Movie Reviews

JOSH DOUGHTY / STARRY NIGHT ENTERTAINMENT LLC

Review in a Hurry: Two quirky, mismatched strangers hit the road, and then teach each other lessons about life's winding road. Feeling carsick yet? This misguided indie comedy will have you looking for the nearest exit.

The Bigger Picture: Sherman's Way or the highway? Trust me, take the highway. Otherwise, you're in for a rambling road trip packed with annoying banter between unlikable lead characters.

The titular tool, Sherman Black (Michael Shulman), is an uptight, insufferable, Ivy League, Richie Rich mama's boy who flies from New York to Napa Valley to surprise his girlfriend, who's interning there, and prove he can be spontaneous. But, no surprise, she wants to date someone else. So spurned Sherman spontaneously hitches a ride with Palmer "The Bomber" Van Dyke (James LeGros), a shaggy, free-spirited, middle-aged, Hawaiian-shirt-wearing, ex-Olympic skier. Oh what opposites. Oh what hilarity!

The odd couple zoom toward L.A. in Palmer's stolen MGB, which he plans to give to his estranged son, and along the way stop at a small town so Palmer's pal D.J. (Enrico Colantoni) can refurbish the roadster. While there, Sherman falls for a local lovely, Addy (appealing Brooke Nevin), who inexplicably takes a liking to this klutzy, preppy putz.

You don't need a GPS to know where all this is headed.

The two protagonists—unlike those in Sideways, which also followed unlikely friends through California wine country—are so broadly (and badly) drawn that it's impossible to emotionally invest (Shulman's stiff acting doesn't help). And the plot contrivances just keep piling up, making this needless journey one tedious, are-we-there-yet ride.

The 180—a Second Opinion: Palmer's pet puss is cute. Fortunately, the camera-ready kitty, Sparky, gets plenty of close-ups.