As a biker and film fan, I consider "Roadside Prophets" an unheralded gem.
Perhaps that's because I recognize myself in John Doe's Joe Mosley. Heck, even our motorcycles look alike! More importantly, though, Joe is a working stiff with a sense of honor, who tries to do the right thing even when he makes mistakes along the way. As Joe leaves work one afternoon he meets another Harley rider, Dave Coleman (David Anthony Marshall, in an all-too-brief performance). What follows is one of the greatest riding sequences of any motorcycle movie I've ever scene, neatly underscored by John Doe's own song: "Beer, Gas, Ride Forever". What I'd give to have that segment of the film, sans titles, as a separate video! A quick stop for beer ends in tragedy when Joe's new friend is electrocuted by a pinball machine. A biker knows you never leave your fellow riders behind, so it's no mystery to me that Joe embarks on an epic journey to deliver this virtual stranger's ashes to his Eldorado of memory, the one place Dave ever felt loved and accepted.
Early in his trek Joe encounters the excitable Sam (Beastie Boy Adam Horovitz), who reminds me of any number of novice riders I've known, with a puppy-like energy that is a perfect foil for Joe's dogged, world-weary determination. Sam procures a battered Triumph, and the mismatched duo hit the road in search of the elusive Eldorado...
...and the perfect night at a Motel 9, of course.
Along the way the duo come upon the titular roadside prophets - Timothy Leary, Arlo Guthrie, et al - and from each they gain a Zen-like insight which contributes to the arc of their journey, as motorcyclists AND as men. By the time the travelers reach Eldorado (craftily disguised as a wind-swept gambling town in the Nevada desert) both have learned enough to shed the skin of their old selves, and move on to the next adventure in their lives.
Although Joe's seemingly devastating loss came as a shock and affront to everything I hold dear (I get a little queasy still, just thinking about it), both the character and I ultimately realize that this leg of our heroes' journey has ended in triumph, and the next leg begun. To quote Robert Earl Keen: "The road goes on forever...."
A previous review mentioned "Easy Rider"; hence the title of this review. Comparing the two would seem appropriate, in that both are road movies about a pair of motorcyclists making their way across the desert Southwest, but in my opinion that is where comparison ends. "Easy Rider" may rightly be considered a classic - it certainly broke new ground on its release in 1969, and upended the power structure of Hollywood during the '70s and early '80s - but "Roadside Prophets" is a less nihilistic, far more coherent and fully-realized vision, which ages far better than "Easy Rider". I would recommend "Roadside Prophets" to anyone who loves motorcycles, road movies, a solid soundtrack, and/or GREAT "non-Hollywood" storytelling.
Perhaps that's because I recognize myself in John Doe's Joe Mosley. Heck, even our motorcycles look alike! More importantly, though, Joe is a working stiff with a sense of honor, who tries to do the right thing even when he makes mistakes along the way. As Joe leaves work one afternoon he meets another Harley rider, Dave Coleman (David Anthony Marshall, in an all-too-brief performance). What follows is one of the greatest riding sequences of any motorcycle movie I've ever scene, neatly underscored by John Doe's own song: "Beer, Gas, Ride Forever". What I'd give to have that segment of the film, sans titles, as a separate video! A quick stop for beer ends in tragedy when Joe's new friend is electrocuted by a pinball machine. A biker knows you never leave your fellow riders behind, so it's no mystery to me that Joe embarks on an epic journey to deliver this virtual stranger's ashes to his Eldorado of memory, the one place Dave ever felt loved and accepted.
Early in his trek Joe encounters the excitable Sam (Beastie Boy Adam Horovitz), who reminds me of any number of novice riders I've known, with a puppy-like energy that is a perfect foil for Joe's dogged, world-weary determination. Sam procures a battered Triumph, and the mismatched duo hit the road in search of the elusive Eldorado...
...and the perfect night at a Motel 9, of course.
Along the way the duo come upon the titular roadside prophets - Timothy Leary, Arlo Guthrie, et al - and from each they gain a Zen-like insight which contributes to the arc of their journey, as motorcyclists AND as men. By the time the travelers reach Eldorado (craftily disguised as a wind-swept gambling town in the Nevada desert) both have learned enough to shed the skin of their old selves, and move on to the next adventure in their lives.
Although Joe's seemingly devastating loss came as a shock and affront to everything I hold dear (I get a little queasy still, just thinking about it), both the character and I ultimately realize that this leg of our heroes' journey has ended in triumph, and the next leg begun. To quote Robert Earl Keen: "The road goes on forever...."
A previous review mentioned "Easy Rider"; hence the title of this review. Comparing the two would seem appropriate, in that both are road movies about a pair of motorcyclists making their way across the desert Southwest, but in my opinion that is where comparison ends. "Easy Rider" may rightly be considered a classic - it certainly broke new ground on its release in 1969, and upended the power structure of Hollywood during the '70s and early '80s - but "Roadside Prophets" is a less nihilistic, far more coherent and fully-realized vision, which ages far better than "Easy Rider". I would recommend "Roadside Prophets" to anyone who loves motorcycles, road movies, a solid soundtrack, and/or GREAT "non-Hollywood" storytelling.