On the Road

This long-awaited adaptation of Jack Kerouac's iconic 1957 autobiographical novel managed to attract a stellar cast, but unfortunately never captures the spontaneous exuberance or rhapsodic wanderlust of the Beat Generation. Beginning in 1947, On the Road introduces car thief Dean Moriarty (Garrett Hedlund)—aka real-life figure Neal Cassady—as he adroitly shifts vehicles around in a New York City parking lot. Promiscuous, amoral, and irresponsible, Dean has already acquired a free-spirited, 16-year-old wife named Marylou (Kristen Stewart), as well as a staid mistress, Camille (Kirsten Dunst), and he is pursued by homosexual poet Carlo Marx (Tom Sturridge)—i.e., Allen Ginsberg. Determined to find his father, irrepressible drifter/hustler Dean is joined in his meandering travels by an aspiring French-Canadian writer, Salvatore Paradise (Sam Riley)—Kerouac's alter ego. Criss-crossing the country in a Hudson, they make memorable stops in Denver, San Francisco, Mexico, and New Orleans, where they meet with morphine-addicted Old Bull Lee (Viggo Mortensen)—based on William S. Burroughs—and his wife, Jane (Amy Adams). Kerouac's rambling, episodic, quintessentially American novel has long been considered un-filmable, an assessment that still seems valid after watching director Walter Salles's tiresome attempt, which ultimately winds up at a dead end. An optional purchase. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include deleted scenes (8 min.) and trailers. Bottom line: a small extras package for a disappointing adaptation.] (S. Granger)