Rating: (3 of 4)

As promised, this time around we've got a good movie for you. I hadn't heard of it before this week, and indeed it grossed a whopping $291,645 in the U.S. Yet this humble film is actually quite good, and somewhat resembles the odd style of David Lynch. But it really has a style all its own.

I picked this movie up off the shelf after seeing the praise on the front: "four stars," "phantasmagoric," "striking." Of course, any halfway-serious movie critic knows to take cover quotes with a grain of salt, but I figured the word "phantasmagoric" wasn't the usual cookie-cutter endorsement, so perhaps the film wouldn't totally suck. Not only did it not suck, but it was in places extremely funny, and the plot was interesting and strange enough to support itself in any case. The acting was convincing, and some of the characters were priceless. At times, the direction was so skilled that I was surprised I've never heard of this film before. I ended up enjoying the film very much.

Probably the best part of the film, in my opinion, was the merciless satire of American culture, or at least the disparity between the "American Dream" image and reality. Every chance he gets in this film, Canadian director Bruce McDonald pokes fun at our people and our ways. This is where the majority of the laughs come from, and there are some good ones.

After saying so many good things about it, you may wonder why I gave this flick only 3 peppers. Well, it's mostly because I felt it had some parts that weren't quite as entertaining as they could've been, or were maybe just a little bit drawn out or cheesy... Minor things, really, in comparison to the movie's strengths, but there you have it.

At times very funny, usually competently so, and engaging in other ways, Highway 61 is a unique movie that deserves to be seen.

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