy, and spontaneous life during the 1940s.

It encompasses everything that being "on the road" means, going beyond just the physical to explore a "road that must eventually lead to the whole world." Walter Salles's film adaptation tries to capture all of that.

For Sal Paradise (played by Sam Riley) and Dean Moriarty (played by Garrett Hedlund), life on the move means: scribbling on diner napkins between highs, psychedelic mind expansion, winking, drinking, and getting dizzy with dancing.

It's endless horizons and endless rampages, all across an America that's steeped in twilight, moonshine, or golden hour.

16. Bones and All (2022)

Directed by Luca Guadagnino

Starring Timothée Chalamet, Taylor Russell, Mark Rylance

Drama, Horror, Romance (2h 11m)

6.8 on IMDb — 82% on RT

Lee (played by Timothée Chalamet) might look like a grungy teen runaway who just gets stoned and preaches Marxism for fun, but he's actually rugged-looking by necessity.

As it turns out, being a cannibal (or "eater") isn't easy to pull off in normal society, so Lee has no choice but to live loose and streetwise.

Maren (played by Taylor Russell), having recently figured out that she's also an eater, is new to this environment. When the two collide in a Indiana store, they decide to go cross-country in search for Maren's estranged mother.

Luca Guadagnino nonchalantly combines cannibalism with artsy, coming-of-age romance in his one-of-a-kind horror, where everything seems foreground to a perfect dusk.

15. Rain Man (1988)

Directed by Barry Levinson

Starring Dustin Hoffman, Tom Cruise, Valeria Golino

Drama (2h 13m)

8.0 on IMDb — 89% on RT

Materialistic businessman Charlie Babbitt (played by Tom Cruise) is in the midst of importing Lamborghinis to Los Angeles when his father dies. After driving over to Cincinnati, he finds his inheritance has gone to an unnamed trustee—who turns out to be an estranged older brother.

Charlie decides to take full custody of Raymond (played by Dustin Hoffman)—who has autism and savant syndrome—but it turns out a lot trickier than Charlie imagined.

Raymond refuses to fly, so they're forced to drive towards their deadline, all while juggling Raymond's demanding routines. Rain Man is a touching and iconic drama from Barry Levinson.

14. Nebraska (2013)

Directed by Alexander Payne

Starring Bruce Dern, Will Forte, June Squibb

Drama (1h 55m)

7.7 on IMDb — 91% on RT

Alexander Payne's Oscar-nominated comedy-drama Nebraska was the final film to be released by Paramount Vantage, the "art cinema" sector of Paramount Pictures that closed down in 2014.

Shot in black-and-white, Nebraska follows a cantankerous old man who believes he's won a million-dollar sweepstakes prize. Of course, the whole thing is a scam.

Nonetheless, Woody (played by Bruce Dern) takes his disgruntled son David (played by Will Forte) and embarks on a road trip to Nebraska, during which David finally uncovers the man beneath the hardened alcoholic that is his father.

13. American Honey (2016)

Directed by Andrea Arnold

Starring Sasha Lane, Shia LaBeouf, Riley Keough

Adventure, Drama, Romance (2h 43m)

7.0 on IMDb — 79% on RT

In order to find an actress for the starring role of her next troubled teen drama, filmmaker Andrea Arnold took to the streets and carnivals during spring break rather than relying on professional casting calls.

This approach perfectly matches the rugged and spontaneous tone of American Honey , in which a gang of hitchhikers and criminals surf the roads as a traveling sales crew.

The brilliant Sasha Lane stars as Star (no pun intended), who ditches her abusive father after she spots Jake (played by Shia LaBeouf) in a van full of misfits and decides to join them.

12. The Darjeeling Limited (2007)

Directed by Wes Anderson

Starring Owen Wilson, Adrien Brody, Jason Schwartzman

Adventure, Comedy, Drama (1h 31m)

7.2 on IMDb — 69% on RT

Okay, we're cheating a little bit with this one. The Darjeeling Limited is technically a train movie, but it shares a lot in common with road movies when you step back and look at what it is.

The Darjeeling Limited is a unique and elevated take on road movies, following the same principles but sprinkled with all kinds of Wes Anderson fun, including his trademark aesthetics.

Owen Wilson, Adrien Brody, and Jason Schwartzman star as three brothers who are reunited one year after their father's funeral. Bold colors saturate the screen as Anderson litters the brothers' journey of self-discovery with funny gags, cool camera angles, and touching moments.

11. Into the Wild (2007)

Directed by Sean Penn

Starring Emile Hirsch, Vince Vaughn, Catherine Keener

Adventure, Biography, Drama (2h 28m)

8.1 on IMDb — 83% on RT

After graduating college, Christopher McCandless snips his credit cards and donates all his belongings to Oxfam, then hits the road without the approval of his parents.

What begins on the wheels of his rundown Datsun 210 turns into hitchhiking, kayaking, swimming, walking, railroading, camping, and occasionally working his way towards Alaska: his dream destination, hidden in the wild.

Played by Emile Hirsch, Christopher "Alexander Supertramp" McCandless yearns to break free from the suburbs of a materialistic society, but ends up flying too close to the sun and getting burnt. Sean Penn poetically directs this true story for the big screen.

10. Bonnie and Clyde (1967)

Directed by Arthur Penn

Starring Warren Beatty, Faye Dunaway, Michael J. Pollard

Action, Biography, Crime (1h 51m)

7.7 on IMDb — 90% on RT

A 1960s cult classic that broke many cinematic taboos, Bonnie and Clyde went down as one of the most iconic (and bloodiest for the time) films in history. We all know the legend about this couple who went on an infamous 21-month crime spree during the 1930s, right?

Director Arthur Penn breathes life into the myth by combining elements of slapstick comedy with gory violence and experimental filmmaking techniques, heavily influenced by the French New Wave.

Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway star as the robbing couple, who decide to steal their way out of the Great Depression.

9. Badlands (1973)

Directed by Terrence Malick

Starring Martin Sheen, Sissy Spacek, Warren Oates

Action, Crime, Drama (1h 34m)

7.7 on IMDb — 97% on RT

Terrence Malick's neo-noir film Badlands doesn't just follow a crime spree—it kicks things up to another level.

Instead of robbing banks, young couple Holly (played by Sissy Spacek) and Kit (played by Martin Sheen) become serial killers. Spacek narrates the movie as the duo are chased by the law across the Midwest.

Malick's directorial debut received widespread critical acclaim and is loosely based on the real-life 1958 murder spree of Charles Starkweather and Caril Ann Fugate.

8. Stranger Than Paradise (1984)

Directed by Jim Jarmusch

Starring John Lurie, Eszter Balint, Richard Edson

Comedy, Drama (1h 29m)

7.4 on IMDb — 96% on RT

Jim Jarmusch is a big name in independent circles, and he put himself on the map with Stranger Than Paradise back in the 1980s.

At first glance, Stranger Than Paradise could easily be mistaken for a French New Wave drama, but really it's an American absurdist comedy that just happens to be shot in grainy black-and-white.

Jarmusch's debut film also follows the French New Wave's tendency to meander through an indescribable plot.

In a loose sense, it's about Willie (played by John Lurie), his Hungarian cousin (played by Eszter Balint), and his friend (played by Richard Edson) as they bounce from Brooklyn to Cleveland to Florida.

Stranger Than Paradise is comprised of long, naturalistic takes that dawdle on the mundane and search beyond it—in a funny way.

7. Paris, Texas (1984)

Directed by Wim Wenders

Starring Harry Dean Stanton, Nastassja Kinski, Dean Stockwell

Drama (2h 25m)

8.1 on IMDb — 94% on RT

Co-produced by French and West German companies, the award-winning film Paris, Texas paints a European portrait of the American Southwest.

Wim Wenders's indie drama, which won the Palme d'Or, follows a mysterious vagabond (played by Harry Dean Stanton) who's found dissociated in the desert.

His estranged brother agrees to pick him up from Texas and soon ends up driving him to find his long-missing wife.

Stills of the sparse Texan outback are woven throughout Wenders's slow-burning drama, which relies on visuals more than heavy dialogue.

6. Nomadland (2020)

Directed by Chloé Zhao

Starring Frances McDormand, David Strathairn, Linda May

Drama (1h 47m)

7.3 on IMDb — 93% on RT

Based on Jessica Bruder's 2017 book Nomadland: Surviving America in the Twenty-First Century , Chloé Zhao's Nomadland won multiple Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actress.

Frances McDormand's award-winning performance as a widow who lives an itinerate lifestyle is painted against the sweeping backdrop of the Arizonian desert.

Nomadland is a poetic, restless, and beautifully shot drama that will have you yearning for the van life where home isn't just a static place or word but "something you carry with you."

5. Almost Famous (2000)

Directed by Cameron Crowe

Starring Billy Crudup, Patrick Fugit, Kate Hudson

Adventure, Comedy, Drama (2h 2m)

7.9 on IMDb — 89% on RT

Almost Famous is the semi-autobiographical tale of a young music journalist who goes on tour with fictitious rock band Stillwater.

On behalf of Rolling Stone magazine, William Miller (played by Patrick Fugit) joins the motley crew of rockers and groupies to write an article on the band.

Take a peek behind the curtain of the 70s music scene, where tensions rise between fans and musicians, between the people who live music and the people who watch from the sidelines.

Directed by Cameron Crowe and starring Kate Hudson, Almost Famous is your classic coming-of-age tale.

4. Y Tu Mamá También (2002)

Directed by Alfronso Cuarón

Starring Maribel Verdú, Gael García Bernal, Diego Luna

Drama (1h 46m)

7.7 on IMDb — 92% on RT

Alfonso Cuarón is best-known for directing Children of Men , Roma , and the best Harry Potter movie. Yet, despite his Westernized filmography, Cuarón is a Mexican filmmaker, and Y Tu Mamá También is his greatest native movie to date.

Gael García Bernal and Diego Luna star as two fidgety teen boys who are itching to explore the world, themselves, and the opposite sex. They find all of these things at Boca del Cielo ("Heaven's Mouth"), a beach they visit with an older woman (played by Maribel Verdú).

Cuarón shows us the dusty roads of rural Mexico, where the trio set off with no idea how to reach this supposed Heaven. Drunk and excitable on the road there, the three return home in silence...

3. Little Miss Sunshine (2006)

Directed by Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris

Starring Steve Carell, Toni Collette, Greg Kinnear

Comedy, Drama (1h 41m)

7.8 on IMDb — 91% on RT

Husband-and-wife collaborations are rare for film directors, but Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris showed that it can be successful with their stunning feature film directorial debut, Little Miss Sunshine .

Greg Kinnear, Steve Carell, Toni Collette, Paul Dano, and Abigail Breslin star in this sprightly colored tragicomedy, which plonks us in a bright yellow Microbus for a trip from New Mexico to California.

A mute son, a suicidal brother, a heroin-addicted father-in-law, and a failed life coach husband all make Sheryl Hoover's life more than chaotic. And when her young daughter earns a spot in the Little Miss Sunshine pageant, all hell breaks loose.

2. Thelma & Louise (1991)

Directed by Ridley Scott

Starring Susan Sarandon, Geena Davis, Harvey Keitel

Adventure, Crime, Drama (2h 10m)

7.5 on IMDb — 86% on RT

The fact that Thelma & Louise was initially criticized for its "negative portrayal of men" speaks volumes about it as a heralded feminist flick.

A female buddy movie that echoes the legend of Bonnie and Clyde, Thelma & Louise tracks two best friends as they drive toward the mountains for a much-needed vacation.

Susan Sarandon, Geena Davis, Brad Pitt, and Harvey Keitel make up the cast in this cat-and-mouse chase across the American Southwest, in which the FBI tails the polar-opposite, store-robbing besties.

1. Easy Rider (1969)

Directed by Dennis Hopper

Starring Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper, Jack Nicholson

Adventure, Drama (1h 35m)

7.3 on IMDb — 84% on RT

Easy Rider isn't just a great movie—it's an emblem of 1960s counterculture. It marks the dawn of New Hollywood, when filmmakers started moving away from the studio system and started stepping into more radical and experimental independence.

Simply put, Easy Rider made a huge impact on the world of Western cinema, despite being made on a tiny budget.

Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper (who also directs) bolt around on their motorbikes as they smuggle cocaine from Mexico into Los Angeles. Hippy communes and bad acid trips punctuate their journey, which is all set to a groovy Jimi Hendrix soundtrack.

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Follows four Asian American friends as they bond and discover the truth of what it means to know and love who you are, while they travel through China in search of one of their birth mothers... Read all Follows four Asian American friends as they bond and discover the truth of what it means to know and love who you are, while they travel through China in search of one of their birth mothers. Follows four Asian American friends as they bond and discover the truth of what it means to know and love who you are, while they travel through China in search of one of their birth mothers.

• Cherry Chevapravatdumrong
• Teresa Hsiao
• Ashley Park
• Sherry Cola
• Stephanie Hsu
• 147 User reviews
• 132 Critic reviews
• 74 Metascore
• 2 wins & 17 nominations

Top cast 61

• Mary Sullivan

• Joe Sullivan
• Young Lolo (age 5)
• Young Audrey (age 5)

• Swinging Kid

• Audrey (age 12)

• Lolo (age 12)

• White Boy #1

• White Boy #2

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The 'Joy Ride' Cast Crack One Another Up

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Did you know

• Trivia Stephanie Hsu said she could not contain her laughter for several takes when Sabrina Wu 's Deadeye was explaining their nickname to Kat by putting on a blank expression.
• Goofs In the slapping game, Chao gets slapped hard by Audrey across the upper face but has a small wound on the side of his lip.

Kat : My vagina is the devil and she's here to stay!

• Connections Featured in Amanda the Jedi Show: 'BOTTOMS' is WILD | Kicked out of The Evil Dead Rise Premiere SXSW (2023)
• Soundtracks Ants Marching Written by Dave Matthews (as David J. Matthews) Performed by Dave Matthews Band Courtesy of RCA Records By arrangement with Sony Music Entertainment

User reviews 147

• ethanbresnett
• Jul 7, 2023
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• July 7, 2023 (United States)
• United States
• Official site
• Locas en apuros
• Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden, 578 Carrall St, Vancouver, Canada (the location where leading character first met her friend in China)
• Lionsgate Films
• Point Grey Pictures
• See more company credits at IMDbPro
• $12,897,789
• Jul 9, 2023
• $15,787,674

Technical specs

• Runtime 1 hour 35 minutes
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New Netflix movie Will & Harper shows the power of allyship through comedy

It's available to watch now.

Will Ferrell has long been known for his improvisational wit and instantly recognisable comedy characters, but his new Netflix movie Will & Harper explores a more personal side to the comedy icon.

And in doing so, Ferrell has perfectly shown how allyship doesn’t have to be dull or scary and in fact can be full of mistakes, humour and comedy. The more human the better.

Following his relationship with former SNL writer Harper Steele, the two recount their fond beginnings on the set of Saturday Night Live back in the mid 1990s as they regroup for a road trip across America. Since their time working together, Steele has come out as a trans woman, writing Ferrell an email explaining how she always has been and always will be Harper.

The purpose of the movie is clear from the get go, with Steele picking up Ferrell on a snowy main road to head off across the States to visit Steele's family, watch basketball, eat Pringles and take a trip she has done many times before as a firm roadtripper. But this time, she's doing it as her true self.

It's a movie that puts allyship front and centre, but much like a small child who doesn't want to eat their vegetables, it has its uncomfortable moments neatly swaddled by Ferrell's comic timing that makes it the most realistic depiction of connection we've seen in years.

No matter where you're from, having vulnerable conversations with your nearest and dearest can be deeply uncomfortable. For men, it can be even harder to earnestly connect with that emotional core.

That's why driving is the perfect space for these conversations between Ferrell and Steele to happen; both sitting with eyes forward, no chance of escape and having to confront the often 'unspoken' questions about what it's like to be a transgender woman.

You can't go a day without seeing an anti-trans bill being discussed in the US or anti-LGBTQ+ news – just look at Donald Trump's most recent claims about 'illegal transgender aliens' . So with this as the backdrop, the movie doesn't shy away from the realities of what it can be like for trans people navigating the different socio-political climates that come with each stop.

From Steele being misgendered in a diner to Ferrell having his photo taken with the governor of Indiana, Eric Holcomb, who he later discovers is in fact one of the very people supporting the anti-trans bills in the headlines, it's full of the very human moments that come with putting ourselves in somebody else's shoes. Sometimes we fumble or fall over, but we always put them back on and keep walking.

There's something inherently comfortable about the movie despite the moments of anxiety that Steele describes when going back to the male-dominated environments she once loved. But having Ferrell on standby as not only an ally but as a comedic crutch is proof that supporting trans people doesn't have to be a journey full of landmines and eggshells – rather one of maturity, honesty and purity of heart.

Ferrell's being there for Steele during her first time back at an NBA basketball game or spending an evening in a dive bar or truckstop were heartwarming moments to watch because we saw a once-fearsome task being flipped on its head and made easier by Ferrell's understanding of how Steele would be feeling.

Empathy and allyship aren't conversations that are new to most people; we all have friends, family members or even strangers that we meet in our day-to-day lives who have varied and nuanced life experiences that we can support them with. It's enacted out of a sense of love and respect and Harper & Steele exemplifies how allyship doesn't have a one-size-fits-all approach.

A prime example being their conversation about surgeries that Steele has had, with Ferrell acknowledging the sensitive nature of the chat, pointing out the taboo and comfortably making a joke about Steele's new "additions". To some that might be uncomfortable, but for them it works.

It shows how important nuance is, as well as how the strength of the bond between two people is imperative to being able to approach our trans friends with love and support and, most importantly, humour. It reaffirms the humanity trans people contain by reminding us that the community is more than just a 'problem' to be educated, exemplified by Steele's ability to laugh at herself and bring Ferrell in on the joke.

Learning not only about their relationship, which was birthed on the set of SNL where Steele was a writer and Ferrell had just joined the show, but the way comedy has been integral to their relationship shows how powerful a device it can be in allowing us to confront discomfort.

With cameos from Kristen Wiig, Tina Fey, Will Forte and Molly Shannon to name a few, Will & Harper also a walk down memory lane for those of us who love the uniquely American spectacle that is Saturday Night Live .

Will & Harper is a necessary smorgasbord of comedy, togetherness and understanding that does more for education and awareness than any dry diversity and inclusion training on Zoom could accomplish.

With Ferrell's influence, there's hope that this message of acceptance and love will translate to audiences who may have never thought about transness, or perhaps change the minds of those who didn't understand it before. It is proof of how influential comedy can be in opening the door to new conversations and understandings with both new friends and old.

Will & Harper is available to watch now on Netflix.

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Jamie Windust is an award-winning editor, writer and author specialising in writing about LGBTQ+ storytelling, film and TV. As former Contributing Editor at Gay Times , they have interviewed talents such as Jack Lowden, Owen Jones, John Bell and Jack Rooke.

Their debut book In Their Shoes: Navigating Non-Binary Life detailed their experiences growing up as a trans person and how influential culture, fashion and TV and film were in helping them to express themselves with confidence. In Their Shoes was longlisted for the 2021 Polari First Book Prize .

Bylines include The Independent , Metro , Mashable and ELLE UK .

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Five things to watch this weekend: Clooney and Pitt star in Wolfs on Apple TV+, plus Will Ferrell road-trips to Netflix

Do you feel like you’re drowning … but you haven’t even left your couch? Welcome to the Great Content Overload Era. To help you navigate the choppy digital waves , here are The Globe’s best bets for weekend streaming .

Wolfs (Apple TV+)

Brad Pitt and George Clooney in Wolfs, which premiered in theatres on Sept. 20 and is premiering globally on Apple TV+ on Sept. 27. Scott Garfield/Apple TV+

After an extremely brief and quiet theatrical release this past week – good luck if you could actually find a theatre playing this – the new George Clooney-Brad Pitt caper Wolfs hits streaming. Normally, I might call this situation a shame, but after watching the Jon Watts film, its ambitions feel better suited to the small screen. Sure, there is a breezy allure in watching Clooney and Pitt play duelling fixers, each brought in to clean up a mess involving a district attorney (Amy Ryan), the young man (Austin Abrams) found near-death in her hotel suite and four bricks of heroin belonging to one very angry drug lord. Yet once the half-clever set-up is established by Watts – what happens when two lone wolves must work together? – the film is content to merely coast on the charms of its stars.

That’s not such a big problem when you have Clooney and Pitt, both of whom still command the screen like few other leading men working today. But the two can only nudge and wink their way through weak material for so long before the gig is up. Too quickly, Watts’s story slips from mildly interesting to extremely irritating, and there is no amount of gentle ribbing between various eras of People’s Sexiest Man Alive that can compensate for such narrative derivativeness. Even trying to imagine the film as a semi-sequel to Clooney’s Michael Clayton , which focused on a more upper-crust fixer, doesn’t help. But for at-home entertainment, expectations might not be so high.

The Knowing (CBC Gem)

Tanya Talaga reconnects with her cousin Victor Chapais, in four-part docuseries The Knowing, which is based on her book of the same name. Jon Elliot/CBC GEM

After its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival earlier this month, Tanya Talaga and Courtney Montour’s four-part docuseries The Knowing makes its appointment-viewing debut on CBC and streamer CBC Gem this weekend. Based on Talaga’s just-released book of the same name, the series follows the Globe and Mail columnist as she looks to uncover the history of her maternal family, a past that was deeply intertwined with the shameful legacy of Canada’s residential-school system. As Talaga combs through archives and family memories, starting with the life of her great-great grandmother Annie Carpenter, the series traces the tendrils of an insidious system that stretches from Canada to Rome.

Will and Harper (Netflix)

Will Ferrell, left, and Harper Steele star in Will and Harper, a warm-hearted and generous documentary that follows the former Saturday Night Live pair as they reconnect. Netflix

Aside from a small role in the megahit Barbie , Will Ferrell hasn’t had the greatest on-screen run at the movies lately. But he has been hitting it out of the park behind the scenes, helping produce such disparate but excellent films as May December , Theatre Camp , The Menu and Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar over the past few years. And now Ferrell is trying something entirely new, too, by leading director Josh Greenbaum’s road-trip documentary Will and Harper. The warm-hearted and generous doc follows Ferrell as he reconnects with Harper Steele, his old Saturday Night Live writing friend, who recently announced her transition. As the pair drive across the U.S. to reconnect, Ferrell and Steele learn more about both one another and the evolving culture of acceptance. It’s enough to forgive Ferrell for 2022′s dreadful holiday comedy Spirited . (Although I’m still holding a grudge over Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga.)

Inside Out 2 (Disney+)

Disney and Pixar’s Inside Out 2 returns to the mind of newly minted teenager Riley, where Emotions like Embarrassment (voice of Paul Walter Hauser) take turns driving – or throwing themselves upon – the console as Riley experiences all the feelings. Pixar/Disney

Last week, reports started to circulate online about Disney’s behind-the-scenes efforts to minimize the queer subtext of Inside Out 2 . The news wasn’t all that surprising to any adult who watched the blockbuster this past summer, given the close relationship between tweenage hockey player Riley and her slightly older mentor/idol, Val. Whatever did or didn’t happen inside Pixar boardrooms and studios is kind of beside the point, though: This sequel was kind of doomed from the start, as there is simply no imagination in expanding beyond the borders of the original movie. Still, the film is destined to become a staple of many households now that is available to stream, so exhausted parents might as well just give in. But before work inevitably begins on Inside Out 3, someone high up inside Pixar needs to give their heads a shake and start fresh.

eXistenZ (Crave)

A scene from David Cronenberg's 1999 film eXistenZ, which imagines a future where video-game systems have been upgraded to organic 'game pods,' with the consoles connected to players’ spines through 'bio-ports.' Supplied

It is hard to believe that David Cronenberg’s eXistenZ is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. Not only because the film’s themes seem as (rottingly) fresh as ever, but also owing to Cronenberg having just premiered The Shrouds at the Toronto International Film Festival, proving that the director is as vibrant and essential to the cultural landscape than ever.

Cronenberg’s 1999 film, which employs his first screenplay since 1983′s thematically similar Videodrome and marks the last script he’s written not based on pre-existing material, imagines a future where video-game systems have been upgraded to organic “game pods,” with the consoles connected to players’ spines through “bio-ports.” The titan of this industry is Allegra Geller (Jennifer Jason Leigh), whose company assembles a focus group to test her latest product, also called eXistenZ . Quickly, anti-gaming terrorists (calling themselves “Realists”) attack the event, and Allegra is forced to flee with her meek security guard Ted Pikul (Jude Law), and save her game by playing it.

Upon its release in a quarter-century ago, eXistenZ was greeted as an annoyance – a best-of collection of Cronenberg body-horror curiosities that he’d been peddling since 1970′s Crimes of the Future . The Globe and Mail’s Rick Groen even called the premise “stale … the parts are fine, but they just don’t sum up to anything special.” Many U.S. critics pointed out its themes felt inferior when stacked next to the year’s other, more palatable is-this-real-life-or-is-this-fantasy film, The Matrix. Its stylized title didn’t help matters (it is annoying as hell to type out). But there is more to be gained revisiting eXistenZ than almost any other film of the era.

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Kirsten Fleming

Will ferrell’s trans road trip movie misses the point, and perspective, of women.

Will Ferrell is hilarious.

He is charming and self deprecating.

He is clearly a loyal and caring friend.

And he is also living in a bubble that allows him to willfully misunderstand why there is any tension around the transgender issue.

In his new Netflix documentary, “Will & Harper” the actor learns his longtime pal, former Saturday Night Live writer Andrew Steele, will be transitioning to live as a woman called Harper. The pair embark on a buddy road trip through America to see how Steele, a beer swigging, sports loving father of two, fairs in this new identity.

And how small town America responds in kind.

For the most part, the film avoids the political to focus on the personal. It’s a journey in a wood paneled Wagoneer through their decades long friendship and Steele’s realization that he wanted to be a lady.

Though there are exceptions. In one scene, Ferrell takes a picture with Indiana governor, Eric Holcomb, and he laments his regret over not confronting him about the state’s ban on so-called “gender affirming care.”

In other words, Holcomb is against medicalizing and potentially sterilizing confused kids in the name of gender identity. Common sense stuff.

And in a new interview with The Independent , Ferrell shows his further delusion.

“But I don’t know why trans people are meant to be threatening to me as a cis male,” Ferrell told The Indepdent. “I don’t know why Harper is threatening to me.”

No one in their right mind sees Steele, or any transgender person, as a threat to a six foot 3 dude. Ferrell is not a woman and hasn’t had his space — locker rooms, prisons, rape centers and sports — invaded by biological men who are able to gain entry with only a few magic words:

“I identify as a woman.”

He hasn’t been told to shut up or be cancelled or suspended when he’s spoken up about having to compete against biological males in every level of sport from youth to collegiate to the Paralympics .

He hasn’t, like Riley Gaines, been harrassed and even attacked simply because she advocated for fairness in women’s sports.

He doesn’t have daughters so maybe he hasn’t had to worry about this blurring of biological truth.

And yet, a high minded Ferrell conflates real substantive objections with ignorance and intolerance. Why can’t everyone just be as open minded as him?

“It’s so strange to me, because Harper is finally…  her ,” Farrell says. “She’s finally who she was always meant to be. Whether or not you can ultimately wrap your head around that, why would you care if somebody’s happy? Why is that threatening to you? If the trans community is a threat to you, I think it stems from not being confident or safe with yourself.”

Most people do not begrudge Steele happiness. We care if Steele’s happiness infringes on our rights as women.

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After all, the movie itself proves that generally people are kind. In the film, the pair visit an Oklahoma dive bar adorned with pro Trump flags and Steele arrives solo, striking up friendly chats with some locals.

Then Ferrell enters and they are serenaded by Native Americans as a toothless man, nursing a bottled beer, preaches acceptance. At a racetrack, Steele speaks to a man about transitioning but still wanting to enjoy the traditionally masculine pursuits that Andrew once loved. But now, as Harper.

The stranger is, of course, welcoming and sweet. Both encounters prompt Steele to admit, “I’m not afraid of these people. I am afraid of hating myself.”

One can’t help but like Steele, which is clearly Ferrell’s aim. He wants to protect his friend. But he is wrongfully casting aspersions.

And while it’s a compelling, raw and at many times a funny documentary, there’s a great irony. Neither Steele nor Ferrell, who buys his friend diamond earrings, know the first thing about being a woman.

I wish Steele a long, healthy and fulfilled life.

But I also wish Ferrell would stop preaching from inside his ivory tower of virtue.

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