Review of Deadhead Miles

A surrealistic comedy that manages to mine most of its laughs from Alan Arkin's oddball performance. Directed by Vernon Zimmerman with a script by Terrence Malick, there's really no narrative, just a series of encounters trucker Arkin has on the road. He meets a glass-eyed barfly, a hooker tethered to a pot bellied stove, angry fellow truckers, and a very shifty hitchhiker (Paul Benedict). There are enough legendary character actors to keep your interest. Charles Durning, Hector Elizondo, Avery Schreiber, William Duell and Richard Kiel pop up in cameos. Lorretta Swit plays the glass-eyed barfly. Arkin's accent is pretty strange and he has some very funny scenes giving idiotic life lessons to Benedict. Ida Lupino & George Raft appear, presumably as themselves. The road songs are performed by Dave Dudley.